Detailed description

Masterbatch is an aggregate obtained by uniformly loading a super-constant pigment into a resin.
Color masterbatch is a new type of coloring agent for coloring materials, also known as Pigment Preparation. It consists of three basic elements: pigment or dye, carrier and additive. It is an aggregate obtained by uniformly loading a super-constant pigment or dye into a resin. It can be called PigmentConcentration, so the tinting strength of masterbatch is higher than the pigment itself.
Basic ingredients:
1. Pigment or dye
Pigments are further divided into organic pigments and inorganic pigments.
Commonly used organic pigments are: phthalocyanine red, phthalocyanine blue, phthalocyanine green, fast red, macromolecular red, macromolecular yellow, permanent yellow, permanent violet, azo red and other commonly used inorganic pigments: cadmium red , cadmium yellow, titanium dioxide, carbon black, iron oxide red, iron oxide yellow, etc.
2. Carrier
It is the matrix of the masterbatch. The special color masterbatch generally selects the carrier resin same as the resin of making the plastics, since the compatibility between the two is the best, but the fluidity of the carrier is also considered.
3. Dispersant
The pigment is uniformly dispersed and no longer aggregates. The melting point of the dispersing agent should be lower than that of the resin, have good compatibility with the resin, and have good affinity with the pigment. The most commonly used dispersants are: polyethylene low molecular waxes, stearates.
4. Additives
Such as flame retardant, brightening, antibacterial, antistatic, anti-oxidation and other varieties, unless the customer asks, in general, the color masterbatch does not contain the above additives.

General purpose masterbatch and special masterbatch:

Dedicated color masterbatch: According to the plastic type specified by the user, this masterbatch selects the carrier resin same as the resin for making customer’s plastic. For example, PP color masterbatch and ABS color masterbatch respectively use PP and ABS as carriers.
Universal color masterbatch: This masterbatch also takes certain resin (normally low melting point PE), but this masterbatch can be applied to the coloration of other resins than its carrier resin.
The universal color masterbatch is relatively simple and convenient, but has many disadvantages. It is recommended that you use the special color masterbatch.

Why are many companies not producing universal color masterbatches?

Most formal color masterbatch companies in the world generally do not produce universal color masterbatches.
There are many disadvantages to the universal color masterbatch. In fact, the general purpose of the universal color masterbatch is very narrow, and the technical indicators and economic benefits are also poor. The specific performance is as follows:
1. Poor predictability of coloring effect
The color masterbatch is used for coloring, and the pigment of the universal color masterbatch exhibits different colors in different plastics, so the coloring effect is less predictable.
2. Affect other properties of plastic products
In particular, it affects the strength, and the product is easily deformed and twisted, which is more obvious to engineering plastics.
3. Higher cost
In order to be 'universal', the universal color masterbatch often uses a higher heat-resistant grade of pigment, resulting in waste.

In addition to coloring, can the color masterbatch also have the functions of flame retardant, brightening, antistatic, anti-oxidation and anti-ultraviolet rays?

The color masterbatch can have several of these functions at the same time, if the customer requires.
Sometimes, although the customer does not ask for it, the color masterbatch company will advise the user to add some additives depending on the needs of the product, such as adding certain additives such as brighteners to the color masterbatch. Of course, this will increase the cost of the product.
Heat resistance
The heat resistance grade of the special color masterbatch is generally compatible with the plastic used for the product, and can be used with confidence at normal temperature. Only in the following cases will cause different degrees of discoloration, first, the temperature is beyond the normal range; Second, the downtime is too long.

What is the difference between granulation coloring and masterbatch coloring?

Masterbatch coloring has the following advantages over granulation coloring:
1. Coloring and product processing are completed once, avoiding the heating process of granulation coloring on plastics, and is beneficial to the quality of plastic products.
2. The production process of plastic products is simplified.
3. Can save a lot of power

Will the product colored with the masterbatch not fade?

There is no product that does not fade, and products that use color masterbatch may still fade, but the fade degree of product is different for different grades, some are more obvious, and some are hard to detect.

1. how to use color masterbatch?

The use of the color masterbatch is very simple, it is only necessary to mix with the resin particles according to the prescribed ratio, and it can be mixed by hand.
Pay attention to the following issues during the operation of the device:
1.1. The mixing chamber of the injection molding machine or extruder generally has multiple temperature zones, and the temperature near the feed dropping port should be slightly higher. This is to make the color masterbatch melt quickly and mixing evenly as soon as possible with the plastic resin after entering the mixing chamber, which is beneficial to the color masterbatch in a well dispersed state in the product.
1.2. Appropriate application of back pressure to the injection molding machine can improve the mixing effect of the screw and facilitate the dispersion of the pigment. The side effect of applying the back pressure is to slow down the injection speed.
1.3. Increasing the temperature of the die of the extruder can increase the brightness of the product.

2. How to determine the proportion of color masterbatch used?

The basis for determining the use ratio of the masterbatch is to obtain a satisfactory coloring effect. As long as the surface of the product is uniform in color and there are no streaks and spots, it can be recognized. The proportion of color masterbatch can be selected as follows:
1:100  Unless the mixing of the equipment is very good, it is prone to uneven pigment dispersion. It is generally not recommended for customers to use this ratio.
However, some customers are particularly eager to use this proportion of color masterbatch due to price pressure. For the sake of customers, they also produce such a low proportion of concentrated color masterbatch, and the dispersibility of the pigment can generally meet the requirements.
1:50   This is used for coloring general plastic products,  mostly for PE and PP color masterbatch.
1:33--1:25   For PO products with higher coloring requirements, lower coloring requirements or general ABS products
1:20  This is used in advanced plastic products, including PO and ABS, which can be widely used in injection molding, blow molding, spinning and other processes.
1:20 or more  Generally used for coloring high-grade cosmetic containers, mostly used in small injection molding machines

3. How to calculate the cost of using color masterbatch?

The weight of the color masterbatch itself should be deducted when calculating the cost of coloring the masterbatch.
For example: When 2 kg of color masterbatch is added to 100 kg of plastic resin, the total weight is already 102 kg. Assuming the resin price is 1.5 usd/kg, the color masterbatch price is 3 usd/kg.
The cost of using a color masterbatch in 102 kg plastic product is:
2 kg × (3usd / kg -1.5usd / kg) = 3 usd
The cost added to each 100 kg of plastic product due to the use of color masterbatch is:
3 usd / 102 kg × 100 kg = 2.94usd

4. Will the use of color masterbatch increase product cost?

In most cases that is true. In some cases, however, coloring with color masterbatch is more economical than coloring with toner, because colorists can achieve higher color pigment coloring through a combination of several lower-priced pigments.
Also consider the following two phenomena:
1. In many cases, the choice of pigments used by plastics manufacturers in color matching is not the most economical, and because of the lack of familiarity with pigments, it is very common to repeatedly test the color and cause waste of manpower and materials. This problem does not exist with the color masterbatch used.
2. The products colored with the masterbatch and the products colored with the toner are completely different in grade, and the selling price is also higher. The selling price is often higher than the cost increased by using the color masterbatch, so the color masterebatch can create "profit" instead. From this perspective, in some cases, coloring with color masterbatch is more economical than coloring with toner.

5. Does the color masterbatch need to be dried before use?

Color masterbatch do not need to be dried under normal conditions and can be used directly. However, except for ABS and NY masterbatch, they should be dried according to conventional techniques.

6. How long is the color masterbatch's shelf life?

Color masterbatch can be stored for a long time.
The pigment in the color masterbatch is dispersed and fixed in the carrier resin, and is in a closed state, and the quality does not change even if it is stored for a long period of time. But should be stored in a dry, cool environment

7. Can you use several different color masterbatch to prepare the color?

In general, companies often use several color masterbatches to formulate specific colors for small-volume customers.
However, in the absence of the guidance of the company's technical staff, the customer can not make their own decision to use several color masterbatch together, and can not mix the color masterbatch produced by different companies, in order to avoid loss caused by incompatibility.

8. Does the use of color masterbatch affect other properties of the product?

Some pigments have an effect on the flame retardant effect of the product. When used in flame retardant products, pls inform the masterbatch manufacturer of this.

9. Does the mold have any effect on the use of the masterbatch?

In order to fully display the coloring effect of the masterbatch, the mold must have a corresponding quality, especially the surface must be very smooth.

Pigment performance

1. Heat resistance
PVC, PE pigment temperature resistance 160-180 degrees Celsius
ABS, PS pigment temperature resistance 250-280 degrees Celsius
PP, PA, PET pigments are more than 280 degrees above temperature
It is generally required that the heat resistance time of the pigment is 4 to 10 minutes. Generally, the higher the use temperature, the shorter the heat resistance time. Indigo blue pigment temperature 325 degrees Celsius, 10 minutes discoloration
2, mobility
The migration resistance of pigments means: When colored plastic products contact with other solid, liquid, gas and other materials or work in a specific environment for long time, may have physical and chemical effects with the above substances, expressed as pigments from plastic interior migrating to the free surface of the article or migrating to an adjacent plastic or solvent.
Migration resistance rating standard
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
Severe migration, significant migration, migration, slight migration, no migration
3. Most of the inorganic pigments have good light resistance.
4. Weather resistance refers to the color stability of pigments under natural conditions.
5. Titanium dioxide is divided into: anatase (A) titanium dioxide rutile (R) titanium dioxide
Titanium dioxide can improve hiding power, tolerance, fading resistance, etc.~~~
When the concentration of titanium dioxide is low, the whiteness of PP increases with the increase of its content. When the concentration exceeds 1.5%, the whiteness no longer rises, from 1% to 8%, the whiteness increases by 2.8%, which indicates that when the concentration exceeds a certain concentration, increasing the amount of titanium dioxide does not improve the whiteness. In order to further increase the whiteness, a fluorescent whitening agent can be used, and the tinting strength of the titanium white powder can be significantly improved by using only a small amount of the fluorescent whitening agent.
Titanium dioxide
Titanium dioxide allows plastics to effectively scatter visible light to impart whiteness, brightness, and opacity.
The concentration of titanium dioxide in PP ABS is 1%; in PVC, it is 4%; as the amount of titanium dioxide increases, the hiding power increases gradually, and when the concentration is greater than 8%, it tends to balance.
In general, the finer the titanium dioxide particles, the higher the tinting strength and the stronger the hiding power.
6. Cadmium yellow has strong tinting strength, excellent light and weather resistance, no migration, no bleed (toxic paint). This product can be used as a yellow coloring agent for plastics. It has bright colors, excellent light resistance, heat resistance, solvent resistance, water resistance and alkali resistance, but it is not resistant to acid, and the coloring and hiding power is not strong.

7. Ultramarine has the function of whitening and coloring, which can remove the yellow color in the plastics.

Any questions further, pls contact:

Ivy Lee
Tel: (86)531 88995327
Mob/WhatsApp: (86) 18660195311
SKYPE: (86) 18660195311
WeChat: ivy897087
Email: sales1@xy-masterbatch.com