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What Is the Best Way to Measure the Color of Plastics?

Posted on Sep 23, 2025 by HunterLab

Modern consumers have endless opportunities to choose products from your competition. Product consistency matters, and a visual inspection is no longer enough to gauge it. To appeal to the most discerning customers, your products need a precise, uniform appearance — and you need an accurate color measurement tool to ensure that's the case.

The Benefits of Spectrophotometers

Spectrophotometers measure light transmittance or reflectance from plastics, foods, drinks, and other materials. They eliminate the guesswork of visual evaluations and variable observation conditions, such as lighting, that affect the way we see color.

Using a spectrophotometer enhances a brand's identity by associating specific colors with its products. Inconsistent coloring can confuse consumers, leaving them more likely to choose a competitor's option over yours. The more consistent your products are, the more likely a consumer is to stay committed to your brand.

The Complete Guide to Measuring Opaque Plastic Preforms

Posted on Sep 19, 2025 by HunterLab

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) preforms are essential to attractive, durable packaging for industries like beverage manufacturing, edible oils, and more. As the market continues to grow, so does the need to accurately and objectively quantify appearance to uphold product quality. Spectrophotometry is the best solution for scientific color measurement, eliminating the error-prone nature of manual visual assessment for higher confidence and precise data. Explore why color matters in preforms, the challenges of color consistency, and the ideal equipment for measurement to ensure high-quality results.

Why Color Matters for Plastic Preforms

Color plays an instrumental part in conforming to standards, protecting products, and influencing consumers.

Industry Standards

Plastic preform color is vital in meeting industry-specific standards. Sectors like pharmaceuticals and beverages often have strict color tolerances to ensure safety, traceability, and regulatory compliance. For example, specific packaging colors may indicate the presence of certain additives or differentiate between product formulations. Adhering to these color standards helps uphold product integrity and consumer safety.

Product Protection

Some goods, such as certain pharmaceuticals and beverages, are sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light. Ongoing exposure to UV rays can cause degradation, affecting visual appeal, medical efficacy, safety, or taste. Opaque plastic packaging forms a shield against UV light, helping protect the product within against excess exposure. Inconsistent color may signal uneven distribution of colorants or UV-blocking additives, potentially increasing the chances of UV rays penetrating the packaging.

Quality Perception

Products like edible oils and beverages compete in crowded marketplaces. As a result, standing out on the shelves is key to your success. The plastic colors you choose help attract attention and reinforce your branding with consumers. When your color remains consistent and appealing, it indicates your commitment to quality and meeting your customers' expectations. Conversely, color alterations can signify issues with your quality control or manufacturing processes, causing consumers to reach for a competitor's product instead.

How to Achieve Consistent Color in Plant-Based Drinks

Posted on Sep 05, 2025 by HunterLab

What if your next plant-based drink could achieve stunning golden color—naturally, consistently, and without compromising shelf life? That vision just moved closer to reality.

A peer-reviewed study in Food Frontiers reveals how a one-step pH infusion of raw turmeric into soymilk delivered reliable, vibrant color. Using the HunterLab ColorFlex EZ spectrophotometer, researchers tracked L*, a*, b* values to evaluate and confirm the consistency of this natural process.

Please note: the ColorFlex EZ has now been upgraded to the ColorFlex L2. For a seamless transition and added benefits, you’ll find more details in the second half of this blog.

Key Findings from the Study

This study offers compelling evidence for a practical, clean-label solution:

94% curcumin transfer from raw turmeric into soymilk, with stable particle size and charge
Both curcumin–soymilk and turmeric–soymilk showed b* increases above 40 units versus plain soymilk, creating a distinct golden-yellow hue
Both freeze-dried curcumin–soymilk and turmeric–soymilk powders remained stable over a 30-day storage period at freezing temperature.

These results highlight how tristimulus color measurement enables effective monitoring of natural pigment integration across product lifecycles. More importantly, they demonstrate a path to achieving natural color in plant-based milk—a key priority for brands focused on clean-label innovation.

Why It Matters to HunterLab Customers

For Plant-Based Beverage Producers

The study provides a scalable route to functional pigment delivery. Use ColorFlex L2 to maintain color consistency across shelf life with simple benchtop quality control.

For Turmeric and Spice Processors

Validate raw turmeric batches without requiring purified extracts. ColorFlex L2 readings enable quick grading and premium positioning for buyers.

For Nutraceutical Brands

Support label claims of protein and curcumin co-delivery. Tristimulus color data confirm dose uniformity in ready-to-mix formulations.

For Food Science R&D Teams

Leverage a peer-reviewed protocol pairing pH encapsulation with tristimulus tracking. Reproduce or expand for other botanicals.

For Quality Labs and Co-Packers

Color shift is a primary indicator of curcumin degradation. Use ColorFlex L2 for quick pass/fail metrics before packaging.

How HunterLab Helped a Global Bottler Standardize Plastic Cap and Preform Color

Posted on Aug 21, 2025 by HunterLab

In beverage packaging, color goes beyond appearance, it’s an unspoken promise of quality and consistency. For one global bottling company, color variation in PET preforms and plastic caps was becoming a costly risk. A shift in shade could erode brand trust, slow production, or trigger costly rework.

That’s when they turned to HunterLab.

Struggling with color variation across sites? Request a HunterLab demo and take control of your packaging color.

Why Color Consistency is a Bottler’s Business Advantage

Brand Integrity: Consumers recognize visual differences—even minor inconsistencies in color can influence perception and purchasing behavior.
Process Confidence: Consistent color signals stability in formulation, additives, and processing.
Operational Efficiency: Catching out-of-spec color in real-time prevents rework, scrap, and costly downtime.

Functional additives like oxygen scavengers further complicated color control. The challenge was clear: measure preforms and caps with accuracy, no matter the size, material, or additive load.

Customer Challenge: Varying Tools, Oversized Preforms, and Manual Workflows

This global bottler operated across multiple plants, each using different tools:

Most relied on ColorFlex EZ for caps
Some sites used Vista® for beverage color, with limited preform measurement

Please note: ColorFlex EZ is no longer in production. Meet the upgraded ColorFlex L2, the industry's most advanced color spectrophotometer.

But the brand’s large-format PET preforms didn’t fit standard holders, compromising measurement consistency. Additive effects on color weren’t clearly quantified, and operators selected workspaces manually, increasing variability.

⚠️ Operational Risk: Inconsistent color across production lines can mean inconsistent quality on store shelves.

How HunterLab Transformed Pellet Color Control for a Leading Plastics Compounder

Posted on Aug 14, 2025 by HunterLab

In the high-stakes world of plastics compounding and recycling, even minor color mismatches can trigger major costs. For one industry leader near Cologne, Germany, a single mistake meant losing 30 tons of off-spec product. The cost? Not just in raw materials, but time, trust, and customer satisfaction.

The Hidden Risk of Color Variability

This customer, already using HunterLab’s ColorFlex EZ and UltraScan PRO systems for lab-based quality control, faced an urgent question: Can pellet color be measured in-line, in real time?

They needed to act before a mistake reached the silo, not after. The cost of reactive color checks, pulling test chips, lab time, and human error was no longer sustainable.

❗Real Pain Point: A single mismatch led to silo contamination, wasting 30 tons of production.

Need Better Whole-Nut Roast Color Control?

Posted on Aug 13, 2025 by HunterLab

Export buyers notice inconsistencies—do you? Manufacturers often rely on ground samples and handheld chroma meters. This method fails to capture whole-nut appearance. A roast-level measurement that aligns with consumer expectations can elevate product consistency—especially for global export markets.

A slightly over- or under-roasted cashew can affect perceived quality, flavor, and brand trust. Yet many processors still rely on outdated, destructive color checks that don’t reflect what the consumer sees.

Let’s fix that.

Why Color Accuracy Drives Cashew Quality

Consumer confidence: Global buyers expect golden-brown uniformity. Irregular batches erode trust.
Export readiness: Color variation is a top rejection reason for U.S. and EU-bound shipments.
Flavor & texture proxy: Roast color is linked to browning index and sensory qualities.

The Problem with Ground Sample Methods

Inaccurate representation: Grinding mixes inner and outer nut layers, masking true surface color.
Prep variability: Operator technique affects grind consistency and packing.
Low throughput: Each test can take 8–10 minutes—including warm-up, grind, and tray prep.
Wasteful: Ground samples can’t be reused—costing time and raw materials.

The Complete Guide to Spice Color Measurement

Posted on Aug 07, 2025 by HunterLab

Spices provide culinary flavor and visual appeal, and their color significantly influences perceptions of taste, quality, and freshness. Appearance alterations can identify processes that require changes to uphold color quality. Accurate spice color measurement provides quantifiable data to confirm whether spices meet accepted industry tolerances, quality standards, and customer expectations.

The Value of Accurate Spice Color Analysis

Several compelling reasons to measure spice color are:

Quality control: Consumers judge food quality by color, and high moisture content, temperature fluctuations during storage, and spice age significantly impact appearance. Quantifying and monitoring the color quality of spices supports higher-quality end products.
Business impact: People also expect certain spice colors to enhance food's visual appeal. Consistently delivering the desired color fosters brand loyalty and can create lifelong brand enthusiasts.
Conformance with standards: Some spices, such as paprika and oleoresin spices, have specific industry standards they may follow. Other spices use different industry-recognized color spaces, like Hunter L, a, b. Accurate measurements document conformance with frameworks.

Integrating Measurements Throughout Manufacturing

Taking multiple measurements allows manufacturers to monitor the color quality at critical production points, simplifying issue identification and empowering early resolution to reduce waste. Quantifying data at various stages also pinpoints where color alterations occur so you can proactively adjust. Consider implementing color measurement across production, from raw material inspections to in-process color data capture and finished product verification.

Sample Considerations for Spice Manufacturers

Spices come with unique color measurement challenges, including:

Sample Size vs. Cost

Sample size may not concern those working with low-cost spices like black pepper, but quantifying color in high-cost spices like saffron represents a more significant expense. Manufacturers of these more costly spices benefit from minimizing the sample amount required. A highly precise and accurate color measurement solution supports greater confidence in outcomes, even with smaller samples. The right tool also means less waste of valuable ingredients, so more goes toward retail shelves and your bottom line.

Nonuniform Materials

Spices are naturally nonuniform, containing various textures, sizes, and shapes from their processed plant parts. Blends like seasoning salt or curry powder further increase complexity with a mix of different spice ingredients. These variations make visual comparisons unreliable and accurate data capture challenging without the right technology.

Interested in a little light reading?

"What Is the Best Way to Measure the Color of Plastics?"

"The Complete Guide to Measuring Opaque Plastic Preforms"

"How to Achieve Consistent Color in Plant-Based Drinks"

"How HunterLab Helped a Global Bottler Standardize Plastic Cap and Preform Color"

"How HunterLab Transformed Pellet Color Control for a Leading Plastics Compounder"

"Need Better Whole-Nut Roast Color Control?"

"The Complete Guide to Spice Color Measurement"