The value of color concentrates in plastic manufacturing industries

Colors are an integral part of our lives. Colors are used for conveying messages and giving warning like in the case of traffic signals and many other rules. This is why the Plastic manufacturing companies make use of colors, in order to make their products different and attractive.

Do you know what a color concentrate is? It is a plastic compound that contains a high color percentage, and is then mixed in an appropriate ratio with resin, to create the required color. Several additives are also added to color concentrates, in order to add those special effects.

The Plastic manufacturing industries use such concentrates for different reasons. That is why, it is very important to choose the right concentrate, as to avoid serious issues in the future. Selecting the right color is also important in grabbing the customer’s attention. It is very important to consider the customer’s psychology, to bear competition in the market.

When buying color concentrates, there are many options to choose from. For example; when you buy a car, you look for all the different options available in terms of colors and shades. Suppose that all cars were the same color; then the roads would be boring, filled with vehicles of the same color.

The same principle applies in the case of the plastic industry. If these industries started manufacturing goods of the same color only, then no one will purchase what they have to offer.

That is why the plastic manufacturing industries need to manufacture in a large variety of colors; in order to make their products different and even unique.

The better the quality of the coloring agents is, the greater the chances for the products of becoming a success in the market. A variety of coloring agents have made it easy for businesses to target different audiences, based on their preference for different colors. The success rate of getting a required color depends on the quality of concentrates used, and on the ratio in which they are mixed.

There are different types of coloring agents available in the market. Each agent has its own properties, advantages, and disadvantages. It is possible that a certain concentrate may not be appropriate for coloring a particular type of plastic, in such case; you need to have the adequate knowledge about the different coloring agents and which is the best option; in order to provide appealing colors for the plastic goods manufactured by your business.

The wrong selection of a coloring agent will give rise to several problems like; color swirling and contamination. Therefore, one should have thorough knowledge about the unique characteristics of these concentrates, to avoid future problems.

Let’s learn about the colorants used in the textile industry

Dyes are the coloring agents or chemicals that are used to give different color shades to a fabric. The color of a fabric is what makes it more appealing and different from all others.

To color a fabric, the coloring agents are mixed in an aqueous solution. To improve the color fastness of the fiber, dyers add mordant to this solution. In other words, the addition of mordant helps to increase the strength of the coloring agent, which adheres to the fabric.

Once the solution is prepared, the fabric is dipped in it, in order to bring attractive color shades. When a fabric is dipped into the mordant mixed aqueous solution, the colorant adheres to the fabric.

In the next section, we will take a quick look at the different types of coloring agents, which are most commonly used in the fabric industry.

     Vat Colorants:
Vat dye comes in the category of dyes in which colors are obtained through oxidations. They give bright and strong color shades to the fabric after dying. These dyes are used to color different types of fabrics such as; cotton, wool etc. Colors through vat dyes are obtained by dipping the fabric into the aqueous solution.

     Mordant colorants:
The dyes that come under this category require a mordant to produce the desired color shade. The unique feature of such colorants is that it attaches to the fabric strongly, to produce color fastness properties. In other words, the fabric that is dyed using mordant colorants keeps its color even after several washes. Most common types of mordant dyes include: tannic acid, chrome alum, sodium chloride, alum etc.
 
     Acid colorants:
These types of coloring agents are soluble in water. When used for coloring, the chemical bonding between the colorant and the textile is obtained through the formation of acidic salts. These dyes are widely used in the textile and medical industry.

     Base colorants:
Base colorants are used to color fabrics of various types such as silk, wool, acrylic etc. Base dyes are also used to color paper.

     Sulfur colorants:
These coloring agents are mainly used to color cotton fabrics and produce dark shades. The Dyeing process of dyeing through sulfur dyes generally is done in two steps:

In the first step; the fabric is turned to pale yellow and in the second step; the dark color of the fabric is obtained by adding a sulfur compound.