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Color is the most important indicator of quality perception and a primary influence on consumer buying decisions. Measuring the color of solid fats and sugars at each production stage helps manufacturers ensure consistent quality, freshness, and visual appeal that meets customer expectations. Conforming with the industry's standards and regularly assessing color also enables producers to identify potential production issues earlier to reduce waste.

Color Standards for Sugars and Solid Fats

The most recognized standard for color measurement in the sugar industry is the International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis (ICUMSA) 420 sugar score. This standard quantifies the yellowness of sugar in a filtered 50 Brix sugar solution using transmission.

Solid fats like shortening and chocolates often contain colorants for visual appeal. For example, manufacturers may add beta-carotene to achieve a pleasing golden color in butter-flavored shortening products. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) governs added colorants and measurement standards to ensure these ingredients conform to Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Decorative colored sugars must also comply with these laws.

Peace of Mind in Every Measurement: HunterLab’s Role in Economic Resilience

In times of economic uncertainty, manufacturers face growing pressure to optimize operations, reduce waste, and maintain product quality. With shifting market dynamics and tighter budgets, businesses across industries—from food and plastics to chemicals and pharmaceuticals—are looking for innovative solutions that deliver efficiency and consistency. HunterLab color spectrophotometers provide a powerful advantage, offering the stability, speed, and confidence needed to maintain color quality and compliance in even the most unpredictable environments.

The Value of Objective Color Measurement

Color consistency is more than an aesthetic choice—it’s a marker of quality, safety, and brand reliability. In sectors like food manufacturing, deviations in color can signal spoilage or inconsistency in formulation. In the chemical industry, a slight yellow tint can indicate contamination or degradation, potentially compromising performance and regulatory compliance.

HunterLab's advanced spectrophotometers—such as the ColorFlex L2, the smartest 45º/0º color spectrophotometer in the world for opaque and translucent powders, granules, and paste, Aeros for non-contact measurements, or the Vista for liquid color analysis—replace subjective visual assessments with precise, repeatable data. This shift eliminates variability, improves quality control, and reduces waste caused by rework or rejected batches.

Economic Efficiency Through Precision

During economic downturns, operational inefficiency becomes more costly. HunterLab instruments help manufacturers identify and correct color deviations early—often before materials enter full-scale production. This early-stage detection reduces scrap, saves energy, and minimizes the cost of raw materials and reprocessing.

By implementing HunterLab technology in key checkpoints—from incoming raw materials to final product QA—manufacturers gain real-time feedback and the ability to make immediate adjustments. The Essentials user interface of HunterLab spectrophotometers enables a seamless QA process, offering intuitive control and comprehensive data tracking for better decision-making.

Measuring the color of plastic pellets is essential for ensuring color consistency and maintaining industry standards. Keep these six things in mind when determining the color of resin pellets. 

1. Understand That Various Components Affect the Color of Plastic Pellets

Resin pellets typically have a translucent color that can be modified through various coloring methods to become more transparent or opaque or adopt a range of different colors. In addition to coloring techniques, overheating, molding, melting, and other processes involved in production can influence the color and appearance of the pellets. 

2. Understand the Difference Between Transparent and Opaque Pellets 

Plastic pellets can vary in their optical properties, resulting in a need for different measuring methods. Spectrophotometers can measure the color of both transparent and opaque plastic pellets while factoring in their unique attributes. 

Maintaining consistent color in opaque sheet plastic is crucial for manufacturers. Even slight color variations can impact brand identity and product quality. The right tools and techniques can achieve precise color control, ensuring every sheet matches your specifications. 

The best way to measure the color of opaque sheet plastic is by using a spectrophotometer. These solutions analyze light reflected from a sample and translate it into numerical data. This data represents value in a defined color space, allowing for objective and repeatable measurements.

Factors Affecting the Appearance of Opaque Plastics

When measuring color in opaque materials, we focus on reflectance. Reflectance is how light interacts with the plastic's surface and reflects on our eyes. Various aspects can influence how color appears on opaque materials, including:

• Opacity: This refers to the material's ability to block light. Opaque plastics do not allow light to pass through. While not directly related to color measurement, opacity can affect color perception.
• Surface texture: Glossy or matte finishes impact how light interacts with the plastic, influencing the perceived color. Standardizing surface texture provides a complete picture of the plastic's visual characteristics.
• Lighting conditions: The type of light source can affect how color appears. Standardizing lighting conditions during color measurement is crucial for consistent results. 

Accurately measuring transparent plastic film's color allows you to meet industry standards and produce items that appeal to the customer. When measuring the color of transparent plastic film, keep these six things in mind:

1. Understand the Influence of the Production Process on Transparent Film Color

When measuring the color of transparent plastic film, it is important to anticipate the color changes that occur during production. The production variables that can influence transparency start with variations in the plastic film's properties, such as thickness, raw or recycled materials, and opacity. Additionally, the presence of additives or plastic colorants can also affect transparency. 

Steps involved in the production process, including heat treatments, molding, or melting during extrusion, can also cause color shifts in your plastic film. 

2. Consider the Role of Haze

Clarity is often a sought-after attribute in transparent film applications. In those cases, the aim is to have a transparent plastic film where the objects behind it can be seen clearly. Haze can create a cloudy-like appearance that lowers the clarity of objects viewed behind the film. It is caused by the scattering of light in the material.

In applications where high clarity is an important factor, haze measurement of plastic film needs to be implemented to ensure the best results.     

Using a spectrophotometer is the best way to measure the color of plastic pellets. These technological devices deliver reliable and accurate measurements that help you ensure the color remains consistent with each batch while adhering to industry standards.

Measure the Color of Plastic Pellets Using the Right Equipment

Plastic pellets vary in transparency and opacity, so you should use the appropriate measurement equipment and accessories for accurate results. Plastic pellets should be measured with a reflectance spectrophotometer. Opaque plastic pellets require only a sample cup, while transparent plastic pellets may require the use of an opaque cover. 

Keep Industry Standards in Mind

An effective color measurement system follows industry standards. As a part of quality and process control, it's important to measure the color of plastic pellets according to the testing standards set by ASTM. Plus, following the standards ensures you measure the pellets more accurately for consistent results.

Spectrophotometers can help you adhere to industry standards by offering a straightforward way to meet the outlined specifications.

Assess the Degree of Yellowness

Achieving clear and consistent colors is critical in plastic production. However, plastic resin can turn yellow when subjected to oxidation. Yellowness directly impacts the value and perceived quality of plastic products. To prevent the yellowish appearance, optical brighteners are used to make the plastics look more clear or white. 

Optical brighteners are also often used to enhance the appearance of recycled plastics. As a result, it's essential to assess the degree of yellowness in plastic resin to determine the appropriate concentration of optical brighteners needed to counteract the yellowing effect of plastics throughout the supply chain.

As the plastic production industry moves toward using recycled plastics, you'll need a robust spectrophotometer that can measure the color and fluorescence quality of virgin and recycled plastic resin and a combination of the two. By doing so, the spectrophotometer can help mitigate yellowness and ensure the optical brighteners are adjusted for at every stage of the production process. 

Measuring the color of opaque and transparent pellets is essential for ensuring consistency across production. This is especially true for plastic pellets, which are often produced in large manufacturing lines where checking each individual product can be challenging. To ensure the desired color and appearance are achieved with every batch, it's important to consider these best practices:

Evaluate the Importance of Plastic Pellet Colors

Plastic pellets are primarily used as a raw material in the creation of nearly every plastic product. As the building blocks of plastic products, pellets must maintain a specific color to align with the desired color of the final product. While the color of the pellets does not directly impact the final product's color, it is still vital for quality control.

In the plastic industry, color is essential for determining quality. Measuring the color of opaque and transparent pellets is crucial for delivering a final product with the same reliable appearance that appeals to the customer.

Consider Industry Standards for Pellet Colors

The ASTM has developed a testing standard for determining the color of pellets. Pellets are tested for their degree of yellowness or how the yellowness changes under daylight on transparent or opaque plastics. However, the yellowness attribute has to be considered with other tristimulus values from a spectrophotometer or colorimeter to quantify the color precisely.

Measure Pellet Colors With Spectrophotometers