Your September Newsletter is Now Available!

Challenges to Preservation of Water-based Pigment Dispersions

Hayley Johansen, Technical Service & Lab Manager

The challenges surrounding preservation of water-based pigment dispersions are getting greater as the industry sees not only increased restrictions on preservatives but is also moving to become more environmentally friendly, with an emphasis on sustainability. As solvent based systems, which require no typical in-can preservatives, have become less desirable in applications such as interior wall coatings, the result is the introduction of more water-based ranges. When pigments are dispersed in a liquid form with water as a carrier, plus the addition of other formulation materials which can act as a feedstuff, the perfect environment is created for microbial growth. This, coupled with strengthened restrictions on preservation, means options for optimal preservation are increasingly limited. Pigments can be expensive and ensuring in-can spoilage does not occur is therefore paramount to any formulator.

Previously, the most common preservation for in-can protection was a combination of isothiazolinones, such as CIT & MIT. However, as many will know in Europe, amendments in 13^th ATP published in May 2020 reclassified MIT as a skin sensitizer in concentrations above 15ppm. This amendment was a result of increased sensitivity to isothiazolinones seen worldwide, largely due to overuse in cosmetics and cleaning goods. The use of MIT below 15ppm saw significant reduction in efficacy and alternative ‘packages’ are now being used; the term package is used as a combination of biocides are now required to ensure broad spectrum protection.

Proactively ahead of MIT reclassification in May 2020, DCL removed MIT as a form of preservation in all water based GemSperse dispersions. In particular, DCL launched the GemSperse BA range in 2019, formulated with no intentionally added MIT, plus purposefully selected ingredients to enable use in end-products aiming to meet criteria requested by many eco-labels in the market. The range offers 25 brochure colour indexes compatible with a wide variety of systems with applications ranging from coatings and textiles to paper and latex colouration. The indexes include core colours used in both in-plant tinting and point of sales applications in the coatings industry, plus a host of other colours commonly used across other industries.

What’s next on the horizon?

From March 2022, OIT will be reclassified as a skin-sensitizer above 15ppm, and BIT is likely to follow other isothiazolinones in the next few years. This, coupled with the limiting number of acceptable biocides with any efficacy means formulators are already looking for alternative options, and the market will always be driven by consumer trends which are subject to change. Some are already formulating coatings away from isothiazolinone preservation and DCL’s GemSperse GX range can offer a solution for those looking in this direction. Initially developed for the children’s finger paint market to meet the stringent requirements of EN71-3 and EN71-7, the range is now a popular choice for those formulating ‘isothiazolinone free’ products in different applications away children’s finger paints, such as coatings. The range doesn’t contain CIT/MIT/BIT preservation and currently offers 11 colour indexes, although further indexes can be supplied depending on business needs.

So, what is the future of pigment dispersions?

DCL has a variety of GemSperse dispersion ranges compatible in countless systems which provide robust preservation, whilst adhering to the latest regulatory restrictions. As the saying goes, the future waits for no one and DCL is actively developing future ranges that not only explore the next generation of preservation, but also dispersions with guaranteed sustainability and subsequent versions of the many eco-labels in the market.

For a more detailed overview of our product ranges and products, browse our product brochure today!

DCL’s New Range of High-Performance Pigments

The recent acquisition of Sun Chemical’s manufacturing facility in Goose Creek, South Carolina USA includes the production and sales of the Perylene and Quinacridone product portfolios, along with select other specialty products. Perylenes and Quinacridones are specialty pigment families providing the highest performance, especially high chromaticity, high durability, high heat stability and transparency for the most demanding applications, including the automotive, industrial coatings and engineered plastics markets. 

Click here to download our new list of pigments for plastics, coatings, and inks. Please contact your local sales manager if you have any questions!

Highlights

Having spent the last year and a half apart, the DCL Team was thrilled to meet altogether at the SPE CAD RETEC 2021 conference! The conference started off Monday (Sept 20^th) morning with our sponsored breakfast! Later that day, Mark Freshwater presented on Bismuth Vanadate Pigments for Plastics, which had a great turn out. If you wish to learn about this topic, check out our upcoming webinar on Oct 13^th (see page 7). On Monday night, we had a comedic illusionist, James Brandon, entertain us with his wizardry and tricks! We also had a brave crowd of runners who completed the 5K Fun Run on Tuesday morning and raised $1000 USD (and $39,000 over the last 16 years!) for the Habitat for Humanity Atlanta.

Looking forward to what next year brings!

ERP Update: Maastricht and USA Go-Live

This is our sixth article in our ERP series that covers an update from the most-recent go-live in Maastricht (Netherlands) and the United States. The Go-Live for both these regions occurred on September 1^st, which was monumentally exciting and a huge milestone in the project. There was a scheduled cut-over period from August 30^th – September 7^th which allowed our internal project team the time to focus on the change over from one program to the other. While there have been some delays and issues that arose, common with any new system, we are now transacting business at both sites successfully.

In Maastricht, the manufacturing process is moving very smoothly, along with the purchasing, quality, finance and plant maintenance departments. The other area still being worked on is planning, as the cycle didn’t correspond with the timing of the launch. The first cycle of planning with the new system is now being prepared.

In the USA, the sales and customer service, purchasing, distribution, finance and quality modules were started up during the cut over periods. We started transacting business by September 7^th

“Our team has been working diligently over the last month to minimize the inconvenience to our customers. They’ve worked overtime while maintaining positive attitudes and have focused on how to work together on solutions,” says Frank Lavieri, DCL’s Executive VP of Sales & Marketing).

We are now in a transition period where we are still working through the anticipated backlog of orders from the cut-over period while we get up to normal order fulfillment timeframes. We expect to be in a stabilization period by October 1^st.  We appreciate your support and patience with us during this time. If you have any questions, please reach out to your local Sales Manager.

Upcoming Webinars:

Why use Bismuth Vanadate Pigments for Plastics?
October 13th, 2021

Bismuth Vanadate (BV), Pigment Yellow 184 (PY.184) was introduced as an inorganic pigment in the mid 1980’s.  Its usage and value have grown, however, PY.184 is often overlooked as a potential candidate when a high-performance yellow is needed.  DCL has a full range of BV’s for coatings, plastics, and ink applications.   We will share information and data that demonstrates why PY.184 may not only be a good high-performance yellow option, but the best option!

Register Today!

“Into The Blue” – The Mystery of Indanthrone Blue
November 16th, 2021
This webinar will focus on the history of Indanthrone blue, its value in use, and some of its mysteries! It will be presented by Lieven Vandenberghe (European Coatings Industry, Coordination Manager). Technical staff will be available to answer questions during the webinar, and include: Curtis Ross, Peter Baggen, and Bruce Howie. More information to come in subsequent newsletters.
Register Today!

Ultramarine – Unique Blue for your Color Match Toolbox
January 2022
This webinar will focus on the application and use, Properties, Product Range, Color Space, Cost Performance, Offsets, and more! It will be presented by Larry Lane (Sales Manager, Southwest USA), who has a breadth of knowledge and experience with these products. Panelists will include Frank Lavieri and Jadel Baptista.

Register Today!

Your Sales Managers

Please contact your regional sales manager for more information on the products advertised here and any others in our product range. 

North America:

• Jeff Babich, Sales Manager (jbabich@pigments.com)
• Michele Claeson, Sales Manager (michele@pigments.com)
• Rick Devore, Sales Manager (rick.devore@pigments.com)
• Melissa Koester, Sales Manager (mkoester@pigments.com)
• Larry Lane, Sales Manager  (llane@pigments.com)
• Frank Lavieri, Executive VP Sales & Marketing (frank@pigments.com)
• Mark Freshwater, VP Sales & Marketing Organic Pigments (mark@pigments.com)
• Scott Heitzman, Sales Manager (sheitzman@pigments.com)
• Paul Holder, Sales Manager, Canada (pholder@pigments.com)
• Suzanne Letrondo, Technical Sales Representative Specialty Coatings, Monteith (sletrondo@pigments.com)
• Jon Morrison, Sales Manager (jmorrison@pigments.com)
• Bob Neu, Business Development Manager (bneu@pigments.com)

Europe:

• Peter Baggen, Vice President Sales (pbaggen@pigments.com)
• Andy Fenlon, Director of European Sales (afenlon@pigments.com)
• Lieven Vandenberghe, European Coatings Industry, Coordination Manager (lvandenberghe@pigments.com)
• Raimund Wilhelm, Sales Manager, DACH Region (rwilhelm@pigments.com)
• Prakash Naik, UK, Global Procurement & Business Development (p.naik@pigments.com)
• Laura Kenny, Sales Manager, Dispersions (lkenny@pigments.com)
• Phil Conway, Sales Manager, UK (pconway@pigments.com)
• Cosimo Azzarito, Sales Manager, Italy, Key Account Manager Inks, EMEA (cazzarito@pigments.com)
• Andreas Weis, Sales Manager DACH Region (aweis@pigments.com)
• Deniz Sarialtin, Sales Manager, France (dsarialtin@pigments.com)

Asia Pacific:

• Patrick Chan, Regional Sales Director, Asia Pacific & LATAM (pchan@pigments.com)
• Effendi Wijaya, Technical Sales Manager, Asia (ewijaya@pigments.com)
• Yvonne Chang, Technical Sales Manager, Asia (ychang@pigments.com)

MEA:

• Haytham Sayed, Business Development – Middle East & Africa (hsayed@pigments.com)

Latin America:

• Michele Claeson, Sales Manager, Puerto Rico (michele@pigments.com)
• Denis Rojas, Regional Sales Manager, North Latin America & Caribbean (drojas@pigments.com)
• Zully Villalobos, Technical Sales Manager, Latin America (zvillalobos@pigments.com)

About DCL Corporation
DCL Corporation is a manufacturer and supplier of pigments for our customers in the coatings, plastics, printing ink and paper industries worldwide. Our extensive range of pigments is backed by technical expertise, our commitment to service excellence, continuous improvement, environmental, health, safety and social responsibility. Please visit www.pigments.com for more information on our product range.