Formulation Performance and Problem Solving. A. S. Paterson Company actively searches the globe for materials that will provide technical advantages to our customers’ formulations. Regardless of the industry, product formulations can be defined as: Colour + Resin (Polymer) + Solvent + Wax + Additives A. S. Paterson Company carries products in each of these categories .except for solvents. For each of the other areas, we work with manufacturers from around the world, bringing the best to you. We partner with manufacturers who can offer us technical expertise, a long term secure relationship and good value. Having assembled a broad range of products, a customer can expect to have many formulation performance issues resolved by calling A. S. Paterson Company. Colour Colour constitutes a wide range of materials and effects. The two main categories are pigments and dyes. Pigments tend to give opacity to system and dyes primarily provide transparent or translucent colour effects. Optical effects are also a large part of our expertise. Resins and Polymers Resin, polymer, binder and vehicle are all terms used for the material which forms the continuous film or bulk achieved from an application of paint, ink, floor polish or from molding plastic or casting bricks. This part of formulations carries the colour and often provides some protection or structure. Solvent Solvent is an area in which A. S. Paterson Company is not involved. The solvent could be water or materials like alcohol, mineral spirits or aromatic solvents. Waxes Wax could be a subcategory of Resins and Polymers. Waxes are typically made of long chain hydrocarbon based materials and could be considered polymers. However, in the generic formulation above, the wax is not the continuous part of the finished product but is instead an additive intended to provide any of a long list of performance properties such as internal or external lubricity, abrasion resistance, or improved water properties. Additives Additive is a term used to encompass all other materials that might be used in a formulation. They typically make up a small part of a formulation. Some of the properties affected by “Additives” are; Foaming, Wetting, Flame-Retardant, UV stability, UV blocking, Corrosion resistance, Adhesion, and Texture.