Environmentally Compatible Colored Pencils with Secure Grip

摘要

Novel environmentally compatible colored pencils have a soft component made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) compound. The basic material of the pencils, which are marketed by Staedler Mars GmbH & Co. KG in Nuremberg, Germany, under the brand name 'Wopex', is a natural fiber composite material consisting of 70% wood and 30% with different amounts of plastics and additives. Because the compound supplied by Krai-burg TPE GmbH & Co. KG in Waldkrai-burg, Germany, from their Thermolast K' range had already exhibited excellent bonding of the wood/polymer material in earlier Wopex pencils, the TPE is now . also applied for colored pencils using the co-extrusion process. As opposed to conventional pencil production, this efficient process leads to lower energy costs and less production waste, as the wood is completely recycled.