Behind the Scenes · Color Working

Where Every Color Begins

Production at TECE does not start on the extruder. It starts in the color lab, with a customer's sample in hand.

In the first video of our production series, First Step: Color Working, Kadir, who manages sample operations at TECE, walks through how a color is studied. Two questions come first. What kind of color is it solid, multicolor, patterned, matte or glossy? And what is the material  PVC or ABS?

Video:

Two Routes for Solid Colors

The answers decide the route. A solid color in ABS is worked in the masterbatch, where a recipe is built using spectrophotometry. A solid color in PVC is worked on the mini extruder, and again the formula comes from the spectrophotometer.

Patterns Take the Printing Route

Most customer colors, however, are patterned designs. For these, the team uses the mini printing machine. Printing cylinders that match the pattern in the customer's sample are selected. A raw base that matches the structure of the sample is chosen. The print is applied to that base.

The most crucial point of the work is perfectly catching the customer's color. Kadir — Sample Operations, TECE

Trial, Approval, Archive

That is the part no instrument can do alone. Our operator decides how much of which dye to use, and trials run on the mini production line until the exact color is reached. Several options are prepared for the customer. Production of the chosen sample begins only with the customer's approval.

When the color work ends, the study is filed and archived. The file records which cylinder was used, which base surface was chosen, and whether the result is glossy or matte. That record simplifies and speeds up the next job. It also resolves potential errors early, so the necessary precautions are taken before actual production begins.

The goal never changes: make the edge identical to the customer's sample. Then the color joins the TECE portfolio.

To start a color project with us, write to [email protected]