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Transcript

The Life Cycle of Colored Pencils

Sources

http://www.historyofpencils.com/writing-instruments-history/history-of-colored-pencils/

https://www.crayola.com/faq/your-business/can-you-tell-me-how-crayola-colored-pencils-are-made/

https://createlet.com/what-are-colored-pencils-made-of/

By: Zack Reeves

The first part to making a colored pencil is the wood casing. Wooden slats are used to form the casing, which hold the colored lead.

Next is the colored lead itself. It is composed of talc which is minded, chalk which is mined from soft limestone, kaolin, an array of dyes and pigments, plant fibers called cellulose ether, and a wax called paraffin.

Lastly, the packaging is made of cardboard and some papers as a way a recycling older materials.

Step 1

Raw Materials

Staring with the wood, it is transported as tree and then cut into the slabs that will become the pencil casing. They are then cut into semi-circular shapes with a gap left in the middle for the colored lead to be inserted, shapes and sizes of pencil casings vary.

Step 2

Wood Casings

There are four materials required when creating the colored lead: Colorants, Binding Materials, Waxes, and Fillers. Theses are all then placed in a large mixer and kneaded into a doughy substance. After the kneading and shaping processes are complete the lead is dried and cut, this is called cartridges. The lead then gets extruded and inserted into a cylindrical tube. Finally, the lead is placed and encased into the wood bounded tightly by glue. The pencils are then packaged and distributed to stores.

Step 3

Colored Lead

The packages that contain the colored pencils are made of cardboard and and sometimes different papers as a matter of recycling older materials. The cardboard is outfitted with the design of the company that they're produced by, and after that they package the pencils inside.

Step 4

Packaging Materials

A very popular art supply company called Crayola, says they distribute their products through a wholesale/retail network. The retail companies they distribute to decide the price of the product and that's why prices vary. Especially in the back-to-school season prices on distributed schools supplies i.e. markers, colored pencils, crayons, and water colors will drop as to make more of a profit.

Step 5

Distribution

This product is used in many ways. Mostly used in art classrooms colored pencils are what is called a medium or art. Colored Pencils are a reusable product because they can be used over and over again until you've sharpened it enough to where it gets too small for use. Colored pencils are thrown away after use but the packaging they come in can be recycled, or maybe even if in good enough condition you can use it again for the same purpose. Although most times it is recycled.

Step 6

Product Uses