Black masterbatch vs compound vs liquid color: how to choose
If you need a black part, you have three routes: dose masterbatch into natural resin, buy fully compounded black resin, or meter liquid colour at the machine. Each has a place. Here is how they actually compare on cost, quality and day-to-day hassle.
1. The three options, plainly
- Masterbatch — concentrated pigment in a carrier resin, dosed into natural polymer at the machine, usually 1–10%.
- Compound — fully compounded black resin that arrives ready to process. No dosing step; you are buying the finished material.
- Liquid color — pigment dispersed in a liquid carrier, metered into the melt by a pump.
All three produce a black part. They differ in what you pay for, what you handle, and how much control you keep.
2. Cost per finished part
This is where the comparison usually gets done badly, because the three are quoted in different units.
| Masterbatch | Compound | Liquid color | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price unit | per kg of masterbatch | per kg of finished resin | per kg of colour |
| What you also pay for | natural resin + dosing | nothing extra | natural resin + pump |
| Typical cost position | Lowest for volume | Highest per kg | Low at very high volume |
| Inventory | One natural resin + one additive | A separate grade per spec | One natural resin + colour |
Masterbatch usually wins on total cost for anything above small volumes, because you keep buying one natural resin in bulk and only dose what you need. Compound costs more per kilo but removes a process step. Liquid colour becomes attractive at very high, continuous volumes where the pump cost is amortised.
3. Dispersion and quality
Compound is made on a compounding line with high shear, so dispersion is generally excellent and very consistent. That is why it is common in demanding applications.
Masterbatch dispersion depends on two things: how well the masterbatch itself was compounded, and whether your machine provides enough distributive mixing at your let-down. A well-made masterbatch on a correctly set line gives results very close to compound — which is why masterbatch is the default for pipe, film and moulding worldwide.
Liquid colour disperses very well in the melt but adds a liquid handling step and can affect the process window.
4. Handling, dust and changeover
- Masterbatch — pellets, clean to handle, easy to store, changeover is a purge and a dose change. Most flexible option.
- Compound — simplest to run, but you hold inventory per specification, and any spec change means a new material qualification.
- Liquid color — needs pump maintenance, can spill, and shelf life matters. Excellent for fast colour changes at volume.
5. Which one fits which job
- High volume, one spec, demanding quality — compound is worth the premium.
- Multiple products, multiple polymers, cost-sensitive — masterbatch. One natural resin, one additive, dose to suit.
- Very high continuous volume with frequent changes — liquid colour earns its pump.
- Outdoor products needing UV protection — any of the three can work, but check that the carbon loading and dispersion are specified, not just the colour.
6. Where buyers get it wrong
The usual mistake is comparing the price of a kilogram of masterbatch against a kilogram of compound. Those are not the same product: one is a concentrate you dilute, the other is finished material. Convert both to cost to produce 1,000 kg of my part, including the natural resin, the dosing step and the scrap rate, and the answer usually becomes obvious.
The second mistake is treating "black" as one specification. For outdoor pipe, agricultural film or an automotive interior, the carbon loading, the carbon type and the carrier are all part of the specification — and they are what separate a part that lasts from one that comes back.
Related pages
- Injection moulding grades — where compound and masterbatch compete most directly
- All black masterbatch grades — carriers, carbon loading and let-down guidance
- Pricing and quotation — what drives cost per kg and how to get a firm quote