Color Confidence at Scale: How HunterLab Helped a Global Bottler Standardize Plastic Cap and Preform Color

In beverage packaging, color goes beyond appearance, it’s an unspoken promise of quality and consistency. For one global bottling company, color variation in PET preforms and plastic caps was becoming a costly risk. A shift in shade could erode brand trust, slow production, or trigger costly rework.

That’s when they turned to HunterLab.

Struggling with color variation across sites? Request a HunterLab demo and take control of your packaging color.

Why Color Consistency is a Bottler’s Business Advantage

• Brand Integrity: Consumers recognize visual differences—even minor inconsistencies in color can influence perception and purchasing behavior.
• Process Confidence: Consistent color signals stability in formulation, additives, and processing.
• Operational Efficiency: Catching out-of-spec color in real-time prevents rework, scrap, and costly downtime.

Functional additives like oxygen scavengers further complicated color control. The challenge was clear: measure preforms and caps with accuracy, no matter the size, material, or additive load.

Customer Challenge: Varying Tools, Oversized Preforms, and Manual Workflows

This global bottler operated across multiple plants, each using different tools:

• Most relied on ColorFlex EZ for caps
• Some sites used Vista® for beverage color, with limited preform measurement

Please note: ColorFlex EZ is no longer in production. Meet the upgraded ColorFlex L2, the industry's most advanced color spectrophotometer.

But the brand’s large-format PET preforms didn’t fit standard holders, compromising measurement consistency. Additive effects on color weren’t clearly quantified, and operators selected workspaces manually, increasing variability.

⚠️ Operational Risk: Inconsistent color across production lines can mean inconsistent quality on store shelves.

HunterLab’s Real-World Solution: Simplicity, Repeatability, and Training

To address these challenges, HunterLab delivered a scalable, production-ready solution:

• Custom Cap Port Plates: Designed for the ColorFlex EZ, these accessories optimized precise cap positioning to ensure stable, repeatable readings
• Large Preform Holders and Baseplates: Engineered for Vista to secure oversized preforms to ensure repeatable sample placement for precise measurements
• Hands-On Color Training: R&D, QA, and production teams attended practical sessions focused on plastics color science, consistent measurement, and troubleshooting.

Want to upskill your team in plastics color science? Talk to HunterLab about training options.

Supporting R&D and Cross-Plant Consistency

With standard tools and training in place, the company could:

• Track oxygen scavenger affects reliably, even without precise additive-to-color formulas
• Align color protocols across sites and shifts
• Reduce operator variability with simplified, repeatable workflows

Enhancing Measurement with Smart Features

HunterLab also demonstrated optional tools to further ease plant-wide adoption:

• AutoSearch: Identify all workspaces where samples meet tolerance, streamlining checks
• Barcode Scanning: Quickly load workspaces with predefined specs

Adoption remained flexible—tailored to each site's process readiness.

⚙Ask us how AutoSearch and Essentials software simplify color control across packaging lines.

Technical Insight: Additives, Measurement, and Best Practices

Additive Impact

The bottling company’s R&D and quality teams categorized oxygen scavenger additive levels in preforms as “none,” “regular,” and “heavy.” Because the exact effect of these levels on color was under investigation, HunterLab supported efforts to monitor and document color differences using consistent, repeatable workflows and measurement accessories.

Best Practices for Color Measurement

Following industry guidelines like ASTM D6290-05 and ISO 11664-4, HunterLab emphasized:

• Calibrated instruments and standardized workflows
• Repeatable sample placement using custom holders
• Color control integration into both routine QC and new material trials

Workflow Demonstrations

During site visits, HunterLab showcased features like AutoSearch, which allows the instrument to identify all workspaces where the sample passes tolerances. This functionality complements barcode scanning for targeted workspace access. While optional, these tools helped simplify color measurement and were made available based on each site’s readiness.

Data Management and Centralization

Although full enterprise-level data integration wasn't yet possible, the project laid the foundation for centralized insights across production locations. Some EasyMatchQC color software features remain in development for ColorFlex L2, and future upgrades could unify real-time metrics across all plants.

Results: Color Control That Builds Brand Trust

With custom accessories, consistent training, and practical workflows, the bottler achieved:

• Preform and cap color consistency across plants
• More efficient, less error-prone measurement routines
• R&D and QA alignment around additive impact and tolerances
• Greater confidence in daily quality and production decisions

Want to standardize color across your operations? Connect with a HunterLab expert today.