Guide to choosing the color for plastic injection molding
Plastic injection molding is one of the commonly chosen processes to create different parts for your industrial purposes. But, what color should you select for your injection molded parts? The choice of colors can make a difference in overall success. As you like to design consumer products, it is essential to decide on the right color for the best appearance. Moreover, color plays an important role in triggering an emotional response from the users. Most importantly, you can unify and strengthen your branding strategy by choosing the perfect color for injection molded parts. Let’s now guide you on finding the right color for plastic injection molding projects.
Why give importance to the color for the plastic injection molding process?
Although aesthetic value is the most important reason behind your concerns about color, there are some other functional purposes. For instance, safety equipment should have a bright color to increase visibility. Major electrical components must also fulfill color requirements.
The best fact is that you can take advantage of plastic colorant technology. Colorants are versatile for plastics. Inventors and entrepreneurs should think innovatively about a better appearance and color of the products.
Most resin-based pallets are available in natural shades, ranging from black to dark brown. But they are also monochromatic tones and do not include multiple colors. In case you do not prefer natural shades, you can apply spray painting techniques after the production process. Thus, the production process can become more time-consuming and costlier.
Dye pallets can also be added to the plastic before melting it. However, this one is also costly, especially when you have chosen the wrong color. That is why you have to be cautious while choosing the color. We think it is better to leave the task to professionals.
You need to add colorant to transform boring-looking pallets into something with rainbow hues. Try to be meticulous about the color of the product.
Preparing colors for injection molding
There are 4 ways to do it successfully-
Compounded colors
Also known as the pre-mixed colors, they are manufactured by resin providers. There is a perfect blend of raw materials and pigments to create colored plastic pellets.
Masterbatching
Resin suppliers also make masterbatched colors. You can find the master batch available in custom and standard colors.
Solvent Coloring
It involves a combination of a solvent and a pigmented oil. You need to spray solvents over the uncolored pellets. They are coated thoroughly before starting the plastic injection molding process. But, it is not easy to maintain the color-to-plastic ratio.
Dry Pigment Mixing
Although this method seems to be similar, the use of dry powder makes a difference. It is combined with plastic pellets using a hopper. In terms of volume, there should be 2% pigment. Professionals need to dry the pellets and add the pigment for engineering plastics.
Plastic injection molding- Factors important for choosing the right colors
Solid versus liquid- Based on the material chosen and the potential effect, you need to decide between liquid and solid colorants. However, the colorant needs to be compatible with your plastics.
Liquid colorants can be the perfect choice for semi-transparent and translucent effects. By controlling the colorants’ concentration and amount, the effect is adjustable. Liquid colorant ensures a glowing effect, which is best for PVC and PET plastics.
On the contrary, solid colorants blend properly with your base materials for an opaque look. The concentration level of these colorants needs to be controlled to manage the effects. You can choose between light and opaque appearances.
The overall look and color
Based on your preference, you can pick the right color. For instance, your company likes to spread the notion of eco-friendliness with its products. So, it is better to pick a light green tone for the products.
In fact, the appearance of plastic molded parts is one of the subjective topics. Everyone has a different perception of appearance. You have to focus on different factors to achieve your goals.
A reliable plastic injection molding professional will ask about your needs and the desired appearance of the product. Based on your information, he has to adjust the way to formulate the color. Some plastic colorant mixers are not able to clarify their methodology and formulation. Products’ appearance may be more important than colors. Let your injection molding professionals know your desires to get the best result.
Set the acceptance criteria
You must not set a goal of making 100% control over the color of your plastics. You can never achieve this goal, as there is a chance of several variations. Although professionals use particular machinery, you will still notice slight differences in temperature, colorant formulation, operator, and concentration. These things will affect how the product will appear.
To have a productive and good yield, you must understand variations before running the production process. It is essential to rethink the appearance. Does the color match your anticipations? You should also focus on the interests of the target buyers. 10 to 30% color variation is acceptable. You will find a reduction in the discarded parts and wastes.
Regardless of the coloring processes professionals apply, your parts should be molded at a time to ensure 100% color consistency. You may find variations in every batch. For the low-volume production in your plastic molding project, you have to choose between custom color and color consistency. You can achieve this uniformity by selecting a standardized color. Although the custom color is achievable, some parts may have color differences.
Conclusion
To sum up, picking the right color is the most important step for plastic injection molding. It is better to rely on professionals to choose the color for plastic injection molding. When you need to deal with several parts, you need more plastics. It is easy to maintain color consistency. To get injection molding services, you can rely on Xcentric. It has a professional team to help you with molded parts.