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Color Masterbatch: A Dash of Color to Any Plastic Product
One of the things that make Color Masterbatch so important for any industry using plastic is the large spectrum of tones and hues it can provide. The color masterbatch is customized to deliver the best balance of quality, value, and production efficiency.
In this article, we will explain what a color masterbatch is, how it works and why so many industries can benefit from using it.
What is Color Masterbatch and why is it important?
Any industry using plastic needs a color masterbatch in order to add the specific colors and tones to their products. An important benefit of using color masterbatch in the manufacturing process is that by using it the factory can keep stock of fewer grades of the polymer, and buy cheaper natural polymer in bulk. The color masterbatch can be engineered to deliver any specific color, tone, and hue of choice across the color spectrum. Color masterbatches have a relatively dilute nature when compared with raw additives. This allows higher accuracy in dosing small amounts of expensive components used in the manufacturing process.
How does Color Masterbatch work?
During the plastic product manufacturing process, raw polymers are injected and mixed with a specific blend of pigments of high quality. That specific blend is called Color Masterbatch. The main purpose of using color masterbatches in the manufacturing process of different products using plastic is to provide polymers with specific tones, colors, and hues. The carrier material of the masterbatch can be based on wax or on a specific polymer, identical or compatible with the natural polymer used.
After the desired colors and pigments are selected, they are blended together. The blend is then fused via a heating process in a carrier resin. When the color masterbatch cools off, it is divided into small pellets. The last part of the process is packaging the pellets and sending them to the plastic manufacturer.
An important benefit of color masterbatch is the fact that dye concentrates allow economic self-dye in most plastic processing procedures. This process is done thanks to their great flexibility in formulating the recipes and providing smooth, clean processing. The dye formulas can be reproduced even years later with absolute fidelity to the original selected tone and color.
Using Color Masterbatch across different industries
Masterbatch brings many advantages to the final plastic products. It can be used across various industries, to add a dash of color and a specific desired tone to products. The global plastic market size was worth $348.08 billion in 2020. It is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.2% from 2021 to 2028. Plastic is used in a huge variety of industries around the world, and the demand for it is only increasing by the day. Industries such as food & beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, home appliances, clothing & footwear, and many more, are all driving demand for color masterbatches in their products.
In order to have a deeper understanding of the importance of using color masterbatch in different industries, here are some key benefits:
Increased productivity
Color masterbatch can increase the output and productivity of the product’s manufacturing process as a result of thermal conductivity and volumetric expansion to temperature. In addition, it also has the ability to downgauge due to higher film physical properties.
Total cost save
With color masterbatch, manufacturers can reduce the material cost by using less energy to run the machine. The color masterbatch is mainly composed of CaCO3 stone powder, which is relatively cheaper than primary plastic. This can be used across various industries to minimize the input material costs and improve the final products.
Physical property
Other than the fact that color masterbatch can produce very specific tones, colors, and hues; by using color masterbatch, the compound can also improve many physical properties such as higher toughness, flexural stiffness, adhesive printability, and more.
In conclusion, Color Masterbatch is an important and even crucial component in the manufacturing process of different products across a variety of industries. Adding this unique and precise formula withholds many benefits which we discussed, and you will be surprised how many more. Any industry using plastic can add the desired color and tone to its final product and achieve the ultimate specific and unique hue with a personalized and high-quality color masterbatch.
