Colour Measurement for Masterbatch and Compound Manufacturers

Brand owners are acutely aware of the important role that colour and its consistency plays in customers' decisions, so the specification 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.
 

Konica Minolta helps customers to implement unparalleled solutions for improving colouring processes in masterbatch production that will ultimately mitigate product errors, boost the efficiency of large production batches, minimise waste, and reduce manufacturing costs.

Our experienced teams install digital colour data systems to ensure that, from batch to batch, the final product matches customer's requirements and continue to do so for all future batches. 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, colour libraries, and product approval. The supply chain can greatly reduce the risks and costs associated with physical standards, subjectivity, and inconsistent colour communication.

The decision for the right instrument for masterbatch applications is mainly driven by the need to reduce the “edge loss” of translucent samples. In this case, the only right choice is d:8 geometry. All Konica Minolta sphere instruments reduce the impact of this phenomenon by illuminating a slightly larger area than the measurement size. For fully transparent samples, the measurement should be made in transmittance mode using a benchtop spectrophotometer.

The innovative new CM-36 series benchtop spectrophotometer is the preferred instrument for masterbatch producers. Available in upside-down vertical configuration or horizontal/top port design the CM-36 series offers versatility and accuracy for samples ranging from translucent to opaque. Of key interest to the high accuracy masterbatch industry, the short to medium term measurement certainty can be further improved by utilising the wavelength analysis and adjustment feature.

Konica Minolta has a dedicated team of experts responsible for implementing, training, optimising, and customising our computer colour matching and digital colour data platform Colibri®. Colibri® is a modular digital colour data platform that allows companies to develop and grow their systems as necessary, with specialised modules for all functions of the colour supply chain. Owners can build libraries and share data and functions securely with supply partners via cloud or on-premises infrastructure. Benefitting from the advanced colour matching algorithm, colour producers can greatly simplify matching and correction steps, easily switch out materials or colourants as dictated by the market or supply chain.
 

By improving colour communication owners can dramatically save time and reduce waste and rejects.