The Top 6 Things You Need to Know About Measuring the Color of Plastic Bottles

Plastic bottles are the standard packaging for many products, from juice, soda, and condiments to laundry detergent. That means you need yours to stand out. Color can play a major role in differentiating your brand and increasing your products' appeal, especially when it's consistent. Here's what you need to know about measuring color in plastic bottles.

1. Consistent Color Builds Consumer Trust

Sight is one of the first senses we use when shopping. Color is essential in the decision-making process of potential buyers, even if they don't realize it. When you go to the store, you look for what's familiar to you. So do your customers. By creating and distributing a product with consistent coloration and packaging, you signal to everyone that you care about the appearance, presentation and effects of your offerings from one batch to the next.

2. Plastic Bottle Color Is Part of Your Brand Identity

When you create a color formula that's different enough from everyone else's, your plastic bottles can set your brand apart. Loyal customers will begin to associate that color with your name over time. If the color changes, many will wonder if what's inside the bottle is different, too.

3. The Transparency of Your Plastic Can Affect Coloration

Opaque bottles and transparent bottles will look different, depending on the amount of pigment added to both plastics, requiring either transmission or reflectance instrumentation for accurate measurements. Opaque plastics require reflectance, while transparent to translucent require transmission.

4. Glossy Bottles Appear Lighter

Light reflection values impact the way we perceive color. A smooth high-gloss plastic reflects more light, affecting its appearance — especially in brightly lit locations. Molding and manufacturing processes can change the surface characteristics of a product, affecting the percieved color, so it's vital to monitor these operations closely for color consistency.

5. Spectrophotometers Are Necessary for Color Measurement

The best way to measure the color of plastic bottles without personal bias or perception is through the use of spectrophotometers. These scientific tools measure emitted light and assign numerical values to track color precisely, helping you ensure consistency across every batch of bottles.

6. Accurate Color Measurement Promotes Sustainability

While color measurement often has an aesthetic purpose, it can also help you meet sustainability goals and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives. Color measurement solutions from HunterLab promote environmental objectives in a few critical areas:

• Recycling: Recycled plastic often varies in color. Spectrophotometers allow you to measure color and adjust your recycled content to correct differences. 
• Waste: Color variations may lead to the scrapping of an entire batch of plastic bottles. Quickly assess color using a spectrophotometer before creating large quantities of defective items. 
• Emissions: You can reduce unnecessary use of energy and resources by correcting color issues early and minimizing your carbon footprint. 
• Energy: Color variations in plastic bottles may lead to extensive rework, which requires more energy in production. 

The use of a spectrophotometer allows you to reduce rework, scrap, and energy waste, improving your ESG metrics.

Improve Color Accuracy With HunterLab Equipment

HunterLab offers a full suite of spectrophotometers for plastic bottle color measurement. Here, you'll find the ideal solution for any plastic you work with. Connect with us today to learn more and get a quote.