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To get colorful, vibrant tattoos that last for years, ink manufacturers must thoroughly test their products for color consistency and fastness. Image Source: PxHere

When clients walk into a tattoo shop, they usually have a specific design idea in mind. To create this perfect tattoo, the tattoo artist must carefully select the right ink color for their clients. After all, a tattoo is permanent, so the ink must be high in quality and have excellent colorfastness; the ink should not only look great today, but remain vibrant decades after it’s applied under the skin.

However, colorfastness and consistency aren’t always easy for tattoo ink manufacturers to achieve, as inconsistencies in the manufacturing process as well as the types of raw materials used to create the ink can negatively impact the ink’s appearance and quality. For example, tattoo ink can become too thin when too much alcohol is added to the formula, or the ink’s color will fade after just a few years if there’s not enough pigment in the mix.

This is why tattoo ink manufacturers should use a spectrophotometer to test their products for consistency and colorfastness throughout the manufacturing process. A spectrophotometer will help you identify even minor differences in color between one bottle of ink and the next, ensuring that your inks perform predictably and appear beautiful on every client.

Color Consistency and Fastness is a Sign of Tattoo Ink Quality

Despite the popularity of tattoos, the tattoo ink industry is still largely unregulated. While the FDA does occasionally investigate the quality and safety of inks, for the most part, the responsibility lies with manufacturers to ensure their products are safe, free of contaminants, and high in quality.1 A reliable color quality control protocol not only helps you identify possible contaminants in your inks, it also improves the overall quality and colorfastness of your products.

Tattoo ink is made by mixing together a carrier and a colorant.2 The colorant is a pigment made from mineral or organic sources, while the carrier is a clear liquid that helps the skin absorb the pigment molecules. This includes liquids like witch hazel, alcohol or glycerin. The challenge that many ink manufacturers face is that the colorant and carrier ratios must be as precise as possible in order to maintain color consistency. For example, if the ink is too diluted with witch hazel or other carriers, then the ink will appear too light when it’s applied under the skin. Likewise, when an artist has to complete a large tattoo over a period of multiple sessions, they need the ink colors to remain the same from one session to the next; any minor change in the formula could ruin the look of the final tattoo.

In the tattoo industry, artists choose inks based on the manufacturer’s reputation and perceived perception of quality. Many artists choose inks that come in a variety of colors, but most importantly, they expect these inks to perform predictably in their clients’ skin. In general, low-quality tattoo inks are inconsistent in color and thinner or less permeable than high-quality inks. Meanwhile, the highest-quality tattoo inks are usually alcohol-based, relatively thick, and completely consistent in color from batch to batch.3 By testing the quality of your own ink formulas using a spectrophotometer, you can improve your brand’s perception of quality and create reliable ink products that will stay vibrant for decades.Tattoo ink

If black tattoo ink is too diluted by a carrier like witch hazel, it may appear grey in color when applied to the skin. Image Source: Shutterstock user Lumen Photos

Spectrophotometers can play a key role in the R&D phase of pharmaceutical development, allowing companies to detect potential problems well before spending large amounts of money on research. Image Source: Flickr user jpalinsad360

In a competitive marketplace, companies go with the most economically viable processes that get their products on the market to start bringing in revenue. Unfortunately for consumers and public health, maintaining high levels of production without proper quality control has historically been very affordable for the pharmaceutical industry—an economic reality which has tainted public opinion of the industry over time, as consumers have faced drug recalls and the subsequent shortages.

For pharmaceutical companies, it could seem like a Catch-22 to offer an unaffordable product with consistent quality and be edged out of the market by low-cost competitors, or keep production rates high and write off the costs of drug recalls and subsequent shortages as a necessary expense. Fortunately for manufacturers and consumers, a portable, affordable quality check tool—the spectrophotometer—can analyze the formulation and consistency of a pharmaceutical with a preternatural degree of accuracy, making it ideal for small molecule pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The Regulatory Utopia: Full Compliance with Less Oversight

Federal oversight measures, such as regulatory fines from the FDA, have worked toward quality products, measuring quality by criteria including sanitation, properly maintained equipment, properly trained personnel, and effectively responding to consumer complaints. However, according to the Brookings Institute, “quality issues remain a frequent occurrence.”1 The FDA envisions changing that by incentivizing compliance to help companies develop a corporate culture that actually values accountability, rather than viewing it something they have to meet to avoid fines.

As the FDA pushes for pharmaceutical companies to achieve a quality-driven corporate culture and reduce recalls and related drug shortages, manufacturers can take steps in good faith toward delivering the medicines we need safely and consistently by investing in advanced quality control instruments like the spectrophotometer. It’s time for companies to make a good show of faith with both the public and with regulatory groups such as the FDA and guide the industry in the right direction: where we are all working as a society toward a healthier public.

Enhancing patient adherence through specialized pharmaceutical package design requires careful color measurement to optimize safety and usability. Image Source: Flickr user Steven Depolo

Packaging color plays an integral role in shaping consumer perception of pharmaceuticals. However, it is also making medication use easier and safer for patients by affecting not just which medications they take, but how they take them. The World Health Organization reports that 50% of people with chronic illnesses do not take their medication as prescribed, leading to preventable hospitalizations, creating undesirable health outcomes, increasing mortality rates, and “incur[ring] costs of approximately $100 billion per year.”1 While non-adherence is not a new issue, heightened awareness of the problem is spurring pharmaceutical companies to turn to specialized adherence packaging to facilitate proper medication use for both prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Producing effective adherence packaging relies on thoughtful design that encourages correct use as well as precise color measurement to maximize efficacy, user-friendliness, and safety.

Causes of Non-Adherence

The reasons for non-adherence are multiple and complex, but some common factors include misunderstandings regarding dosing instructions, confusion regarding use, and simple forgetfulness.2 The problem is particularly pronounced amongst people who take multiple medications, require multiple daily doses, have cognitive impairment issues, or have difficulty reading or understanding printed instructions. Elderly populations face increased barriers to adherence while also experiencing heightened vulnerability to negative effects brought on by incorrect drug usage.

Standard prescription bottles can increase patient error and inhibit adherence, keeping consumers from experiencing the full benefit of medications. Image Source: Flickr user Charles William

As the generic drug market continues to expand, the appearance of unbranded pharmaceuticals is becoming more important than ever before. Image Source: Flickr user Janels Katlaps

Generic drugs play a vital role in the health of millions of people across the United States and allow consumers to benefit from pharmacological therapies at a fraction of the cost of brand name drugs. According to IMS Health, generic drugs now represent 80% of total prescriptions dispensed, and this number is expected to grow as the healthcare industry and consumers seek more affordable alternatives to costly branded pharmaceuticals.1 In 2012 alone, use of generic drugs in place of brand-name counterparts saved $192 billion, and experts believe that expanding the availability of these unbranded generics could save the public billions more.2

However, studies released in the past few years suggest that optimizing the efficacy of generic pharmaceuticals could require significant changes in how generic drugs are designed. More specifically, creating generic drugs that are visually similar to their brand-name counterparts is increasingly regarded as critical to enhancing patient acceptance and adherence. Of particular importance is the color of generic drugs, which is now being recognized as a critical component of drug function.

Variation between the color of generic drugs and their brand-name counterparts can impair patient adherence and lead to confusion. Image Source: Pexels user kaboompics.com

Hair dye has come a long way since its invention in Ancient Egypt, where people would use henna to cover up their greys.1. Now, people who want to change their color have a plethora of options in front of them and many turn to at-home hair dye kits for affordable transformations. Of course, at-home hair dye wasn’t always popular. In the past, the process was much more complex and, often, the results were not ideal. Today, however, manufacturers of these kits have the ability to calibrate their formulas to ensure that any resulting color will be natural and flattering. The creation of these natural tones is made possible through extensive research into the specific chemical combinations create the ideal shade, with the person’s existing hair color considered.  This is where hair dye manufacturers can leverage spectrophotometric technology to improve results of at-home hair dye kits for consumers.

With spring just around the corner, I am starting to gear up for some nice sunny days and pulling the warmer weather clothing out of the back of my closet. My pasty-white skin is still a far cry from shorts and t-shirt wear, but luckily there are some quick-fix options for my milky-white complexion. Self tanner’s are available in a variety of color formulas that are designed to match nearly any skin tone. New advancements in color formulas have made self-tanning the choice of the future, especially in a day and age where the damaging effects of the sun are very well known and real.

Sunless tanners provide a better alternative to the damaging rays of the sun. New color formulas are designed to create a natural and even looking tan without the risk of sun damage. Image Source: Flickr user Evil Erin

春を目前に控え、晴れた日に備えてクローゼットの奥から暖かい服を引っ張り出している。私の白い肌は、ショートパンツにTシャツというスタイルにはまだほど遠い。セルフ・タンナーには、ほぼすべての肌色に合うように設計された、さまざまな色の処方がある。特に、日焼けによる肌へのダメージが現実のものとなっている現代では、セルフ・タンニングがこれからの選択肢となるだろう。

サンレス・タンナーは、有害な太陽光線に代わる、より良い代替品を提供します。新しいカラー処方は、日焼けによるダメージのリスクなしに、自然で均一な見た目の日焼けを作るように設計されている。画像ソースFlickrユーザー Evil Erin