The Solenis portfolio is organized into three broad categories:
1. liquid and powder direct dyes, which comprise both powder and liquid concentrate products. These direct dyes, which are labeled under Solenis’ Pergasol trade name, are anionic, water-soluble synthetic dyes known for their ability to achieve precise shade and quality targets. The dye group is ideal for providing deep, lasting color in printing and writing papers, graphic and specialty papers, hygiene papers, paper board, corrugated case materials, and decorative tissue paper grades. Solenis also offers some cationic direct dyes that have very higher fiber affinity, providing outstanding bleedfastness to many paper grades.
2. organic and inorganic pigments, which Solenis markets as Pergalite in Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America and as Solar in North America. These pigment preparations are an excellent choice for tinting white paper and for producing high-quality colored paper. They are also an excellent option for producing medium and deep colored paper grades, where lightfastness and chemical resistance are needed. Notably, Solenis offers a unique range of pigment preparations for paper and board intended to come into contact with food.
3. basic dyes, which encompass Solenis’ Pergabase family of synthetic dyes. These colorants are well studied and allow papermakers to economically achieve brilliant shades of violet, brown, yellow, orange and red. They are ideally suited for tinting newsprint and wood-containing papers and for coloring waste-based packaging grades.
Those requirements can vary greatly depending on the papermaking market. For example, tissue and towel makers must balance whiteness with wet strength, while deep-dyed napkins for food contact must provide excellent bleedfastness. Packaging and board makers must also be able to provide solutions for food contact, as well as other specialty packaging products such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and detergents, all of which must prevent water and vapor intrusion without sacrificing recyclability. Finally, printing and writing paper makers must be able to deliver brightness and whiteness, printability and runnability, gloss and smoothness, uniformity and strength.