Colouring of Polymers and Composites - Introduction to Polymeric Composites with Rice Hulls - page 109

• Supply method : How a processor wants his/her colour requirements delivered,
i.e., masterbatches, cube blends, or pre-coloured form.
• Composite composition basics : If the colour will be used in conjunction with
which type of reinforcements, fillers, UV agents, and blowing agents. For best
results, dyes and pigments used should be compatible with most key ingredients.
• Visual standards : If colour requirements are for aesthetic, cosmetic reasons or
just for colour codes for identifying different products. This important from a
cost perspective.
• Evaluation of light source : The quality of colour matches can appear different if
viewed under different lighting conditions. Some common sources are daylight,
fluorescent and tungsten (incandescent).
• Instrumental evaluation : If a colour is going to be checked using instrumentation,
a numerical tolerance may be required as the acceptable margin of error.
• Composite product texture : The surface type require can influence colour
matching. Some common textures that must be identified include glossy, matt,
textured, grains, and psychedelic.
Colour matching and the range of ready-made products are highly advanced, and
most processors of polymeric composites will have no problem in purchasing most
requirements. Processors who have in-house laboratories will have the advantage of
trying out colours in 'mini' runs, which can also be coupled with experimentations on
different composite formulations based on quality improvements and cost reductions.
With on-going research and development in many countries, processors of polymer
composites will be able to use these data to improve their products.