The tiny colour-concentrate "PETek" beads, developed by the Teknor Color Company, can provide a more sparkling and vibrant look to PET cosmetics and personal care packaging than previously available through using traditional PET colourants.
William K. Clarke, national accounts and business development manager at Teknor, claims that "PETek colours provide crystal clarity in transparent bottles, vibrant hues in opaque ones, and deep, beautiful effects in pearlescent or frosted containers".
The unique size, shape and composition of PETek micro-beads allow them to be produced in diameters up to 60 per cent smaller than their conventional 3.2mm pellet, liquid colourant and wax-based solid rivals.
"It is in this respect that the product is able to be dispersed so efficiently and uniformly, with swirl, haze and other defects dramatically reduced. We anticipate that the greater efficiency and consistency of colour dispersion will result in lower scrap rates", said Clarke.
Manufacturers will also welcome the fact that the product is fully compatible with existing PET bottling machines, and has the same loading levels as with traditional colourants - thus avoiding unnecessary expenditure incurred by modifying production lines.
Stephanie Fromm, business development manager at Teknor commented on the fact that, "better dispersion exhibited by PETek concentrates may enable some bottle producers to use lower loadings than would be needed for a standard concentrate, without sacrificing colour development in the finished product".
"The bead form of PETek concentrates eliminates the bridging, clumping, and stick-to-the hand messiness of wax-based colourants and the screw-slippage and housekeeping problems posed by liquid colours", she added.
According to Teknor, micro-bead colourants assimilate all the advantages previously associated with using pellets - which include free-flowing conveyance and metering into the processing machine, as well as workplace cleanliness - while avoiding the use of liquid carriers like mineral oil, which can cause inconsistencies in melt delivery that result in screw slippage.
Teknor Color supplies PETek concentrates as custom formulations for use in extrusion blow moulding as well as injection moulding and extrusion.