FOOD & DRINK
Colour Accuracy for Brand Integrity
In food and drink packaging, regulatory compliance and brand integrity are paramount. Our reputation for colour accuracy has earned the trust of household brands and multinational consumer goods companies. We work to an industry-leading colour tolerance of just one Delta E – avoiding colour deviance and ensuring integrity of brand colours. To avoid the UK Plastic Packaging Tax, plastic packaging must contain at least 30% PCR material. We produce dozens of colour matches for recycled plastics every week, so you can utilise our vast experience if you require colourants for packaging with food-grade PCR content.
Improved Recyclability with NIR Detectable Blacks
Black plastic pagacking is often favoured in this sector for its premium appearance. However there’s a common problem with black plastics which are coloured with traditional carbon black masterbatches. The carbon black pigments absorb the infrared signals used in NIR recycling facilities. As no signal is reflected, the polymer cannot be accurately sorted, this issue results in tonnes of otherwise recyclable plastic ending up in landfill. But we have a solution. Thanks to our expertise in colour chemistry, we’ve developed NIR detectable black masterbatches for use in a range of polymers. These colourants maintain a rich black aesthetic, without a reliance on high levels of carbon black. This maintains the potential for them to be recycled, offering an excellent solution in food packaging. We also offer a range of high-quality, NIR detectable silvers – with food contact approval, also used in plastic food trays.
Regulatory Assurance for Food Contact Applications
Regulatory compliance is a vital factor in food packaging. With a dedicated regulatory division in house, we’ve got you covered. We continually monitor our constituents to maintain REACH compliance and our formulations are always engineered to meet customer specified standards – including UK and EU food contact, and FDA compliance.
Enhanced Performance
Our additive solutions provide benefit to this sector. GrapheneXcel can enhance strength, and importantly in food packaging, it offers enhanced barrier properties – useful in extending the shelf life of perishable goods. MasterFoam has also been used to lightweight packaging, saving material costs and offering the potential to reduce taxation too. We also offer a range of processing aids which can help with production issues such as de-nesting and reducing failures in high speed injection moulding or film applications.
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A trusted supplier to many market sectors
Compatibility with your polymer of choice
Our custom masterbatches are polymer specific – this means they’re formulated for optimum performance when dosed into your chosen material. We offer compatibility with a wide variety of plastics used across various industry sectors. A selection of the most commonly used polymers is listed below.
LDPE
Low-Density Polyethylene – Slightly clearer than HDPE and far more flexible, mostly used for flexible packaging, carrier bags, flexible tubes, film applications etc. Like HDPE it has restricted transparent properties. It possesses excellent chemical resistance to alcohols, acids and alkalis. Limited resistance to hydrocarbon solvents and mineral oils. It will start to degrade when exposed to UV radiation for extended periods.
HDPE
High-Density Polyethylene – Slightly opaque white appearance used extensively in rigid bottle packaging, injection moulded caps and closures, crates etc. Its inherent whiteness can restrict the level of transparency achievable. HDPE possess better chemical and solvent resistance than LDPE.
PPHO / PPCO
Polypropylene (Homopolymer, Block Copolymer, Random Copolymer)
PPCO Random & PPHO – Fairly clear polymer used in caps and closures. Also used to manufacture houseware products, buckets toys and storage boxes. Polypropylene is flexible with no real restrictions to colour or effects. Random copolymer is clearer than homopolymer and more suitable for translucent colours.
PPCO Block – PPCO but modified for greater impact strength. The additive turns the polymer white giving it a high level of opacity. This can restrict the transparency achievable.
PET
Polyethylene Terephthalate – Polyesters are mechanically very strong and have good chemical resistance and barrier properties. PET is commonly used for making carbonated drink bottles. In addition, polyester can be spun and used to make textiles for clothes. PET is very clear which makes it good for translucent packaging, although a slight ‘yellowness’ can affect very light tints.
PBT
Polybutylene Terephthalate – a thermoplastic crystalline engineering polymer that is often used as an insulator in electronics industries. It is a type of polyester with an excellent balance of properties and processing characteristics.
GPPS
General Purpose Polystyrene – Glass clear but with very little impact strength it is most commonly used in CD cases. Its high level of clarity makes it good for translucent colours although an occasional violet tint can be visible.
HIPS
High Impact Polystyrene – GPPS with the addition of an impact modifier to give greater impact strength. This additive turns the polymer white, various grades give different levels of opacity. Generally used for games pieces, toys etc. Its high level of whiteness makes translucent colours difficult to achieve. Specialist versions such as K-Resin and Styrolux are available on the market to give the same translucency as GPPS.
ABS
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene – A tougher version of HIPS used in components with a higher added value. ABS is more durable than components manufactured in HIPS although it shares its difficulties in matching translucent colours. Like HIPS specialist translucent grades are available. Due to its durability, ABS is utilised in the manufacture of casings for power tools.
PA66 / PA6
Polyamide (6, 66) – Nylon is a general-purpose grade which is widely used for mechanical construction and maintenance. This is due to its optimal combination of mechanical strength, stiffness and mechanical damping properties, together with a good electrical insulating ability. This is why electrical housing is made from nylon. PA66 is commonly used as a replacement for metal in various applications, the chemical and physical properties of PA6 are very similar to PA66. PA6 has better impact resistance and solubility resistance than PA66, but its moisture absorption is also stronger.
SAN
Styrene Acrylonitrile Copolymer – Transparent and with excellent chemical resistance, heat resistance and gloss, SAN also has good rigidity, tensile and flexural strength. Due to its high gloss appearance, SAN tends to be used in cosmetic packaging applications. SAN can cause problems when colouring in light tints due to the violet dyestuffs present in it. These are used to visually ‘clean it up’ when manufactured.
PETG
Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol – PET with glycol added. The Glycol is added to give better flow properties but decreases the strength. PETG can be extruded to form bottles and into sheets to make ‘blister’ type packaging.
TPE / TPU
Thermoplastic Elastomer / Thermoplastic polyurethane – TPU has many applications including automotive instrument panels, caster wheels, power tools, medical devices, and a variety of extruded film, sheet, and profile applications. TPEs are used in a variety of applications in the automotive, medical, construction, electrical, appliance, packaging, and industrial markets.
Contact our expert team today to discuss your requirements.
