The synthesis and solution and thin film characterization of four octasubstituted phthalocyanines (Pcs) are reported. [2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24-octakis(dodecylcarboxylato)phthalocyaninato]copper, [2,3,9,10,16,17,-23,24-octakis(N-dodecylamide)phthalocyaninato]copper, and [2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24-octakis(2-(benzyloxy)- ethoxy)phthalocyaninato]copper, and the corresponding zinc phthalocyanine analog, were prepared and their aggregation properties characterized in chloroform solutions. The octa-ester-modified Pcs showed the greatest tendency toward solution aggregation (K-agg greater than or equal to 4.8 x 10(6)), and the octakis((benzyloxy)ethoxy)-modified Pcs showed the least tendency toward aggregation (290 less than or equal to K-agg less than or equal to 1300). Both cast and Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) thin films of these compounds showed the tendency toward formation of columnar aggregates, as evidenced by their blue-shifted Q-band absorbance spectra. Fully compressed thin films of these Pcs show the rings tilted by ca. 50-60 degrees with respect to the surface normal, with essentially cylindrical symmetry of the side chains about each aggregate. The octaester Pcs, which showed the strongest solution aggregation tendencies, proved to form the most highly ordered LB thin films, as evidenced by the dichroism in several key vibrational bands. Molecular dynamics simulations are presented which show hypothetical structures for single molecules of each of the above compounds, as well as pentamer linear cofacial aggregates which demonstrated stability in these calculations and which are structures consistent with the spectroscopic characterizations of these materials.