I

Colouring plastics:
fundamentals and trends

Colour masterbatches, or colour concentrates, find applications in many areas of plastics processing. Blow, injection
and rotational moulding, extrusion, calendering, and wire
and cable manufacturing all depend on them.The masterbatches contain a high loading of colourants, also known as
pigments or dyes, in a carrier resin. Richard Abrams, MirAli,
Paul Denton, Juan Igualada, Martin Groen and Eddy
Gschwind of Ferro present an overview of the subject of
colour with a view to understanding the complex tasks that
colour engineers face.

What is co/our?
Colour is all around us. It is important in
our daily lives and we learn from birth to
react to colours logically or emotionally.
Colours have meaning, which vary from
culture to culture and continent to continent. In many societies, it governs and
controls traffic: red means stop, green
means go, or acts as a warning: blue
means cold, red means hot. Colour is also
used to describe moods - green with envy,
feeling blue or seeing red.
Three things are required for the presence
of colour. One may think ofcolour as the
property of an object only, but without
the presence of light, there is no way of
seeing the colour. With light and an
object present, there is still no colour

without someone or something to detect

it. Therefore, colour is defined by the
presence of an object, a light source (illuminant) and an observer.
The Illuminant: In order to see colours,
energy typically in the form of light is
required. Colour sensation is produced by
physical stimuli associated with the various wavelengths in the visible portion of
the electromagnetic spectrum. In order to
understand colour better, we need to
appreciate the origin of light. Light comes
from a wide variety of sources and consists
of electromagnetic radiation, a form of
energy that propagates in a wave motion.
The best way to characterize lights is to
see the composition of the light. All
visible light is made up of a mixture of the
colours of the spectrum, which combine

Plastics Additives & Compounding July/August 2001

18

in different proportions to make up each

distinctive light. The way we measure and
characterize lights is by a Spectral Power
Distribution. In Figure 1, the visual colour
spectrum starts at 400nm and ends at
700nm. Everything below 400nm is
called ultraviolet (UV) and everything
above 700nm is referred to as infrared
fIR). The human eye cannot see ultraviolet or infrared light.
White light, as we see it, is composed of a
select group of special colours; each one
characterized by a specific range of wavelengths, which it absorbs. These are the
colours of the spectrum - red, orange,
yellow, green, blue and violet.
Incandescence and luminescence are two
common ways to create light. Incandescence is light from heat energy. Heating
the filament of a light bulb to a high
enough temperature will cause it to glow.
The stars and sun glow by incandescence.
Luminescence is also known as cold light.
It is light from other sources of energy
independent of heating and can be generated at room or even lower temperatures.
Quantum physics explains luminescence
through movements of electrons from
their ground-state (lowest-energy level)
into an excited (higher-energy) state. Returning to its ground-state, the electron
gives back the energy in the form of a photon of light. If the interval between the
two steps is short (some microseconds),

Colour

the process is called fluorescence; if the

interval is long (some hours), the process
is called phosphorescence.
The combination of these wavelengths in
light can change depending on the light
source. Therefore, colours look differently
when compared under the influence of
daylight, fluorescent light or sodium
lamps. Natural sunlight varies widely. The
character of sunlight can be very blue, especially near midday, looking north. Direct
sunlight usually is seen as golden, but, near
sunset, it can be bright red. Artificial light
can be yellow, from sodium vapour, bluegreen from mercury vapour or it can be
yellow, from an incandescent light bulb, or
varying colours from fluorescent light. The
graphs in Figure 2 show average north sky
daylight (Illuminant D65), a cool white
fluorescent light (Illuminant F), and an
incandescent light (Illuminant A).
When light strikes an object, several phenomena can happen. Transmission occurs
if the light passes through the object,
which is the case with transparent colours.
It is referred to as reflection if, for example,
a green object reflects the part of the colour
spectrum that represents green and all
other light is absorbed. The reflection
curve of white will show roughly equal intensities close to 100% reflection in all

wavelengths of the spectrum. Refraction or

scattering is when light changes direction
as it passes from one medium to another,
like from the polymer to a pigment or filler
particle in a plastic part. Scattering is influenced by the difference in refractive index
between a particle and its surroundings,
particle size, and wavelength of light. An
opaque colour shows a high level of scattering. A translucent colour shows a combination of transmission and scattering at the
same time. Absorption exists if most wavelengths of the visible spectrum are absorbed. Black surfaces absorb nearly all light.
Combinations of one or more effects exist.
The Object: A product appears in a specific colour because the light, which is
reflected from its surface, is made up
exactly of wavelengths, which combine, to
the colour observed. The object absorbs
all other wavelengths. As an example, a
blue object reflects the blue light spectrum, but absorbs red, orange, yellow,
green and violet, which are most of the
other wavelengths. A red object reflects
the red spectrum but absorbs most of the
orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. The
colours black and white differ in their
absorption behaviour. Strictly following
the rules they are not really colours.
A white object reflects all (or nearly all)

colours while a black object absorbs most

colours completely. In other words, whites
represent a mixture of the colour spectrum and black the absence of them.
Matching the colour of an object is complex and becomes more demanding with
increased needs for appearance and
effects. An object can be spherical or
square, glossy or dull, transparent or
opaque or translucent. It can appear
metallic, fluorescent, pearlescent, or phosphorescent. The target can be a completely different material than that of the current match, Its colour can appear very
different at various viewing angles. The
gloss or texture of a sample can change its
appearance significantly. A good deal of a
colour engineer's skill lies in getting
around these problems and the limitations in materials.
The Observer: The defining observer is
the human eye. No matter how carefully
one matches a colour, an observer nearly
always bases acceptance of a colour on
visual judgement. Most of the time, this
means a colour match can become highly
subjective, since colour vision varies widely from individual to individual. Age,
gender, inherited traits, way of viewing a
sample - and even mood - can affect
colour vision.

Plastics Additives &

I9

CompoundingJuly~August2001

C o l o u r

Co/our m e a s u r e m e n t
[]onsequently, there is a need for a less,~iasedobserver in the form ofa colourmeasuring device. This instrument is
:]esigned to provide an objective means of
measuring, evaluating and aiding in
matching colours. These instruments
measure the amount of light that an
~bject reflects in each part of the waveiength spectrum and develops a profile to
::iescribe that colour. The information
ibout light source and observer can be
:tescribed mathematically with three varilbles, which describe how we see a colour.
Fhe measured values relate to amounts of
primary colours needed for matching a
::olour appearance. Information on chartcteristics of the sample can be used in
identifying type and amount of colour

pigment needed to match its colour. Two

types of commonly used colour measurement equipment are a colorimeter and a
spectrophotometer. Colour measuring
equipment helps us to give an objective
definition of the colour. Each colour has a
fingerprint reflectance pattern in the spectrum. We look at the characteristics of a
pigment where it absorbs light. The colorimeter measures colour through three
wide-band filters corresponding to the
spectral sensitivity curves and is therefore
not very accurate, showing large differences between the various instrument
manufacturers. However, colorimeters are
less expensive than spectrophotometers.
Modern spectrophotometers contain
monochromators and photodiodes that
measure the reflectance curve of a product's colour every 10nm or less. The
analysis generates typically 30 or more
data-points, with which an exacting
colour composition can be calculated. The
spectrophotometer can detect
metamerism (matching under one light
source, but not another), perform colour
matching recommendations and is often
also utilized as a quality control tool.
For the measurement ofcolour, standard
values are used worldwide, for example as
determined by an organisation called CIE.
CIE was founded in 1913 and stands for

Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage

(International Commission on
Illumination). CIE has a technical con>
mittee, Vision and Colour, that has been a
::~lasticsAdditives & CompoundingJuly/August 2001

20

leading force in colorimetry since it first

met to set its standards in Cambridge,
England, in 1931.
The values used by CIE are called L*, a*
and b* and the colour measurement
method is called CIELAB. L* represents
the difference between light (where
L*= 100) and dark (where L*=0), a* represents the difference between green (-a*)
and red (+a*) and b* represents the difference between yellow (+b*) and blue (-b*).
With these co-ordinates, any colour can
be defined as a place on the graph shown
in Figure 3. Differences in L*, a*, b* or E*
are represented as "L*, a*, -b* or "E*,
where -E* = (L*2+a*2+b*2). It represents the magnitude of the difference in
colour, but does not indicate the direction
of the colour difference.
Another colour measurement system often
used is the Munsell Colour System developed by A. Munsell, an American artist in
1898. Munsell desired to create a 'rational
way to describe colour' that would use
clear decimal notation instead of colour
names. In 1905 he published A Colour
Notation, which has been reprinted several
times and is still a standard for colorimetry.
Munsell modelled his system as an orb
around whose equator runs a band of
colours. The axis of the orb is a scale of
neutral grey values with white as the
North Pole and black as the South Pole.
Extending horizontally from the axis at
each grey value is a gradation of colour
progressing from neutral grey to full

Colour
Table I : Difference between visual and
computer controlled colour-matching procedure.
VISUAL

COMPUTER

Colourist experience

Preparation of calibration standards, reading and storage of their

reflectance curves

Visual assessment of the sample

Measuring the sample

Selection of a combination of pigments

Selection of possible pigments

Design of formulation, based on experience

Data entry and calculation of possible formulations.

and on a library of previous matches

Selection of a formulation

Preparation of the formulation

Preparation of the formulation

Visual assessment

Reading of the sample

Estimation of necessary corrections

Calculation of the correction

Selection of a new combination of pigments

Selection of a new combination of pigments

(if necessary)

(if necessary)

saturation. With these three defining aspects, any of thousands of colours could be
fully described. Munsell named these aspects, or qualities, hue, value, and chroma.
Munsell defined hue as the quali~y by
which we distinguish one colour f?om another. He selected five principle colours: red,
yellow, green, blue, and purple; and five
intermediate colours: yellow-red, greenyellow, blue-green, purple-blue, and redpurple. He arranged these in a wheel
measured off in 100 compass points. The
colours were identified as R for red, YR
for red-yellow, Y for yellow etc. Each primary and intermediate colour was allotted
ten degrees around the compass and then
further identified by its place in the segment. Munsell defined value as the quali~y
by which we distinguish light colours J~om
dark ones. Value is a neutral axis that refers
to the grey level of the colour. It ranges
from white to black. The value of a particular hue would be noted with the value
after the hue designation. Chroma is the
quality that distinguishes the difference
from a pure hue to a grey shade. The
chroma axis extends from the value axis at
a right angle and the amount of chroma is
noted after the value designation.
Therefore, 7.5YR 7/12 indicates a yellowred hue tending toward yellow with a
value of 7 and a chroma of 12. However,
chroma is not uniform for every hue at

every value. Munsell saw that full chroma

for individual hues might be achieved at
very different places in the colour sphere.
In the Munsell System, reds, blues, and
purples tend to be stronger hues that average higher chroma values at full saturation, while yellows and greens are weaker
hues that average fullest chroma saturation relatively close to the neutral axis.

matching and
appearance
Co/our

A colour match is often a combination of

the colour engineer's visual perception
and the measurement results of a PC-controlled measurement tool. Both have advantages, but neither one should be used
alone. The information a colour engineer
receives before the experiment is critical
for the successful outcome of the match.
Therefore, it is important to understand
the objective and means of the plastic
manufacturer. For example, the chemical
nature of the specific resin to be coloured
and the processing conditions will determine the correct masterbatch formulation. The main performance requirements
that affect the selection process include:
1 .Obtaining information on resin and
type of processing equipment. This
includes what type of polymer(s) are

used and what is the end product. The

process the customer intends to use is
also important, such as injection or
blow moulding, sheet or film extrusion.
2.Understanding the chemical resistance
requirements of the plastic product.
For example, if is it to be used in contact with acids, bases or organic solvents, the colourant of choice must be
resistant to these chemicals.
3.Knowing the heat exposure during
each processing step. The degree of
heat the colourant has to withstand is
predominantly determined by the maxim u m processing temperature and duration of exposure.
4.Protecting against ambient conditions.
The long-term resistance of the final
product against humidity, light, temperature and combinations of these can
be greatly influenced by choosing suitable raw materials, which protect the
polymer. For measuring the life of a certain product with regard to the colour,
most colour engineers use the grey
scale. The grey scale is a tool for
describing the colour changes of an
object that might occur under the influence of temperature, light (in particular
UV radiation), and other weather conditions, during a certain period of time.
This scale contains a range of 1 to 5,
where 5 means that the colour of the

Plastics Additives & Compounding July~August2001

2I

Colour

Poorly Distributed
Pigment Dispersion

Agglomerated
Pigment

r,l.
15 a
object has not changed and 1 that a
severe colour change has occurred.

5.Enabling usage in food approved products. The legislation in many countries

bans specific raw materials in products
and requires special approval for plastic
ingredients used in contact with food or
pharmaceuticals. For example, most
heavy metals are highly regulated in
food packaging. When developing masterbatches for food packaging colour
engineers are not allowed to use pigments containing heavy metals. A close
co-operation between customer and
colour engineer is imperative to ensure
compliance.

6.Offering the ability to reduce waste.

Another legislative restriction found in
many countries aims at reducing waste.
Reducing the thickness of the plastic
packaging achieves this goal. The colour
engineer has to create a concentrate that
can obtain the same level of opacity
with a thinner product, by either
adding more pigment to the concentrate or by using different types of pigments with higher colour strength.
7.Providing optimal colour quality and
desired effects. The stability of the final
product depends largely on the correct
ingredients within the formulation,
their degree of dispersion, resistance to
migration, bleeding, crocking or bronzing. Effects like metallescent or luminescent looks will give the plastic the
desired appearance. The more complex
the desired effect becomes in the plastic
Plastics Additives &

product, the higher the cost of the raw

materials.
If any (or all) of the above questions cannot be answered properly, the chances of
getting a correct match decrease considerably. For example, if the colour engineer is
not informed that the customer wants to
use the end product in warm climates for
ten years, then sufficient UV-stabilisation
will not be added to the colourant.
Alternatively, if the colour engineer is not
informed that a product has a life cycle of
only six weeks, more expensive, but highly
stable pigments may be used to get the
right colour, and protect against weatherability, while making the final formulation
cost prohibitive.
Over the past decade consumers have
become much more demanding. For

Compounding July~August2001

22

example, in the packaging industry

requirements are longer shelf life, fresher
products and packaging that is easier to
handle and easier to recognize. Demands
in this industry are high UV-stability,
improved barrier properties, and
improved tear strength, antistatic and
antifogging properties and a colour that
helps differentiate their packaging from
their competition. In the automotive
industry looks, scratch resistance and cost
reduction have become important issues,
while in the appliance industry it is
appearance, design and advice about
colour trends.

The tools - inorganic and

organic co/ours
Colourists work with a variety of pigments to reach the desired colour and
effect. Typically, two main pigment classes, inorganic and organic, exist because of
their chemical differences. Another group
referred to as polymer-soluble dyes are
organic colourants that dissolve in certain
polymers when melted.
Inorganic colours are based on oxides,
salts, or complexes of metals in various
oxidation states. Most inorganic colour
pigments have a simple molecule structure, except for some mixed metal oxides,
which have more complex shapes. The
metals often require a special pre-treatment to make them suitable for use in
plastics. Organic colours are based on

Colour
carbon chemistry and typically do not
contain any metals. These colours can
have complex molecular structures, are
produced through multi-stage synthesis
and are often easier to mix with the polymer. Based on the requirements of the
customer, the proper pigments are chosen
to achieve the desired performance.
Often, a combination of organic and inorganic pigments is used to obtain the
desired colour and effect. The main difference between both classes is summarized
in Table 2.

Dispersion and
distribution of colorants
Besides matching the colour, the masterbatch needs to ensure dispersion of
pigment and facilitate the distribution of
the colour in the plastic. Dispersion is the
separation of particles of pigment from
each other through wetting the surface of
the pigment with the polymer carrier to
form the colour concentrate. Distribution
is the spreading of this concentrate evenly
through the polymer without streaks.
Dispersion: Pigment particles easily form
aggregates, where the particles are firmly
adhered to each other. It generally requires aggressive grinding to break up these

aggregates. Agglomerates, on the other

hand, can be broken fairly easily. Figure 5
shows the general problem. The strength
of a pigment depends on dispersion, in
particular. The number of colour sites
largely determines the strength of a pigment. Breaking agglomerates of two pigment particles doubles the strength of the
system. A 40-micron agglomerate of onemicron particles can contain up to 64,000
particles. A dye is usually stronger than a
pigment, since a dye is dissolved, and each
molecule becomes a colour site.
Dispersion is generally a two-step process.
A pigment agglomerate is broken up by
physical force. The agglomerate can be

crushed, pulled apart or shattered by an

impact. The pressure of crushing can also
create new agglomerates by squeezing particles together. Many organic pigments
show this tendency of compaction, which
can occur at different stages of the production process. In order to prevent particles of the same chemical make adhering
to each other they have to be coated (wetted) by a different substance. Only then
will they have a lower tendency to stick
together. This other substance can be a
wetting agent or polymer. The wetting
material coats the pigment and allows pigment particles to slide over one another
instead of sticking to each other.

Table 2: Differences between inorganic and organic pigments and dyes.

INORGANIC

ORGANIC

DYE

Less expensive

Moderate to expensive

More expensive

High stability

Low to high stability

Low stability

High opacity

Low to medium opacity

Low opacity

Low colour strength

High colour strength

Very high colour strength

Dull colours (often non-toxic)

Bright colours

Bright colours

Bright colours (lead, cadmium

Seldom found

Seldom found

Easy to process

Difficult to process

Difficult to mix at high concentration

Easy to disperse

Difficult to disperse (small particle size)

- more toxic)

No dispersion required (dissolve in

polymers)
Suitable for all thermoplastics

More or less suitable, depending

on the pigment and polymer

Not suitable for olefins - at very low

levels in PS, PA, etc.
Plastics Additives & CornpoundingJuly/August 2001

23

Colour

One popular type of wetting agent is a

surface-active agent (surfactant), which
has a molecule with a polar end to bind to
pigments, since they are often polar molecules, and a non-polar end to bind the
polymer. A common example is stearic
acid, which has a polar acid group
attached to a hydrocarbon backbone.
Wetting agents are usually lubricating.
Too much lubricant can prevent the necessary force from reaching the pigment.
The agglomerates roll and are not sheared
apart. One consideration in determining
how much surfactant to use is the surface
area of the pigment. Inorganic pigments
typically have small surface areas, about
4m 2 per gram. Carbon black can have
more than 300m 2 per gram. Obviously,
carbon black would need more surfactant.
Figure 6 shows the surface area as a function of particle size.
Distribution of colour is a shared responsibility between the colour concentrate
producer and the plastic manufacturer.
For example, a hard colour concentrate
will not flow as well as the polymer it is
being letdown into. It will mix poorly,
leaving specks and streaks. The letdown
ratio is a consideration in good mixing. If
the letdown is 1%, and the pellets of concentrate and resin are roughly equal in
size, there is only one pellet of concentrate
for each hundred pellets of resin. The one
pellet must break down and spread among
the hundred pellets of natural resin.
Consequently, a soft resin that can flow
easily, and ideally, melts before the letdown resin, is best for the carrier. A pigment dispersed in the concentrate can
increase the viscosity, making mixing even
more difficult. UV additive formulations
can also make mixing difficuh and cause
streaks. Conventional pellet concentrates
Plastics Additives &

are usually used at 2% to 4%, to make the

product look more even. New trends are
towards smaller concentrate pellets. Pellets
half the size of the resin pellets at 1% have
one colour pellet for every 50 and not 100
resin pellets.

Designing appearance
The colour concentrate allows the manufacturer to produce plastics with desired
colour, optical effects and specific physical
properties. Appearance is critical for many
products and a key differentiator for plastic
producers and their clients. For example,
designing interference or flip-flop colours,
which change depending on the viewing
angle requires a good understanding of the
matter. In order to match an interference
colour, the colour engineer works in two
steps. Firstly, the base colour is matched.
The interference effect is then added by
typically using mineral-coated mica. By
looking at the moulded part from different
angles, the light will be reflected in different ways from the mica particles, causing a
change in colour. Actually, the colour does
not change, but the reflection effect of the
mica particles will be more or less visible,
causing the interference effect. There are a
number of new effects and recent trends in
designing colour masterbatches. Figure 7
below shows an overview of the different
optical effects.
Opaque plastics: The opacity of an object
is determined by measuring how much
light is transmitted through the object.
Opacity of a colour is critical to its
appearance. The usual way to measure
opacity is to measure reflectance over
white and over black in order to determine the contrast ratio. A contrast ratio of
98% is considered one-coat hiding in

CompoundingJuly~August2001

24

paints. A colour engineer needs to know

the desired opacity and thickness of the
plastic part. With this information the
colourist can formulate the required pigment concentration in the masterbatch.
Pearlescent plastics: These contain pigments that are applied to generate a pearllike, iridescent effect. Typically, the pigments are thin, metal oxide coated mica
platelets, usually less than one micron
thick and between 5 to 100 microns long
with a high refractive light index. The
metallic oxide coatings have the ability to
reflect or suppress specific wavelengths of
incident light causing a soft, silky appearance. The platelets can change colour
depending on the viewing angle. Which
wavelengths are reflected or suppressed
depends on the thickness of the metallic
oxide coatings. The pigments typically
have to be well dispersed in the plastic
matrix to prevent agglomeration. Light
scattering, either by the resin of the compound or by other pigments, needs to be
avoided since this interferes with the
reflection of the platelets. Usually, oxides
of iron- or titanium-coated mica are the
leading pearlescent pigments, which contain superior chemical and processing stability. The automotive industry, for example, is always looking for new colour
shades and effects like pearlescent finishes.
Fluorescent plastics: These materials contain pigments that possess the unique
capability to absorb light energy in the
visible and UV range and re-emit it at different wavelengths. This results in a bright
glowing plastic in daylight, which is dark
without light. This is also the main difference when compared with phosphorescent
plastics, which contain an afterglow generating effect pigment. Fluorescent pigments typically consist of an organic

Colour
moiety. Some molecules with fluorescent
capabilities also show phosphorescent
behaviour. The pigment is usually mixed
into the plastic matrix and shows highest
fluorescent intensity when applied over
white surfaces.
Phosphorescent plastics: These contain
pigments that have the capability of
absorbing light energy at one wavelength
and releasing it inpackets at a lower wavelength. The energy release is delayed and
the re-emission process varies by pigment
type and can last for several hours
depending on length and size of the excitation process. Most common are inorganic oxides, like doped zinc sulphide
complexes. The ZnS crystal lattice contains implanted metal-ions such as Sr ,
Ca 2+, Li +, Cd 2+ or other metals in low
concentrations. Organic pigments are also
known to provide similar effects. Products
containing these kinds of pigments are
known for their special effects like glowin-the-dark. Red, green and yellow are the
most common colours observed in industries focusing on toys, safety, highway and
road markings, and related industries.
Metallescent plastics: Manufacturers often
have to use metal or follow a two step
paint process, applying a primer and a liquid coating in a post fabrication process to
generate a metallic look. Over the past
decade the automotive, household goods
and electronic industries have looked at a
number of ways to replace metal or paint
in an attempt to reduce weight and organic solvents, while maintaining a metallic
appearance. Polymers containing metallic
flakes are designed to mimic metal. A
metallic look is typically generated through
the use ofaluminium, copper or mixtures
of these metals. The actual size of the
flakes will vary, but typically range from
0.1pm to 2.01am in thickness and 0.5pm
to 200pm in diameter. When incorporated
into a resin, the flakes have a tendency to
orient themselves in a multi-layered position. The metallic effect varies depending
on how parallel the flakes are to the surface, flake size, and shape. The characteristic colour can be described as whiter,
brighter or greyer, and darker, and is again
related to particle size distribution. The
lightness or greyness is provided by the
amount of light reflected from the surface

of the flake. Generally, as the particle size

distribution becomes finer, the colour
becomes darker. However, through particle
size separation techniques, it has become
possible to provide grades with a very small
average particle size while maintaining a
high degree of brightness. Smaller particles
provide more opacity and hiding power,
while larger particles cause higher reflectivity and therefore brightness of the object.
Colours that vary with angle are particularly difficult to match. A metal looks light in
colour when viewed head-on (face angle),
but darker at an angle (flop angle).
Solving the formulation puzzle and complying with the processing conditions
will not be sufficient in delivering the
desired colour and effect. Metallic,
pearlescent and iridescent formulations,
for example, have a tendency to create
flow lines in the plastic product. These
streaks or lines are often caused by a combination of processing equipment and
metallic pigment. In particular, at the
injection point of an injection-moulding
machine, the flow lines are very difficult
to eliminate. The shear during the production process causes the metallic pigments to break, fold, bend, or distort
from the original shape and size, eventually creating a flow line. The flow line
can easily be seen in the final product
because the light that falls on the distorted pigment area is reflected in different
ways depending on the vertical orientation of the edges of the pigments, causing the knit, weld or flow line effect (see
Figure 8). The challenge for colour engineers is now beyond chemistry. Success
requires a good understanding and close

co-operation with process engineers and

mould designers to offer the electronic,
telecommunication, automotive, appliances, furniture, consumer goods and
related industries with the desired metallic look. Recently, new generations of
metallic masterbatches have been introduced that have the ability to reduce significantly the flow lines in a plastic. In
some cases these flow lines can be almost
completely eliminated by a combination
of process and no-knit metallic pigment
technology. This technology looks promising and should be transferable to many
other polymer families, including polyolefins, engineered thermoplastics, PVC,
TPE, TPO, polyurethane and other commonly used resins, made by various manufacturing technologies like extrusion,
blow or injection moulding and related
processes.
Contacts:

Richard Abraros, Ph.D., R&D Scientist,

Ferro Corp., Tech. Center, Independence,
OH, USA; tek +1 (216) 750 6638.
Mir All, R&D Scientist, Ferro Corp.,
Stryker, OH, USA;tel: +1 (419) 6823311.
Paul Denton, Technical Manager, Ferro
Corp., Stryker, OH, USA; tek +1 (419)
682 3311.
Juan A. Igualada, Ph.D., Technical
Manager, Ferro Enamel Espa~ola S.A.,
Castell6n, Spain; tek +34 (964) 504 450.
Martin Groen, Technical Manager, Ferro
(Holland) B. V., Rotterdam, Netherlands;
tel: +31 (10) 478 4729
Eddy Gschwind, Lab Manager, PT Ferro
Mas Dinaroika, Bekasi, Indonesia; tek +62
(2) 1893 485O

PlasticsAdditives & Compounding July~August 2001

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