Ultramarine pigment is exceptionally ‘production-friendly’ due to its heat stability, ease of dispersion, and complete insolubility in plastics. Unlike organic pigments, ultramarine preserves dimensional stability in polyolefins. Its transparency also allows ultramarine to produce an outstanding ‘crystal blue’ in transparent polymers.
AZURUM offers a range of ultramarines tailored for plastics, featuring a basic selection of shades that come in various enhanced forms to meet the specific requirements of specialized plastics processes.
A key advantage of AZURUM ultramarines is their exceptional color consistency, with a maximum specification of ΔE 0.5. Available products include:
The AD series is specially processed to achieve extremely low moisture levels, allowing for high pigmentation concentrates without signs of porous extrudate, even when efficient extruder venting isn't available. The Premier D range undergoes additional processing, reducing moisture content to a maximum of 0.05%.
Available products in this range:
The AD range’s specialized manufacturing process also minimizes trace sulfur levels in the pigment, eliminating the typical odor associated with ultramarine pigments under certain conditions. This results in a better working environment and a complete absence of residual odors in finished plastic parts.
Standard ultramarine pigments contain a small percentage of oversized particles, making them unsuitable for fine fiber and very thin film applications. The Premier grades undergo a special process to produce pigments with a very fine particle size, allowing grades from the AF range to be safely used in fiber applications as fine as 2 dtex.
Fine fibers and thin films require high-strength colorants, so the AF process is applied only to the strongest red-shade blues.
Available products:
Excellent dispersion and freedom from oversized agglomerates are verified through a rigorous quality control test. The pigment is extruded through a fine filter pack, and the pressure increase (Delta P) caused by oversized particles blocking the screen is measured. The fine particle size of AF5000, with no particles exceeding 10µm, ensures the mechanical strength of the host polymer is maximized in injection molding and extrusion applications. AF5000 is recommended for applications where impact resistance and tensile strength are critical.