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Colour is necessary. It attracts us to thousands of objects in our everyday lives, can affect or convey a mood and support the identification of an object.

Colour

One of the major advantages of thermoplastic materials is their ability to be coloured to a huge range of colours and shades. From the whites, blacks and greys of consumer electronics and business machines to the bright reds, greens and blues that attract the eye and make products more appealing to prospective consumers. Colour is also useful in identifying and reinforcing the branding of a product, setting it apart from the competition.

Welcome to the world of Distrupol Colour, where we are dedicated to supplying fully compounded, consistently high-quality and tight colour tolerance thermoplastic materials using the latest technology and equipment.

Distrupol Colour can produce colour compounds from an extensive range of thermoplastic materials, including the full range of ‘commodity’ and 'engineering' thermoplastics:

  • ABS
  • Acetal (POM including DuPont Delrin® Acetal)
  • ASA
  • PBT (including DuPont Crastin® PBT)
  • PC/ABS
  • PMMA
  • Polyamide (nylon including DuPont Zytel®)
  • Polycarbonate
  • Polyethylene
  • Polypropylene
  • Polystyrene
  • Styrene copolymers (SAN, SBC)
  • TPEs (including DuPont Hytrel® TPC-ET)
  • Transparent ABS (MABS)

Flexibility is one of the hallmarks of Distrupol Colour. Utilising the latest computerised matching equipment and colour laboratory facilities:

  • Colour matches can be produced in as little as 24 hours
  • Production quantities available from a single 25kg bag to full truckload
  • Short manufacturing lead times

Distrupol Colour can also provide bespoke colour compound solutions in more ‘specialised’ products such as special effect (including metallic) colours, talc-filled materials, flame retardant grades and compounds with anti-static or UV-stabiliser additives.

Whatever colour compound enquiry, Distrupol Colour has a solution.

Distrupol Colour produces fully colour compounded products for use straight out the bag, however there are a number of other commonly used colour solutions, details of these are explained below.

Dry Colour or Dry Blend:

The colourants are mixed in with the polymer, often with dispersion aids and 'wetting agent' to help bind the powder onto the surface.

Advantages: Cost effective due to low conversion cost. Quick to prepare. Very small lot.

Disadvantages: Can be extremely messy and affect drying. Colour can vary from batch to batch due to poor dispersion.

Masterbatch:

Masterbatch contains very high levels of colourants (up to 80%) which are then mixed at a fixed ratio to give a specific colour.

There are two types of Masterbatch:

  1. Polymer Specific - The carrier is the same material as the base material being coloured. 

  2. Universal - The carrier will readily mix with a wide variety of polymers.

Advantages: Better colour control, cleaner and less drying problems than Dry-colour.

Disadvantages: May not always be compatible with the base polymer. Colour consistency depends dosing accuracy

Liquid colour:

Similar to masterbatch, liquid colour contains high levels of colourants, but the carrier is a liquid.

Advantages: Better colour control than Dry blend. More even colour distribution than masterbatch.

Disadvantages: Special dosing equipment is required. Colour affected by processing. Polymer properties can be affected by the liquid carrier.

Fully compounded colour:

Pigments are encapsulated into the polymer during the extrusion process ensuring full colour dispersal.

Advantages: Specific, accurate and controlled colours. The performance of the compounds is more predictable. Ease of handling.

Disadvantages: Less flexible than the other methods.

Distrupol Colour Medical is a dedicated colour compounding and masterbatch service specifically for medical applications. Operating from a purpose-built facility, Distrupol Colour Medical provides full circle compounding solutions from the UK's first cleanroom extrusion facility. 
  • Quality is key: all ingredients meet the requirements of ISO 10993:2018 and USP Class VI; products are tested according to ISO Class 9 and ISO 13485.
  • Fully compliant: all products are produced in accordance with WHO and FDA GMP.
  • Change control: full regulatory support documentation and change control for up to 3 years.
  • Value added services: full laboratory testing and analysis, blending, repackaging and custom packaging options all available.
Click here to download the Distrupol Colour Medical flyer.
Distrupol Colour

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