Plastics Industry Solutions
From raw material to final product, Konica Minolta Sensing Americas offers high performance instrument, software, and controlled lighting solutions used to formulate colors and meet color quality standards for the plastics industry. These solutions allow users to accurately evaluate, reproduce, and control the color and appearance of opaque, transparent, and translucent samples in a more streamlined process internally and throughout the supply chain. In addition to reducing the amount of rejects and waste, users can optimize energy, time, and money for peak efficiency.
Key Uses for Color Measurement in Plastics Industry:
- Injection Molding
- The most widely used method.
- Produces complex, high-volume parts like containers, automotive parts, cases for electronics, etc.
- Extrusion
- Used to make continuous shapes like pipes, tubing, and sheets.
- Common in packaging, construction/plumbing, and food/agriculture.
- Blow Molding
- Used to make hollow objects like bottles and containers.
- Masterbatch
- While not as common as in previous years, it’s still an important sub-market for us.
- Many customers who used to create/match/correct their own colors now farm this our to masterbatchers.
Recommended Plastics Color Measurement Instruments
The following products are our most recommended for plastics measurement, our specialist team can help to advise you on which product is best suited for your needs:
An advanced all-in-one system, the CM-5 Spectrophotometer is a bench-top measurement instrument designed to evaluate the color and appearance of opaque, transparent, and translucent samples.
The CR-400 Chroma Meter is a handheld, portable measurement instrument designed to evaluate the color of objects, particularly with smoother surface conditions or minimal color variation.
BC-10 Plus Baking Contrast Meter
The BC-10 Plus is a handheld, portable colorimeter designed to evaluate the color of baked, fried, smoked and processed foods as well as ingredients in various environments to ensure consistency in appearance.
The CM-17d is a vertical portable spectrophotometer designed to be simple to configure and use. It has an electronic viewfinder for easy positioning and is excellent for measuring small samples and curved surfaces. It is ergonomically designed to be easy to grip and is designed to be used in various measurement scenarios, including one-handed work.
FX10 is an out-of-the-box hyperspectral imaging camera designed for industrial and laboratory use.
High sensitivity and detection accuracy beyond the capability of any other inspection method makes the FX17 hyperspectral imaging camera an industry stand-out.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to measure the color of plastic?
Color consistency is critical in the plastics industry, where even slight variations can lead to product rejection, customer dissatisfaction, or costly rework/waste. Accurate color measure ensures that plastic components – whether used in automotive parts, packaging, consumer goods, or construction materials – meet visual and brand specifications. By using spectrophotometers and/or colorimeters, manufacturers can monitor and control color throughout the production process, reducing waster, improving quality, and accelerating time to market. As demand grows for sustainable and recycles materials, precise color measurement also plays a key role in maintaining quality with variable raw materials.
What is the ISO Standard for color measurement?
How is plastic quality measured?
Resources
We have a wide range of resources looking at color measurement, here are some of the most popular:
Take a deep dive into how to measure pasta using a CR-410
Identify Food Dyes with Spectrophotometers
Read our blog on how to get the right food color every time
Find out how hyperspectral imaging can combat food fraud