27.02.2025

Challenges with Colour Settings

Many of our partners often don't know why we need to know and observe certain things when setting the colour or when it becomes difficult. In our service article, we explain the most important influencing factors for colour development.

There are around 200 types of polymers with different structures, suitability and properties. They offer many possibilities, but also limitations. Depending on how and where your product is manufactured, processed and sold, there are many things to consider when colouring it. What starts with the complexity of the polymer multiplies when formulating the colour: there are a multitude of colourants - each with further new possibilities, suitabilities and limitations. But this is precisely what makes the work of our colour developers so exciting.

Many of our partners often don't know why we need to know and observe certain things when setting the colour or when it becomes difficult. In our service article, we explain the most important influencing factors for colour development:

Colour Systems

Colour systems attempt to sort, precisely localise and standardise colours according to their properties and proportions. The best-known colour systems include Pantone, RAL, NCS and HKS. The idea and aim of unambiguous colour identification is important and helpful when working with you as a partner. However, colours can sometimes vary despite a unique number and colour location. The reasons for this can be:

Different editions, which include changes from colours to previous ones
The colour fans are not lightfast due to the printing process: changes due to light may occur with prolonged use.

As long as an exact match is not required, these things do not matter too much. However, if the colour tone has to be matched exactly and there are different colour system requirements, irritation can occur. We can then send duplicates of the individual colour sections (‘colour chips’) from our editions with our samples. This allows you, the customer, to check whether the colour tone matches the one from your colour fan edition and which source was used to set the colour tone.

Wall thickness, surfaces and inheret colour of the polymers

The thicker the wall thickness, the more intense the colour appears. With thin walls, for example with cups, thin-walled bottles or films, more concentrated colourants (‘higher loadings’) may be required in the masterbatch to achieve the desired colour.
If, for example, a transparent or translucent colour is required, the inherent colour of the polymer plays a major role. Virgin polymers can range in colour from transparent to more or less milky to white due to their degree of crystallinity. Recycled polymers or biopolymers, on the other hand, have an even greater range of light to dark grey or even coloured tones. As a result, no two formulations can have the same colour shade for different polymer types: The same formulation would come out differently in each polymer.
The surface finish of the product also plays a certain role. Whether grained, matt or glossy: depending on the surface, for example, three different colour effects and different visual impressions can be created. Here it is important to stay in close contact with us to find out how the colour effect can be optimised after sampling tests. We can illustrate your colour using different moulded parts to give you a better idea when the masterbatch samples are delivered. Whether stepped discs with different wall thicknesses, glossy, matt or grained surfaces, convex and concave shapes, foils, bottles or caps: We show you the effect of your colour pattern just as you want it.

Effects of light

Due to the co-calles metamerism, it is possible for colours to look the same under one light source, but different when the type of light changes. We only approve our colours under 6500 kelbin (65D = daylight) and thus guarantee - in close consultation with the customer - to set and deliver the right colour.

Viewed through or from above?

Whether viewed through the light (see-through) or only from above (top view): The colour impression can vary significantly. If the view through plays an important role for the colour approval, you should definitely let us know. Because if the colour matches when viewed from above, this does not necessarily mean it matches to the view through. It is possible to achieve both equally, but the costs can vary considerably.

Curvatures, surface structures and light refraction also play an important role. To avoid misunderstandings and irritations in your approval process: Please discuss with us what your approval process looks like.

You can find our more about the colour formulations we can produce here.