Abstract: The invention relates to the utilization of water-dilutable condensation resin AB as dispersing agent for pigments, wherein the condensation resins have an acid value ranging from 20 mg/g to 180 mg/g and are obtained by condensation of component A containing acid groups with an acid value ranging from 30 mg/g to 240 mg/g, which are selected from amongst the group consisting of copolymers of olefinically unsaturated monomers and by dimerization or oligomerization of compounds obtained from unsaturated aliphatic carboxylic acids and polyesters B containing hydroxyl groups with a hydroxyl value ranging from 20 mg/g to 300 mg/g and a number-average molar mass Mn ranging from 500 g/mol to 5000 g/mol. The mass proportion of components A in the reaction mixture for the synthesis of the condensation resin AB amounts to 30% to 90% and that of component B amounts to 70% to 10%, with the proviso that the sum of the mass proportions of both components always amounts to 100%.