Small and large appliances are designed for consumer appeal combined with functionality and durability, with high-impact colors and cutting-edge design. They constitute a complex set of parts made from different materials and with different manufacturing processes. Protecting the physical integrity of each part and the color harmony between parts over time is what sets great appliances apart.

For appliances, we use a selection of pre-validated pigments and additives, and we follow design guidelines that are specific by application, polymer, and manufacturing process. Color, special-effect, and additive concentrates are available free of heavy metals, halogen, and other undesirable ingredients, while still maintaining the physical properties that help these products meet the appearance, and durability requirements of the marketplace as well as product safety and regulatory compliance – including UL, RoHS, and REACH. We validate the stability of colors and physical properties of final parts, under repeated cycles of heat/cold, dry/wet conditions, exposure to chemicals, accelerated weathering, and overall aging. The most common materials are PVC, PP, PS, and ABS. Solutions are available both as masterbatches and compounds.

Kitchenware and utensils are designed for consumer appeal, functionality, and durability, including resistance to cuts and scratches, quick temperature swings from freezing to boiling, as well as repeated dishwashing cycles. Product safety considerations are critical under tight food-grade regulatory specifications.

The formulation of masterbatches starts with a selective approach to food-grade pigments, dyes, and additives. Formulations are further validated to meet all expectations of mechanical and chemical resistance, under a wide range of demanding conditions, including safe levels of migration of Non-Intentionally-Added-Substances.

Our living rooms are full of electronic products. Products are constantly refreshed at a fast pace as technology evolves and new designs are introduced for improved functionalities and ergonomics. This includes home theater systems, gaming systems, audio/video players, headphones, and Bluetooth-connected devices, which often use complex designs where pristine quality is essential, and color harmony is a critical challenge for components made of different resins and different manufacturing processes.

In our design centers, our masterbatches are specifically formulated to enable the most demanding designs, including colors and effects such as high gloss. Standard and custom formulations bring color consistency and harmony across the broadest range of polymers and for the broadest range of manufacturing processes. Our masterbatches are UL, WEEE, and RoHS-compliant, and the final parts can all be tested in our fully equipped analytical laboratories.

In children's products, bold and highly contrasted colors inspire curiosity and make playtime more exciting. However, health and safety considerations must come first, under some of the tightest regulatory specifications.

The formulation of masterbatches starts with a very selective approach of pigments, dyes, and additives, pre-qualified to meet the safety and regulatory requirements specific to children's products. Formulations are further validated to present safe levels of migration of Non-Intentionally-Added-Substances, that can be generated as by-products of the manufacturing processes and reactions with other ingredients, throughout the product life and in the circular economy. With global experience and product-safety knowledge, we can guide customers to solutions that comply with EN 71, the European toy-safety standard and its global equivalents as well as the new directive 2009/48/EC. Penn Color has in place the international material controls that are indispensable when toys are designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold and used in another.

Personal care has evolved rapidly to bring advanced technologies to the bathroom. Makers of hair-care appliances, oral-care devices, shavers and razors, and other convenience products, are constantly seeking ways to add functionalities to their products while offering better consumer experience through ergonomics, haptics, durability, colors, and effects. Product safety considerations are critical to meet the requirements including toxicity, irritation, and overall hygiene for intact and potentially breached or compromised skins.

Formulation of masterbatches for personal care devices uses a narrow selection of pigments, dyes, and additives, pre-qualified to meet the specific requirements for hygiene and safety. Special compounds and additives make personal care products more durable, safer, and easier to use. Penn Color products can help reduce material consumption and increase the use of recycled materials or even improve the compost-ability of disposable. We combine deep knowledge and experience in global regulatory and product-safety standards, with analytical work capabilities, used to confirm that substances, both intentionally and non-intentionally added, are present at levels within the acceptable thresholds.

As chronic diseases have become more prevalent, home medical equipment is gaining popularity, as a convenient, cost-effective, and comfortable way for patients to monitor and take care of their health. Devices offer advanced functionality often relying on precision mechanical parts and sophisticated electronics. Designers and manufacturers of medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging invest significant time and money in meeting performance and regulatory standards to fulfill the increasingly stringent demands of these global markets. Different levels of compliance are required for hygiene and safety, depending on the class of medical devices the products belong to.

Formulation of masterbatches uses a particularly narrow selection of pigments, dyes, and additives, pre-qualified to meet the specific requirements of the different classes of medical devices. Each raw material is documented with EH&S status, regulatory classification as per ECHA, and documentation available (SDS, TDS, RMIF, etc.) Materials that can help minimize the risks and costs of non-compliance in a product’s development and lifecycle are vital to this process. Analytical work helps confirm and document the necessary validation and registration of the product. Full traceability is ensured in manufacturing as well as adequate procedure, including escalation process for approval of changes of formulas, raw material vendor contractually obligated to notify any changes.

Whether designs are sleek and monochromatic or chunky and colorful, office furniture must be ergonomically savvy while delivering the comfort and style in demand for today's office designs. From simple chairs to complete modular structures, colors, special effects, and textures, play a key role in the aesthetic design of furniture products, and are expected to resist wear, tear, and fading over an extended time. At the same time, the structural performance of the colored parts is critical to both functionality and safety.

We develop our masterbatches for furniture to enable in-trend designs, with broad global color palettes, special effects such as natural-looking woodgrain effects, and color harmony between parts made from different polymers. At the same time, formulations are specifically engineered to ensure the physical properties of the base polymer are maintained or even enhanced. The final parts go through thorough physical testing, including tensile, elongation at break, and impact. Weathering tests help validate the performance of UV additives and AO to protect both the pigments and the base polymer. We ensure compliance with tough flame-retardancy specifications, and we can assist with MBDC Cradle-to-Cradle certification. Typical base polymers are PP, PE, POM, Nylon, PBT, PET, PVC, and TPU/TPEs.

Today’s electronic products are an integral part of life in the office, in the home, and on the go. Yet, the market continues to evolve, and manufacturers are under intense pressure to innovate and accelerate new products to consumers. Makers of business machines, printers, phones, televisions, gaming systems, and audio and video players, are constantly seeking ways to enhance their products or take advantage of emerging technologies. This includes connectors, which are critically important for all electronics and computing technologies. Color-coded for safety purposes, connectors need to retain full integrity while operating in spaces that are getting tighter and hotter.

In our design centers, we have resources and state-of-the-art capabilities to help reduce time-to-market for new color developments and color renewals. We can formulate specifically for color consistency and harmony, across the broadest range of polymers, including high-performance plastics like polycarbonate, PC/ABS, and even biopolymers with less environmental impact. We formulate with both standard and custom colors and special effects, helping products stand out for maximum consumer appeal. Our ability to enable pristine part quality enables the shift from painted parts to injection, a more sustainable process. Our masterbatches are UL, WEEE, and RoHS-compliant, and the final parts can all be tested in our fully equipped analytical laboratories.