Measuring the Color

of Opaque and Transparent Plastic Pellets

Measuring the color of plastic pellets is crucial in the plastics industry, especially before they are extruded or molded into a final product. Pigments, resins, and fillers are heated and extruded into fine strands, which are cut into pellets​. Plastic pellets are typically translucent and non-uniform in size, which requires industry standard color measurement solutions.

HunterLab helps the world's largest Plastic Manufacturers avoid yellowing in their products which occurs when the plastic polymers oxidize. HunterLab offers precise color measurement solutions that meet the quality standards of visual perception for opaque and transparent plastic pellets so that manufacturers can adjust for and compensate for any yellowing that they measure. Our innovative color-measuring spectrophotometers ensure the finished product is flawless and meets the standards the plastic industry demands.

Why measure the color of opaque and transparent plastic pellets?

Color is a crucial indicator of quality in the plastics industry, and developing a color range is an integral part of the manufacturing process for monitoring quality control. Consumers rely on color for acceptability. Opaque and transparent plastic pellets serve as raw materials for extruded or molded plastic products. Ensuring the correct color during production is essential for efficiency and avoiding wastage.

HunterLab helps you meet Regulatory Compliance. Medical, food, pharma, and auto have strict material standards. Our spectrophotometers provide objective color data to demonstrate compliance.

Most importantly, measuring the color of your plastic resin is critical and HunterLab has the answers:

• Plastic resin, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), tends to yellow due to oxidation.
• Optical brighteners are used in almost all finished plastic goods to make clear plastic not look yellow.
• As a result, accurately assessing the degree of yellowing in a batch of resin is crucial for determining the appropriate amount of optical brighteners needed to mitigate the yellowing effect.
• Governments and standards bodies are requiring the use of more and more recycled plastic, recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET), while manufacturing any plastic product, benefiting the environmental aspect of ESG.
• In order to determine the color of plastic throughout the supply chain, it is now critical for plastics to be measured using spectrophotometers, to counter yellowness and the optical brighteners in the recycled content can be adjusted for. Otherwise, your color is incorrect leading to poor quality perception, wastage and revenue loss.
• HunterLab has engineered a spectrophotometer with the color and fluorescent measurement capabilities needed to measure the actual color of virgin PET, rPET, and any blend of the two.

Designed to measure the color of opaque and transparent plastic pellets, HunterLab Agera® measures both reflected color and UV content with an extra-large sample port and includes a camera for on-screen sample positioning and image capture.

HunterLab is the ONLY provider that includes the most comprehensive built-in plastic industry standards and scales, including CIE L*a*b*, YI E313, WI E313, and Y Brightness.

In short, HunterLab ensures the best value by offering the lowest total cost of ownership, lowest maintenance costs, lowest service costs, our renowned long instrument lifespan, and our stellar worldwide customer service.

Check out this solution for measuring the color of opaque and transparent plastic pellets

This is the color measuring instrument for opaque and transparent plastic pellets that our customers are having great success with:

The HunterLab Advantage

In the dynamic world of plastics manufacturing and recycling, precision matters. HunterLab’s color measurement solutions play a pivotal role in ensuring that every hue, shade, and tint aligns with quality standards.

HunterLab solutions contribute to the Plastic Circular Economy, offering critical color measurement approaches in the end-to-end process, and our clients’ ESG objectives:

• Early Detection of Color Problems
• Reduced Downtime and Increased Efficiency
• Energy Savings and Carbon Footprint Reduction
• ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Reporting and Accountability
• HunterLab offers solutions for the following segments in the Plastic circular economy production process to meet both opaque and transparent color measurement needs.
  • Feedstock
  • Raw materials
  • Resins, chemicals, additives, pigments
  • Converted Plastics (consumer products)
  • Recycling – Extruding (Pellets)

Contact HunterLab today to learn more about our product options and our dedication to the world of color measurement.

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