A process for preparing a pigmented wax dispersion including (a) melting and mixing a dry pigment with at least one wax to form a pigment concentrate, wherein the pigment concentrate contains at least 25 percent by weight of pigment; (b) milling the pigment concentrate of step (a) to form a milled pigment concentrate; (c) combining the milled pigment concentrate of (b) with water and dispersing to form a pigmented wax dispersion comprising a plurality of pigmented wax particles comprising a pigment core surrounded by a wax shell, wherein the pigmented wax particles exhibit a particle size distribution of from about 150 nanometers to less than about 300 nanometers; wherein the melting and mixing of step (a) and the milling of step (b) is done in an immersion media mill; and wherein the combining of step (c) is done using a piston homogenizer.