The dispersion of solid pigments in a liquid medium is described using the matrix breakage model which was originally developed to represent particle disintegration processes. The simplest case is treated here, where there are only two size fractions (agglomerates and single particles) but is extended to take into account the influence of the residence time distribution on the overall result of the dispersion. Several different operating modes are considered, going from batch, through semi-batch, to continuous, and the consequences of these different configurations on the overall process are evaluated.