Custom color concentrates, additive masterbatch and compounds, matched in small lots

Custom color concentrates

We can source food-contact formulations: base resin, colorants and additives each selected by the compounder to comply with the applicable FDA food-contact regulations for your stated food type and conditions of use, with the compounder’s compliance letter for the finished compound.

Send a molded part, a plastic color chip or a Pantone reference. A plastic part or chip gives a far better match than a printed swatch. A partner compounder matches a concentrate to your target, in a carrier chosen for the resin you run. Single-color programs or full palettes, at let-down ratios that fit your equipment. Matching color on recycled resin? See predicting color with PCR.

Additive compounds & masterbatch

UV stabilizers, flame retardants, impact modifiers, anti-stat, slip and process aids, delivered as masterbatch or fully compounded, so performance is built into the pellet instead of hand-blended at the press.

Alloy & filled blends

Glass-filled, mineral-filled and glass-mineral hybrids, plus engineering alloys (PC/ABS and custom blends). When the standard grade almost works, a filled or alloyed version often closes the gap. Tell us the property target and a polymer chemist works out the formulation with you and the compounder.

How a custom program starts

• 1. Send the target. A swatch, a spec sheet, a competing grade, or just the property you're missing.
• 2. Chemist review. We confirm the formulation approach, carrier, and let-down before anything is produced.
• 3. Sample, then scale. Trial quantity first where needed, then production volumes, gaylord to truckload, with a supplier COA on every prime lot.

Formulations are confirmed per application; food-contact formulations can be sourced where specified, with base resin, colorants and additives each selected to comply with the applicable FDA food-contact regulations for the stated food type and conditions of use. Certificate of analysis and any agreed compliance documents provided with production material.

Which grade to ask for

Name the compound by what it has to do; the formulation follows from that.

Typical starting points. Grades vary, so confirm on the data sheet for the exact grade.

Finder: start from what you need the pellet to do

Pick what you need, find the row for your part or film, and tap Quote this to add it to the form.

These are typical starting points for the conversation, not specifications. Pigment loading, let-down and filler level are set for each formulation by the compounder, so confirm them on the data sheet and approve a sample before you run production.

Processing notes

• Drying. Dry a compound like its base resin; see the resin drying guide. Fill does not remove the need to dry nylon, PBT, PC or PET, and a concentrate in a moisture-sensitive carrier needs drying too.
• Melt and mold temperature. Start from the base resin's window on the processing parameters chart. Filled grades often need a warmer mold for surface finish, and some flame retardants and pigments are heat-sensitive, so watch residence time.
• Let-down and dosing. For concentrates, dose by weight with a gravimetric feeder at the ratio the formulation was designed for, commonly about 1–4% (100:1 to 25:1) for color. White film and some additive masterbatches run higher. Changing the let-down changes color and can change properties.
• Shrinkage. Fill changes shrinkage. Glass fiber cuts it sharply along the flow and much less across it, which causes warp; mineral fill reduces it more evenly. Expect to adjust the process or the tool when moving from unfilled to filled.
• Regrind. Glass fibers shorten each time they are ground and remolded, so strength and stiffness fall with heavy regrind use. See regrind limits by resin.
• Most common defects. Color streaks from poor mixing or a mismatched carrier, and glass fibers showing on the surface. More back pressure and a warmer mold usually help.

How a custom color or compound is priced

A custom concentrate or compound is not priced off one index. The quote is built from the parts of the job. Pigment cost and loading come first: carbon black, titanium dioxide and iron oxides are low-cost, while bright organic reds, oranges, yellows and violets, fluorescents and pearlescent or metallic effects cost far more per pound of color. A strong concentrate with more pigment costs more per pound but can run at a lower let-down. The carrier resin follows its own market, so a PC or nylon carrier costs more than a PE carrier, and a matched carrier often costs more than a universal one. Run size matters because every run needs a clean line, a purge and lab checks, and those costs are spread over the pounds made. A match fee often covers lab work, chips or plaques and light-booth checks, and some compounders credit it against the first order. Additives, food-contact documents, heavy-metal statements and UL work add cost too.

Cost per part is what counts, not price per pound. Color cost per part is about part weight × let-down fraction × (concentrate price minus natural resin price), because each pound of concentrate replaces a pound of natural resin. A concentrate that costs 30% more per pound but runs at 2% instead of 3% cuts concentrate spend per part by about 13% (1.3 × 2 ÷ 3 ≈ 0.87). The net saving is smaller, and can disappear, because the part then takes 1% more natural resin: with the concentrate at three times the natural resin price, the saving per part is only about 3%, so run the formula with your own prices. Dosing accuracy matters just as much: running 2.5% when the formula was designed for 2% uses 25% more concentrate and shifts the color. A precolored compound costs more per pound than natural resin plus concentrate, but removes dosing at the press, which can pay back on tight-tolerance or listed parts.

We do not post prices. Every quote is for a specific color or formulation, let-down, run size, package and ship-to city. See how resin is priced for the base resin side and the resin market notes for which way carrier and base resins are moving.

What run size does to the price per pound

These sizes are typical, not fixed. Minimums differ by compounder, color and formulation, so send this order size and your yearly volume and we confirm what is practical with the quote.

Ways to lower the cost: buy a full truckload instead of single gaylords, tell us imported resin is OK, or ask about surplus lots and recycled grades if your part allows. See how resin is priced.

Packaging and lead times

A custom color has two clocks: the match and the production run. A first lab match, sent as chips or plaques, often takes about one to two weeks once the compounder has your physical standard, base resin and light sources. Hard targets take more rounds: a match that must pass under three light sources, special effects, or a match on recycled resin. After you approve, a concentrate run often ships about one to three weeks later, depending on the compounder’s schedule. Precolored, filled and alloy compounds often take longer, since the base resin is bought for the run. Repeat orders of an approved color are faster because no lab work is needed.

We confirm a ship date with every quote, and we do not promise one until the compounder has confirmed it. To save a round, send the physical standard, a pound or two of the exact base resin you will run, the let-down you want and the ΔE tolerance with the request. See masterbatch vs. precolored resin and purging and color changes.

What to put on the purchase order

• The base resin grade, or the property targets if the base is open: melt flow, modulus, impact, heat deflection.
• Fill type and percentage, with the tolerance you accept and how it is checked (usually ash content).
• The color target: a physical standard or molded part, the light source, the tolerance (ΔE) and the instrument used to read it.
• Additives and their purpose: UV level, flame rating and thickness, antistat, lubricant, and whether PTFE or any other PFAS is acceptable.
• Regulatory needs: food contact (every ingredient compliant for your food type and temperature), UL recognition (a custom compound needs its own, and it is grade-specific and color-specific), RoHS and REACH statements.
• COA values to check: melt flow, ash or fill content, moisture, and color readings against the standard.
• Packaging, order size and yearly volume. Volume drives which formulations are practical.

Stock colors, custom match or precolored compound

Checking a color or additive lot

• Lot number. The lot on the COA matches the label on every bag or box, and the let-down ratio on the label is the one you approved.
• Color readings against the master. ΔE, plus ΔL, Δa and Δb, read on a plaque molded at your let-down in your base resin, under the agreed light sources (often D65 plus TL84 or A). The COA should name the formula used (CIELAB ΔE*ab, CMC or CIEDE2000), since the numbers do not convert into each other.
• Same instrument setup. Your spectrophotometer, geometry (for example d/8° with specular included or excluded) and observer angle (often 10°) match the ones on the COA, or the readings are not comparable.
• Melt flow of the concentrate or compound. MFR at the stated condition is in its window. A concentrate that flows far less than your base resin mixes poorly and streaks.
• Pigment or additive level. Ash for TiO2 and mineral-loaded grades (ASTM D5630 or ISO 3451), or the active level for UV, slip or antistat masterbatch where the COA reports it.
• Filler content for compounds. Glass or mineral content by ash within the agreed tolerance. A few points off changes stiffness, shrink and part weight.
• Moisture and dispersion. Moisture for concentrates in PET, PC, nylon or PBT carriers. For film and fiber, a dispersion test such as filter pressure value or pressed-film specks if your spec calls for one.
• Keep a retain and the master. Seal a sample of each lot and store the approved master plaque away from light and heat. See the incoming inspection checklist and what a COA is.

Moving a color to a second compounder

1. Own the target, not just the pellet. Keep the approved master plaque, its spectral readings, the light sources, the ΔE tolerance and the let-down. The first compounder often owns its formula and may not release it, so the second one matches the color, not the recipe.
2. Ask what pigments the new match uses. A different pigment set can match under D65 and miss under TL84 or A (metamerism). Approve under every light source in your spec.
3. Keep the carrier and let-down the same if you can. A new let-down means new feeder settings and new cost per part. A new carrier can change mixing and properties.
4. Run a production trial. Mold or extrude at your normal let-down on a normal shift. Check color, and check shrink and warp after at least 24 hours: some organic pigments, such as phthalocyanine blues and greens, nucleate PP and HDPE and can change warp.
5. Reissue the paperwork. Food-contact statements, heavy-metal and RoHS or REACH statements and any UL listing are tied to the formula and the maker. A new compounder means new documents. See how to qualify a second resin source.

Want a chemist to compare a second source with what you run now? Send the grade and recent COAs through the quote form or an RFQ package.

When to consider something else

• If a standard grade is close to the target, see finding an equivalent grade. A standard grade is simpler to qualify.
• If you need color on a budget and have a good feeder, see masterbatch vs. precolored resin.
• If the target is stiffness or flatness, see glass vs. mineral filled.
• If wear is the problem, see wear and friction fillers.

Common questions