Painting & Coating Industry (PCI) logo Powder coating summit logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Painting & Coating Industry (PCI) logo Powder coating summit logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest News
    • Market Trends & Reports
    • Price Alerts
    • Subscribe to eNewsletters
    • Global Top 10/ PCI 25
    • Weekly Featured Article
    • COATLE Word Game
  • PRODUCTS
    • Product News
    • Must See Products and Services
  • MATERIALS
    • Additives
    • Resins/Polymers
    • Pigments
    • Equipment
    • Distributors
  • TECHNOLOGIES
    • Adhesives
    • Architectural Coatings
    • FINISHING
      • Finishing News
      • Finishing Technologies
      • Finishing Equipment
      • Finishing Today
    • Industrial Coatings
    • Nanotechnology
    • Powder Coatings
    • Solventborne
    • Special Purpose Coatings
    • Sustainability
    • UV Coatings
    • Waterborne
  • RESOURCES
    • Columns
      • Ask Joe Powder
      • Did you know?
      • Distribution Dive
      • Focus on Canada
      • Formulating With Mike
      • Innovation Insights
      • Moody's Coatings Conundrums
      • Powder Coating Perspectives
      • Target the Market
      • TiO2 Insider
    • Blogs
      • Editor's Viewpoint
      • Industry Insights
    • Coatings Supplier Handbook
    • Podcasts and Videos
      • COAT-IT! Podcast
      • Videos/PCI TV
    • PCI Store
    • Classifieds
    • eBooks
    • Sponsor Insights
    • White Papers
    • COATLE Word Game
  • EVENTS
    • Coatings Trends & Technologies Summit
    • Paint and Coatings Academy
    • Webinars
    • Calendar of Events
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • DIRECTORIES
    • Buyer's Guide
    • Equipment Directory
    • Materials Directory
  • EMAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • eMagazine Archive
    • China Issue Archive
    • Editorial Advisory Board
  • CONTACT
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe to eMagazine
    • Subscribe to eNewsletters
  • SIGN UP!
Paint and Coating EquipmentTesting, Monitoring &Tools

Quality Control Testing of Titanium Dioxide Industrial Coating Bases

By Jeff Watts
pci1118-852038226-900.jpg
November 7, 2018

For suppliers and coating companies, quality control tests that achieve accurate, repeatable measurements are essential. Without valid testing, product quality inevitably suffers, starting a cascading avalanche of negative implications that can span from lost time and increased costs to damaged reputations and declining sales. Unfortunately, these highly accurate measurements can be difficult to achieve, much less duplicate across multiple instruments in several locations.

Take, for example, quality control testing for titanium dioxide (TiO2) industrial coating bases - the most common pigment in coatings, which is used to ensure longevity of paints and continued protection of the substrate, in addition to improving aesthetic appeal, opacity and durability. The production process to take titanium dioxide and develop industrial coating bases begins as the titanium dioxide powder first enters a factory. As soon as the raw material arrives, it undergoes an initial round of quality tests to ensure the powder meets the facility’s strict quality requirements.

In order for these tests to have merit over time, especially when using multiple instruments across several sites, high inter-instrument agreement is incredibly important. In fact, it’s essential. Without stringent instrument specifications, both the validity of testing and product quality will suffer.

Paint and coating professionals are tasked with finding solutions to any breakdowns in production quality. Arguably, it all comes back to technology. Currently, testing equipment used throughout the coatings industry for titanium dioxide includes whiteness meters and spectrophotometers, which are used to generate data on a variety of corresponding quality control measures, including whiteness, color expression, contrast ratio, strength and resistance to weathering. The choice between these two, paired with the quality of the instrument utilized, dramatically impacts the end result.

For companies relying on whiteness meters to conduct quality control tests on titanium dioxide powder, the advantages are clear: simple operation and low price. It is an attractive solution, but what is being sacrificed? Whiteness meters generally adopt RGB 0/45 optical filter structure, which is limited in the information it provides (Figure 1). Because of this, whiteness meters provide only whiteness data calculated with tristimulus values and cannot provide reflectance data, which limits options for other testing calculations that may be desired and could have otherwise been calculated using reflectance curves.

Structure chart of 0/45 optical filter whiteness meter
FIGURE 1 » Structure chart of 0/45 optical filter whiteness meter.

Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, data from whiteness meters is inconsistent — often necessitating repeated testing that wastes time, impacts costs and increases workload. Part of this inconsistency can be attributed to calibration. Whiteness meter manufacturers fail to provide calibration services, which may seem trivial, but in reality, this means that after a few years of use, data from these meters is unreliable and effectively unusable.

On the other hand, a significant improvement in quality control testing of titanium dioxide can be seen by companies who rely on spectrophotometers, such as the Datacolor 800V, which has begun to gain wider recognition as a superior solution among titanium dioxide manufacturers and coatings companies.

Thanks to the technology’s high inter-instrument agreement, manufacturers can easily control quality, while coatings companies can set permissible deviation standards for their suppliers. With a D/8 geometric angle and dual-beam-type benchtop spectrophotometer, coatings plants also enjoy many benefits beyond inter-instrument agreement, including ease of sharing data between stations, highly accurate and repeatable measurements, increased data reliability thanks to regular onsite calibration and maintenance services, and the ability to run multiple tests on the same equipment (Figure 2).

Structure chart of D/8 dual-beam benchtop spectrophotometer
FIGURE 2 » Structure chart of D/8 dual-beam benchtop spectrophotometer.

Because of the increased accuracy of data, measurements from spectrophotometers can be compared against standards, without the need to conduct parallel tests, effectively saving time and money in the process. Furthermore, annual spectrophotometer testing and calibration certification ensures the data generated is highly repeatable and accurate.

Despite the high level of inter-instrument agreement achievable with spectrophotometers, in certain cases, it still may not be sufficient for suppliers to meet their quality control requirements of titanium dioxide bases. In these instances, where even superior agreement is needed, it is necessary to turn to a custom software solution, such as Datacolor TOOLS V2.0. When paired with a company’s spectrophotometers, a comprehensive software solution can effectively eliminate disagreement between two instruments on a given standard, resulting in two standards that are colormetrically identical. This is especially helpful when a manufacturer has very stringent tolerances, and a large percentage of these tolerances are taken up with the difference in instruments.

Consider this scenario: two spectrophotometers (A and B) exhibiting disagreement when measuring the same titanium dioxide sample. The user would first measure the working standard on instrument A against the digitally stored master standard. The software would then provide information on the difference between the master standard and the measured working standard. This information, along with the measured working standard, is sent to instrument B. Once the working standard is measured on instrument B, the data is analyzed by the software solution, creating a new virtual master standard that is colormetrically identical to the original digital standard on instrument A. Thanks to this solution, whether a titanium dioxide batch is measured on instrument A or instrument B, the results will be identical.

This level of accuracy and repeatability is essential to the quality control side of manufacturing and directly impacts the end product. Even beyond titanium dioxide industrial coatings, the value of high-end instrumentation capable of superior inter-instrument agreement is indisputable across the spectrum of quality control needs experienced throughout the paint and coatings industry. By starting with the right high-quality instruments, suppliers and coatings companies can curtail the breakdown of inaccurate, unrepeatable quality control measurements and achieve consistent results that ultimately save time, money and reputations. 

 

Author’s Note:

This article is based on the paper, “Quality Control Testing for Titanium Dioxide Industrial Coatings Bases,” written by Holly Ling Bing, Paint Applications Manager, Datacolor Shanghai.

KEYWORDS: spectrophotometers

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Jeff Watts, Paint and Coatings Market Manager, Datacolor, Lawrenceville, NJ

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • PCI-0724-Global10-Feature-1440.png

    2024 Global Top 10: Top Paint and Coatings Companies

    Who ranks on top? PCI’s annual ranking of the top 10...
    Global Top 10 and PCI 25
    By: Courtney Bassett
  • PCI-0724-PCI25-Feature-1440.png

    2024 PCI 25: Top Paint and Coatings Companies

    PCI's annual ranking of the top 25 North American paint...
    Global Top 10 and PCI 25
    By: Courtney Bassett
  • pci1022-Kinaltek-Lead-1170.jpg

    A Novel Pigment Production Technology

    Following an extensive R&D program that demonstrated...
    Paint and Coating Pigments
    By: Jawad Haidar and Nitin Soni
You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Manage My Account
  • eMagazine
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the PCI audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of PCI or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • Modern arapartment complex painted in bright colors.
    Sponsored byEPS - Engineered Polymer Solutions

    Architectural Polymers Leading the Way in Coatings Innovation

  • paint sprayer in a workshop
    Sponsored byallnex

    Enabling Performance and Compliance: allnex Introduces a New Line of VOC Exempt Solvent-Borne Resins

Popular Stories

BASF SE Logo

BASF Reportedly Eyes Exit from Coatings

No. 7 BASF Coatings

BASF Comments on Potential Sale of Coatings Business

Modern arapartment complex painted in bright colors.

Architectural Polymers Leading the Way in Coatings Innovation



PCI Buyers Guide

Submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) to suppliers of your choice with details on what you need with a click of a button

Start your RFP

Browse our Buyers Guide for manufacturers and distributors of all types of coatings products and much more!

Find Suppliers

Events

September 3, 2025

Coatings Trends & Technologies Summit

The Coatings Trends & Technologies (CTT) Summit is an annual conference for both liquid and powder coatings formulators and manufacturers to discuss innovations in coatings technology. This event combines high-quality technical presentations, a resource-rich exhibit hall, and dedicated networking opportunities to connect scientific minds, foster innovation, and cultivate game-changing new ideas!

January 1, 2030

Webinar Sponsorship Information

For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com.

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Longest-running laboratory experiment

What is the longest-running laboratory experiment?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

CTT Summit Short Courses (Live 9/3/25)

Coatings Trends & Technologies Summit is expanding its offerings with four short courses. These short courses will offer an extensive day of interactive learning.

See More Products
pci  webinar april 2025

PCI CASE EBOOK

Related Articles

  • A Review of Global Supply and Demand for Titanium Dioxide

    A Review of Global Supply and Demand for Titanium Dioxide

    See More
  • Monitoring Thermal Coating Process for Quality Control

    Monitoring Thermal Coating Process for Quality Control

    See More
  • Stabilization of Titanium Dioxide in Non-Aqueous and Aqueous Coatings

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • auto-paints-and-coatings

    Automotive Paints and Coatings, 2nd Edition

  • organic coatings.jpg

    Organic Coatings: Science and Technology, 4th Edition

  • cold-spray-tech

    Cold Spray Technology

See More Products

Events

View AllSubmit An Event
  • September 6, 2024

    A Revolution in Color Management: Prediction of Color Stability

    On Demand With color being a key criterion in the purchasing decision, color harmony and long-term color stability are a must. Long-term exposure to sunlight can fade a product’s color resulting in the decay of the fluorescent ingredients affecting the appearance of the product.
View AllSubmit An Event
×

Keep the info flowing with our eNewsletters!

Get the latest industry updates tailored your way.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletters
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey & Sample
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Youtube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing