The Process & Steps of Making Crayola Colors

Children have colored with Crayola crayons since 1903.

C. Harold Smith and Edwin Binney invented Crayola crayons in 1902 and sold the first eight-count box in 1903. As of 2011, 120 core crayon colors and over 400 different colors have found their way into crayon boxes. Crayola manufacturing plants, located in Easton and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania as well as Mexico City, Mexico, produce over 300 billion crayons a year, which averages 12 million crayons produced every day.

Mixing and Molding

Making Crayola crayons consists of mixing two primary ingredients, paraffin wax and color pigment. The process begins by measuring the correct amount of pigment and adding it to the paraffin wax. The amount and color of pigment added specifies the color of the crayon. Heated tanks hold the wax and after mixing the pigment into the wax, the molding process begins. After pouring the mixture into the crayon molds, the crayons begin cooling with a water cooling system.

Inspection and Labeling

After the crayons cool, they pass through a quality inspection. Any crayons that do not pass the inspection return for remelting and remolding. Crayons that pass the inspection test feed into a cylinder for labeling. As the labels feed onto the rotating cylinder, a roller presses the label against the glue and wraps the label twice around the crayon. After labeling, the packaging process packs the crayons into boxes.

Crayola Factory

Visitors can tour the Crayola Factory, a children's museum located in downtown Easton, Pennsylvania. While visiting the factory, children and adults will learn the manufacturing process of Crayola crayons. Other activities include craft making, exhibits and new product testing.

References

• Crayola: How Crayola Crayons are Made
• Crayola: The Crayola Factory
• Crayola: Crayola Profile