Colour Measurement for Masterbatch and Compound Manufacturers
Accurately, measure, match, and share colour data with supply chain partners
Improve masterbatch colour consistency, reduce errors, boost efficiency, control cost, and reduce waste.
Brand owners are acutely aware of the important role that colour consistency plays in customers' decisions, so the specification and colour matching of attractive and appealing colours is an important part of the product development process. Delivering the right colour to customer specification quickly, consistently, and cost effectively will help masterbatch and colourant producers to grow their business and build strong supply chain relationships.
Colour measurement helps masterbatch and compound manufacturers develop, match and control plastic colour from raw material evaluation through to formulation, production and customer approval. By using spectrophotometers and colour matching software, producers can reduce trial-and-error corrections, optimise pigment loading, improve batch consistency and share objective colour data with customers and supply-chain partners.
This page incudes links to the suggested instruments and software sold and supported by Konica Minolta to ensure accurate masterbatch colour formulation.
For a broader overview of colour measurement across plastic applications, see our plastics solutions.
Our experienced teams install digital colour data systems to ensure that masterbatch and colourant producers deliver products that match customer's requirements from batch to batch, with renowned spectrophotometers, local support and versatile colour formulation and matching software.
By selecting a cutting-edge digital colour data system, masterbatch producers can ensure that not only is their production system optimised, but that it can work closely with customers on specification, feasibility, and colour approval. This helps supply chains to greatly reduce the risks and costs associated with physical standards, remove subjectivity from decision making / product approval, and simplify colour communication.
Benefits of Accurate Colour Data and Computer Colour Matching
Colour data is crucial for a modern colourant manufacturer, allowing them to quickly, accurately and cost effectively meet customer specifications. Traceable repeatable and accurate colour data from globally renowned measuring instruments ensures that the computer colour matching software can quickly generate accurate matches, with minimal correction steps whilst also balancing important properties like opacity and cost. Our experienced colour team, can help you establish systems and workflows that maximise the repeatability and ease of the system supporting faster and more consistent response to the market and specification and approval processes that are built on objective data.
Common Colour Measurement Tasks for Masterbatch Production
Stage | What is Measured | Why it Matters |
Customer Specification | Target colour, material types | Defines the required colour pre formulation |
Raw Material Control | Base Resin, pigments, additives, recycled content | Builds a library for computer matching inputs, helps track material consistency or adapt batches to different recyclate batches |
Lab Formulation | Drawdowns, plaques, pellets, trial recipes, corrections | Reduces trial and error correction cycles, produces feedback to tolerances and repeatability |
Scale- up | Measures pre production batches | Confirms repeatability and transfer of lab to production colour. |
Final Product QC | Masterbatch Pellets, compounds, test plaques | Checks that released product meets agreed specification |
Customer Communication | Master and production standards | Allows for clear and simple communication of colour, accurate tolerance agreement |
Common Challenges in Masterbatch Colour Measurement
Konica Minolta helps customers to implement unparalleled solutions for improving colour formulation in masterbatch production that will ultimately mitigate product errors, boost the efficiency of large production batches, minimise waste, and reduce manufacturing costs.
How Colour Matching Software Supports Masterbatch Formulation
In masterbatch formulation, colour matching software uses measured spectral data to calculate pigment recipes for the target material and application. This helps formulators account for the colour of the base polymer, calculate colour and opacity together, reduce over-pigmentation and produce closer first-time matches. The result is fewer correction cycles, lower pigment waste and more repeatable colour from laboratory formulation through to production.
Benefits
- Reduce formulation waste by calculating the correct pigment recipe with minimal corrections, cutting trial-and-error lab batches and improving accuracy during scale-up.
- Achieve tight tolerances even compensating for variable substrates and raw materials
- Meet customer's needs and specifications by formulating accurate colours that avoid over-pigmentation
- Accelerate colour development by generating optimised formulations that require fewer corrections
- Increase the usable proportion of recycled material in plastic products by adjusting formulations to manage colour variability, supporting circular economy and sustainability targets.
Instruments
CM-5 Benchtop Spectrophotometer
Standalone benchtop, with an integrated large colour display and operator wizard, a versatile solution for lab colour measurements of solid, granular, powdered, or liquid samples. The top facing measurement port and large transmittance chamber facilitate efficient and repeatable processes.
Applications
Measurement of Masterbatch with CM-26dG
With its lightweight ergonomic design, optional Bluetooth™, and high-resolution TFT colour display, the CM-26d series is perfectly suited for applications in the field. The CM-26dG spectrophotometer sets a new standard for easy and fast data handling and offers great flexibility of use with two easily interchangeable measurement apertures of Ø 8 mm (MAV) and Ø 3 mm (SAV).
Ask our experts
