Companies are increasingly using optical brightening agents (OBAs) to achieve a “whiter-than-white” effect on a range of materials, including plastics, paints and coatings and paper. Adding these optical brighteners gives products a brighter, whiter appearance and compensates for the yellowing that can happen over time with white products.
The challenge for manufacturers using OBAs is accurately measuring and maintaining color consistency across their production processes. While adding OBAs makes for a brighter product, the addition of these brighteners fundamentally alters the way the color is perceived in the production process.