Since the mid-1990s, composite materials have made substantial inroads across the building products industry in the manufacture of windows, doors, trim and siding. The unprecedented strength and resilience of these materials, and their low maintenance, has made them too good to ignore. They also offer another advantage important in today's building industry: "green" appeal. While they are produced using petrochemicals, composites may be comprised of recycled materials and, therefore, reduce the harvesting of lumber...

This article focuses on the chemistry of dirt pickup resistance (DPR) and outlines what steps - including research, product development and testing procedures - need to be taken to provide the proper solutions...

Polymertronics was set up in 2006 to develop technology to produce inkjet-printable, ultra-violet (UV) curable organic light-emitting diode (OLED) fluids. OLEDs that can be printed on standard UV-inkjet equipment have many advantages. They are much quicker and cheaper to produce than standard OLEDs, they can be designed and manufactured with very short lead times, they can be printed on to a range of exotic surfaces including flexible ones, they give a much sharper image than conventional OLEDs, and they have a huge range of uses in medicine, advertising, logistics, the security industry, smart packaging and other areas. UV-curable OLEDs can also be printed with UV-curable coloured inks...

A few years ago the coatings world was ‘nano' crazy. The term nano was everywhere. I didn't know what it really meant since there wasn't an agreed-upon definition of nano. Mostly it meant adding a little of something tiny to paint. It didn't matter if was a 5-micron particle. If it was small - it was nano. "Sustainability" has replaced nano as the hot topic. I don't really understand what "sustainability" means either...

The UV ink market overall fared well in 2007, according to suppliers to the market. "We see the various segments of the energy cured ink market continuing to grow at a rate slightly greater than GDP in the both the EU and U.S. and at a generally faster rate than competitive technologies," said Harald Boner, technical marketing, pigments and additives division, Clariant. "UV inks are generally perceived as an environmentally friendly technology, which may also help drive growth...

The EU's REACH regulation has a clear message: meet the requirements or you will not be able to produce in, export to, or market within the EU. Is your company able to meet this challenge? The new European Union chemicals regulation came into force in June 2007. The regulation is known as REACH, which stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals. The implications of REACH for chemical and down-stream industries and for associated individual companies are significant in terms of cost, managing ongoing customer and supplier relationships, and because of its far-reaching regulatory requirements...

Printing on plastic is a growing and challenging market for UV-curable inks and coatings. They have been successfully used for many years, but new opportunities arise daily that remind printers and formulators how difficult achieving adhesion can be...

Energy-curing inks are continuing to grow strongly in Europe, even though the graphics market as a whole is slowing down. The big challenge now facing the energy-curing sector is how to maintain the momentum. In Eastern Europe, sales of energy curing inks are going up at 5 to 10 percent, nearly double the level of conventional inks. Demand has been particularly high in Russia, according to industry sources...

The major trends in the global coatings industry revolve around environmental concerns and the reduction of VOC emissions, reducing energy costs, improving productivity and improving performance. These four factors are driving companies across all segments of the coatings industry to look for alternative coatings technology. As a result, radiation curable coatings represent the fastest growing coatings segment because they offer numerous advantages including rapid curing process, less scrap, small footprint, less work in process, a reduction in utility usage, reduction in VOCs and improved performance...

Can you think of any organization that has had 35 consecutive years of sales growth? A few come to mind that may fit that category, but you can count them on one hand. Statistics from past RadTech International shows indicate that the UV/EB formulated product growth for the North American market is just over 7% annually...

Petroleum sulfonates have evolved dramatically from their emergence as by-products of white mineral oil production to multifunctional products vital to modern industry and commerce. At the turn of the century, what we now call natural petroleum sulfonates, or their precursors (sulfonic acids) were being produced in fairly large quantities as "waste product" in the production of food grade white mineral oils. It wasn't long before the sulfonate molecule was recognized for its ability to function as a detergent and corrosion inhibitor...

Phenalkamine curing agents, derived from the cashew nutshell liquid, provide outstanding anti-corrosion properties to epoxy coatings. This technology allows the paint formulator to provide the marine paint industry with solvent-free and edge-retentive coatings...

Over the past few years, this series of technology reviews has dealt with many different aspects of coatings technology. Increasingly, it has become difficult to find subject areas of general interest which do not overlap extensively with something already discussed. To bring this series to a suitable close, I thought it would be interesting to look further ahead than usual; to consider factors and technologies which may change the face of the coatings industry in the longer term...

Every day within the United States new green initiatives are being proposed by politicians, celebrities and businesses. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is supporting hybrid cars. Musician Sheryl Crow is supporting green bathroom accessories. The Home Depot recently rolled out its Eco Options program in stores throughout the country. The company also signed an agreement with The Conversion Fund to reduce CO2 emissions. With just about everyone and every sector of the business world supporting some green cause, what is the U.S. paint industry doing to protect the environment, reduce energy consumption and global warming? Not much at all, in this author's opinion...

Dispersing pigments for paints and dyes increases the surface area of the product's ingredients by dispersing the solids or reducing their particle size. Advanced reactor-based technology can be used to achieve this. The technology ensures the even distribution of energy throughout the product's ingredients to increase the surface area...

Several pigment combinations are suitable for the formulation of green color shades. For economic reasons, "complementary pigment combinations" are often used. These are green shades that are generated by mixing yellow and blue pigments. However, these mixtures may bear significant risk in terms of weather fastness, especially when the fastness properties and the pigment concentrations are not balanced, or when the formulation contains a large portion of titanium dioxide. In combination with the effect of sunlight and weathering, all of this can lead to undesirable and unacceptable color changes in the coating...

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. In these times of spiraling energy costs and increasing environmental concerns, that definition might be stretched to include using the same coating techniques and expecting superior results...

It is not often that one can report on change of the scale that is taking place in Asia Pacific at the moment. Once in a lifetime events are shaping the global coatings industry as never before and it is not an easy task to try to do justice to the enormity of what is happening...

Colloidal microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) has been used widely in the food and pharmaceutical industries to suspend dense particles, prevent phase separation and stabilize emulsions. This study demonstrates that colloidal MCC has the same functionalities in waterborne coatings. It significantly improves the in-can shelf stability of waterborne coatings without negatively impacting application properties...

The earliest measuring instruments used to evaluate wet and dry coatings were the human eye and hand. Today's instruments do more, do it faster and do it better, but terms such as thumb tack, touch dry and rubout serve to remind us of the old approach. Today we take it for granted that a thickness measuring instrument will store hundreds (or thousands) of data points readily, thus saving us valuable time which can be used later in trying to make sense of statistical analyses of the data. That's no longer news - so what is? Company names are provided in this review to assist readers in identifying whether a particular technology may be of interest. This does not imply (unless it is specifically indicated) that the named companies are the only providers of any of the techniques or instruments described...

Built at a cost of AUD 51 million and brimming with technical innovations, the new 10-story Melbourne City Council building - known as CH2 - has been awarded the first six star design rating from the country's Green Building Council...

For designers, the consumers' affinity for product differentiation is driving color customization in directions never before imagined. Until recently, the cost and logistics of mass color customization made it impractical from an OEM point of view. However, new technologies, such as AURA® infusion technology, are changing the equation, making mass customization a reality. In fact, the day may be coming when home appliances are custom-colored to match room décor, or other home appliances and electronics receive a custom splash of color to brighten kitchens, family rooms, bedrooms and every other place in the house.

The CEPE welcomed some 150 company representatives from the European paint and surface coatings industry to the Cote d'Azur in France, where it held its first annual conference and annual general meeting since restructuring. The small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) came to Nice with one goal in mind: they were hoping that the CEPE would help to provide some direction in regard to their chances and prospects in the European paint and surface coatings market.

The Italian-based ICA Group, located in Civitanova Marche, Italy, is a specialist in the manufacture of wood coatings. In collaboration with Giardina Officine Aeromeccaniche, it developed coating cycles that make it possible to achieve finishes that are easily comparable to those achieved using traditional, solventborne products, but with a drastic reduction in environmental impact.

The growth of powder coatings has been dramatic during the last decade with new applications continually being developed, including plastics. Innovations in processes and materials have opened previously unimaginable opportunities. Although environmental advantages have been a strong motivating factor for the conversion of liquid coatings to powder coatings, the bottom line for many companies is increased profitability. Leading manufacturers of powder coating technology foresee untapped potential in plastics applications including automotive, appliances, and many more...

In the last few years, there have been some significant changes in the way companies do business. Gone are the days when business strategies were laid down to produce the same product for ten years. Today, companies do not plan as far ahead. The automobile industry is a good example of this rapid product turnover. For instance, a model has a life expectancy of about five years before it is extensively "face lifted", requiring virtually all new plastic trims and bezels. To meet such everchanging situations, companies require tools that are adapted quickly to meet these new demands. A tool that can be used for only one process is a luxury few companies can afford. Likewise, coating lines are no exception. To justify their investment costs, they must meet today's demands as well as tomorrow's...

Powder coatings have evolved continuously for more than half a century (or much longer if we include cosmetic applications). The original system in which thermoplastic polyamide or vinyl powders are applied by fluidised bed is now reduced to a niche product in a market dominated by spray-applied thermoset powders, with radiation-curing also occupying a significant market position...

Over the past few decades, the printing industry has undergone a number of developments to existing techniques such as ink-jet and laser printing. Developments have focused on improvements to existing techniques rather than completely new innovations. The last few years have also seen the introduction of "smart" technologies, ones that have intelligent features - for example color-changing inks and coatings, which are active rather than passive techniques. One company has developed an award-winning, "smart" process that looks set to revolutionize the printing industry - DataLase®. This article will review traditional printing techniques and the technology that has emerged as a viable alternative.

This is the beginning of a new series featuring interviews with the global leaders of major paint companies and their suppliers focusing on innovation and trends in the coatings market. We also include some facts about the market in which the company operates and a short profile of its business. In the first of the series we are very pleased to welcome Dr Joachim Wolff of Bayer MaterialScience who talks to SpecialChem about Polyurethanes...

This is the second part of our article dedicated to UV-Coating and overprintability, in this part we present four other adhesion phenomena and recommendations of raw material suppliers for the design of overprintable varnishes. The conclusion gives a summary of the most important features leading to a set of criteria for the development of overprintable and glueable varnishes...

Although (as shown below) there are a vast number of polymers that are collectively known as 'plastics', the majority have common features which make coating difficult. This article reviews some of the applications, problems and ever-improving range of solutions associated with the coating of plastics. A number of issues which are relevant, such as printing of food packaging have been discussed in previous articles and will not be repeated here...

The development of products is usually conducted on laboratory scale equipment that is similar to that used in the plant. Once the customer accepts the sample, the last formula made is given to the plant to produce. This formulation is transferred to the plant with varying degrees of detail. The product is scheduled for production usually as single batch...

When considering coating plastics, the first obvious question pops up. Why bother? By simply using pigmented resin one gets a molded-in color that can't scratch off and one that also eliminates the need for a finishing operation. The answer is two-fold. One is that, in thick, large plastic parts, it can be more economical to put color on the outside where it is needed, instead of throughout the entire thickness of the part. The other is better color matching. Everyone has had the experience of seeing an assembly of metal and plastic parts that didn't perfectly match, and where the fading on the plastic only made the color mismatch worse over time...

The emulsion polymerization process has been discussed in a number of publications. The primary role of surfactants in emulsion polymerization is to lower the interfacial tension, which allows the emulsification of reactive vinyl monomers and the formation of stable colloidal dispersions of nano-size polymer particles. Conventional surfactants aid in the emulsification of monomers inside the micelles, stabilize the polymer particles during nucleation and growth and promote the stability of the resulting latex...

Besides high efficiency, UV stabilizers have to meet some other basic, but most important requirements. To grant such high efficiency, perfect compatibility, that is excellent solubility in the film-forming binder, is a definite must. This requires high permanence and low volatility as well, especially with stoving enamels. These properties must be present along with no negative side effects such as color contribution, interaction with other paint elements or influence on crosslinking...

The Overprintability of UV-Coating and Inks is an important issue in the area of packaging and labeling, such applications like, ink printing, hot foil stamping, thermal transfer printing and glue-ability are concerned...

The improvement process adventure starts when your manager walks in and says "we need to - fix the product, increase the yield of, and reduce the cost of. The time table for achieving the assignment is usually now or sooner. If you're lucky you have until the staff meeting on Friday...

The quest to produce environmentally friendly and low-toxicity coatings has generated many new types of coatings and modifications to existing systems...

Coatings manufacturers use various methods for quality assurance/quality control or QA/QC. The devices are simple and low-cost. Data usually consists of one point, giving what essentially is a "go/no-go" test...

This article presents new possible approaches for alkyd resin architecture in order to comply with market constraints related to VOC emissions. Examples and performance of alkyd concepts are presented with regard to VOC content and performance for "interior/exterior trim and cladding paints for wood and metal"...

It has been nearly 100 years since large-scale, production-line manufacturing made automobiles affordable for average Americans-and we haven't looked back since...

If your car is damaged, you hope that (among other things) the bodyshop will be able to match both the appearance and the durability of the original finish on the repaired areas of bodywork...

One of the unfortunate consequences of the digital revolution has been the greater ease with which all kinds of printed matter and manufactured goods can be counterfeited, and the greater speed with which international criminal activities can be organised...

The term 'floor coatings' covers many technologies and applications whose main common property is a requirement for a hard-wearing, abrasion and scuff resistant surface. The primary types of floor which can or must be protected by surface coatings are wood, concrete and PVC (vinyl), though reference will be made to other substrates below...

These stability issues have to be addressed not only during development of new paint products but also for quality assurance during production on a regular basis...

New pathways were explored to make aqueous polyurethane dispersions without the co-solvent nmethylpyrolidone (NMP). This includes methods to process these materials with alternate cosolvents as well as with co-solvents that can be removed from the product during processing...

To design higher performance surface coatings, coating formulators must choose from myriad polymer chemistries. Hybrid polymer technology combines the advantages of one polymer species with another - while offsetting their shortcomings - in a synergistic manner to create a higher performance class of polymers. This article discusses the acrylic hybrid technology and its applications, particularly in the design and development of non-yellowing, high performance coatings...

Waterborne paints have a long and successful history in certain niche applications (see this month's editorial), but the twin issues of environmental legislation and the low cost of water as a solvent have encouraged their much wider use...

Most car of us have a special "love relationship" with our cars - much is to do with their aesthetic appearance. Shape, colour and surfaces contribute to a car's attraction in the show-room...

Film defects can ruin protective and aesthetical properties of coatings. A huge amount of time and money is invested in preventing and resolving them...

Not too long ago, coatings and their raw materials were produced by a limited range of long-established production methods. But in recent years new technologies have been studied and commercialised which are not merely significant improvements on the old established methods, but exemplify different ways of thinking about manufacture...

Coatings have traditionally been based on 'random' polymers, varying statistically in their molecular weight, degree of branching, and in the case of copolymers, the ratio between the different components...