{"id":5823,"date":"2017-01-27T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2017-01-27T14:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=5823"},"modified":"2018-02-09T14:06:36","modified_gmt":"2018-02-09T20:06:36","slug":"pe-plastics-coloring-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/5823\/pe-plastics-coloring-trends\/","title":{"rendered":"Trend Watch: Overcoming plastics coloring challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

The role of colorants<\/a> and pigments<\/a> in plastics these days involves much more than hues and shades. These additives now also are just as likely to impact factors such as processability, sustainability and compliance.<\/p>\n

Replacing lead-based materials<\/h4>\n

Clariant Corp.<\/a> is one supplier working to help get the lead out. The Swiss firm is promoting one of its organic yellow pigments \u2014 dubbed PV Fast Yellow H4G \u2014 as a replacement for lead chromate-based materials. European regulators banned lead chromate pigments from consumer plastics in that region in 2015, and the pressure is on elsewhere, as well, to use nontoxic alternatives, in food-contact applications and in various consumer products, including toys.<\/p>\n

Clariant says H4G offers up to three times the color strength in polyethylene and PVC than conventional lead chromate yellows. Additionally, it notes, when used in combination with inorganic pigments, H4G comes close to matching the opacity and color of lead chromates. The material also is approved for food-contact use in Europe, China and the United States.<\/p>\n

Carbon black masterbatches<\/h4>\n

At last fall\u2019s big K 2016 show in Germany, meanwhile, Cabot Corp.<\/a> rolled out additional grades of carbon black masterbatches for use with various polymers. The firm formulated the new UN2015, UN2017 and UN2019 grades in its Plasblak<\/a> range with low levels of impurities to meet both European Union and U.S. food-contact regulatory requirements. That same product line also includes three grades targeted at non-food applications. Cabot says it developed those masterbatches with an eye toward meeting the need for greater levels of recyclate in raw materials in Europe and elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Formulation advances are helping to drive sustainability in another way, according to Jeff Smink, president of Carolina Color Corp., a 50-year-old, family-owned maker of color concentrates<\/a> for the plastics industry.<\/p>\n

One aspect of the \u201cgreen movement<\/a>\u201d that started with the packaging sector has now migrated into other, completely unrelated markets, he said, creating both challenges and opportunities for makers of colorants for plastics. Procter & Gamble Co. helped to get that ball rolling when it specified a certain percentage of post-consumer recycled (PCR) resin had to be used in its product packaging. That drove the development of three-layer bottles, with the middle layer being PCR. Now that same concept is being widely adopted in products as diverse as garbage cans and construction siding, etc.<\/p>\n

Black and beyond<\/h4>\n

Most of those recycled resins, Smink explained in a Jan. 19 telephone interview from firm\u2019s Salisbury, N.C., headquarters, are dark in color, if not black. \u201cSo if you want to put a bright color on the outside of the [product in question], it takes a lot of color to overcome that bleed-through of the black in the center.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Carolina
UltraColorTint is said to improve clear resin tinting in end products as diverse as pill bottles and vacuum cleaners. It uses a patent-pending, versatile carrier system that is compatible with many engineered resins.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If, for example, you wish to achieve an organic red or yellow color on the exterior of an FDA-approved bottle, \u201cyou could never get the opacity to hide that black,\u201d so you would have to try to tint that black middle layer to a lighter shade that won\u2019t bleed through underneath and will help support the surface color. This can add a lot of cost to the coloring aspect of the package.<\/p>\n

In 2015, Carolina Color introduced its next-generation G3 line of colorants for packaging, housewares, transportation, and lawn and garden applications. This followed the 2008 roll-out of its patented G2 technology, which featured highly loaded pigments and additives that are exceptionally well dispersed and can effectively distribute in both large and small parts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some cases now with G3, we\u2019re able to deliver enough pigment into that top layer that it masks the middle layer,\u201d meaning it is no longer necessary to use colorants on that dark layer of PCR content, which can help to significantly reduce the overall coloring cost.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not always an easy sell, when one compares products only on a price-per-pound basis. That means \u201cthe sale has to come from the engineering or design group, where they understand what you\u2019re doing,\u201d Smink said.<\/p>\n

Another trend, noted Matt Barr, Carolina Color\u2019s CEO and Chairman, is that with the rise of high-speed injection molding, there also is a greater need to be able get parts out of the molds faster.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past, a lot of molders would add the slip agent at the press itself, which also made it harder for them to control the amount of slip agent being used. Now we\u2019re being asked to incorporate that into the color itself, so it\u2019s a one-dose solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith our G2 and G3 technologies,\u201d Barr claims, \u201cwe have the volume available to add that combination of color and slip [agents] at much higher levels than can be achieved in the industry today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feeling blue \u2013 but stable<\/h4>\n

\"YInMn
By Mas Subramanian [CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>], via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>A Cincinnati-based firm, meanwhile, is feeling blue \u2014 and is quite pleased about it. Shepherd Color Co.<\/a> is going to market now with a vivid blue pigment that has been in development at Oregon State University for several years. Shepherd is licensing the material \u2014 called YInMn Blue \u2014from the university, and will use it in pigments and coatings for plastics.<\/p>\n

The November\/December 2016\u00a0edition of Plastics Engineering magazine reported that \u201cthe name derives from its chemical content, which includes yttrium, indium, manganese and oxygen. Unlike many bright blue pigments, the material is extremely stable, probably owing to its accidental discovery after a researcher heated manganese oxide to about 1,200\u00b0C (or 2,192\u00b0F) to test its electronic properties.<\/p>\n

\u201cImportantly for its use as a pigment,\u201d that article continued, \u201ctests by an Oregon State research team led by chemist Mas Subramanian found that YInMn Blue has high ultraviolet absorbance and high reflectivity in the near-infrared region compared with conventional cobalt blue pigments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forecasting with ColorForward<\/em><\/h4>\n

Pigments and colorants may be contributing to a variety of performance factors in plastics, but color will always be one of their most vital aspects. With that in mind, Clariant recently published the 12th edition of its annual color forecasting guide for the plastics industry. The speciality chemicals and masterbatches maker says It created the ColorForward concept to help brand managers and designers anticipate \u2014 years in advance \u2014 what colors will connect with consumers on a deep, emotional level.<\/p>\n

Clariant reports that colors for 2018 will be \u201corganic and tinged with gray.\u201d It goes on to explain: \u201cAll four of the global social trends identified reflected an overarching feeling of sadness, fear and distrust of the conventional world as-it-is. Behind that, however, is what might be termed a \u2018silver lining.\u2019 A sense of resolve \u2026 of determination to endure and a cautious optimism that people can make a difference and things will get better over time. This melancholy mood is evident in the fact that all the colors are toned down and a little bit grey but, at the same time, warm, organic and hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about the ColorForward 2018 trends and colors \u2014 creatively titled Newmorrow, LongitudeLatitudeAttitude, Through the Mirror, and Nerdylicious\u00a0\u2014 go to www.colorworks.clariant.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The role of colorants and pigments in plastics these days involves much more than hues and shades. These additives now also are just as likely to impact factors such as processability, sustainability and compliance. Replacing lead-based materials Clariant Corp. is … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":5826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30,21],"tags":[124,275],"ppma_author":[1244],"class_list":{"0":"post-5823","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-materials","8":"category-plastics-2","9":"tag-trends","10":"tag-materials","11":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nPlastics pigments and colorants: the latest trends<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Plastic colorants and pigments involve much more than hues and shades. 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He has broad global experience and for more than 35 years has worked as a journalist, editor-in-chief, publishing executive and key connector of like-minded parties. He has launched successful publications and C-level events on three continents. While with Crain Communications Inc., he oversaw the relaunch of the 100-year-old European Rubber Journal in London and helped to start Urethanes Technology magazine there. \u00a0In 1988 Bob returned to Akron, Ohio, to serve as founding editor of Plastics News, an award-winning, weekly business newspaper. In 2005 he oversaw the editorial launch of the bilingual (Chinese and English) PN China e-newsletter and website. For more than a decade at PN he also held the titles of associate publisher, editorial director and conference director, and most recently served as business development director. 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