Applications of Optical Brightening Agents

Our optical brighteners are mostly used in the paper industry, where they are used for paper making or finishing. Typical applications in the paper industry are in paper pulp, film, size press and pigmented coating compound.

BLANKOPHOR® products are typically used as fluorescent glue additives for starch-based glue formulations. The aim is to mark the glue (fluorescence marker) and to trace the application and distribution of the glue in the machine detection of the glue application on e.g. packaging paper.

In the photo industry, our optical brightener is used as a special additive (white toner) in color photography.

Optical brighteners are used in various textile applications.

BLANKOPHOR® products are suitable additives for indoor wall paints to increase the whiteness and the bluish tint of the paint. This may allow a different pigment mix in the paint formulation. 

A range of special BLANKOPHOR® formulations are available for this application.

Printing Inks

BLANKOPHOR® products can be used in printing inks for the following purposes:

• as a fluorescence marker
• In order to improve the contrast of the print
• in order to reduce the yellowish tint and increase the whiteness of a given formulation

Blankophor produces optical brightener for liquid detergents

Optical brighteners are often used in medical diagnostics:

• staining of native preparations
• fluorescence staining of fungi
• detection of fungal mycelium, pseudomycelium and yeast cells
• brightening of dermato- or onychomycosis (skin fungus, nail fungus)
• in mycological laboratory

• Leakage detection for engines and plant technology