Industrial Pigments for Plastics

Plastic Pigments

Pigments, which are made of natural and synthetic materials, are colourants that give materials like paper and plastics their colour. They are not soluble in water or oil. Both pigments and dyes are distinct sorts of colourants, but when it comes to colouring plastics, certain plastic pigments are chosen over dyes, mostly due to their superior fastness properties. 

Chemical substances called plastic colourants are used to colour plastic. These substances express themselves as pigments and colours. Based on the type of polymeric resin that needs to be coloured, the type of colourant is selected. Veeraco Colourants Private Limited has very strict compliance requirements and aligns with innovation and ongoing improvement.

 The Properties of Pigment

Transparency, warping or nucleation resistance, light fastness, Weather-ability or ageing, and warping or ageing resistance are the main performance characteristics of pigments in plastics.

 Weather-Ability and Age

 The useful life of plastic products can be negatively impacted by sunlight exposure and various types of artificial lighting. Therefore, UV protection and weather-resistance pigments are needed for polymers that are regularly used outside.

Utilising outdoor exposure experiments in the relevant climatic regions is the only practical way to evaluate weathering resistance. This is not always possible. Accelerated testing, or CYCLE WOM 119, is a popular substitute.

 Along with the pigment composition and the required fastness standards for the finished product, the light stabiliser system must be taken into account.

 Light Fastness 

 If a pigment has good Light Fastness, it does not necessarily mean that it has good weather-fastness. Light Fastness is a measure of the colour fastness of a plastic article when used in indoor applications (UV light exposure without direct Water contact).

 The choice of pigment for plastics used indoors is influenced by several factors, including polymer class, pigment concentration, Titanium dioxide presence (which typically accelerates fading), The necessary light fastness, and Service circumstances.

 The article's surface, the history of processing heat, and the stabilisation package can all have an impact on pigment performance. In general, inorganic pigments are light-fast than biological pigments.

Nucleation and Warping

The final qualities of a plastic object are determined by the degree of crystallinity and the rate of crystallisation. Particularly in HDPE injection moulding, organic pigments are known to affect these parameters during the cooling phase of plastic production.

Transparency

In most cases, transparency is attained by minimising pigment particle size. This is accomplished by covering the newly generated particles to stop crystal development as soon as possible. Rosin or rosin derivatives are the materials utilised for this coating the most frequently. This has the extra benefit of making high-transparency printing ink pigments more easily disseminated, which is particularly helpful for those pigments.

 Conclusion

Plastic product colours can impact consumers' purchasing decisions and assist build brand identification. Most of the time, consumers who use plastic acquire products from stores that sell them or from plastic dyes manufacturers in India. Veeraco Colourants Private Limited's history dates back to 1952. Various types of dyes and pigments are produced, supplied, and exported by them. As the years passed, the hard effort began to pay off, and today they are one of the top dyes and pigments companies in India.