How are Crayola Markers made?

Crayola® Markers are made with six components consisting of: a color solution, a porous plastic nib, a plastic barrel, a cotton filament (ink reservoir), an end plug, and a cap. Although specific ingredient information is proprietary, most of the color solutions in Crayola Markers are made from water and dyes. Below is the process we follow to make Crayola Markers.

1. Tiny beads of plastic are fed into a molding machine where they are melted and then molded into marker barrels. The liquid plastic becomes solid, white marker barrels in a matter of seconds. 

2. Any extra plastic from the molding process goes back into the molding machine to make new marker barrels. 

3. The marker barrels are screen printed with the Crayola brand name and most with the color name of the marker. The process is like screen printing t-shirts, where the ink colors pass through a pre-made screen onto the printing surface. Up to 6 distinct colors can be used to decorate the marker barrel at one time! The ink dries quickly as the marker barrel passes through a drying tunnel. 

4. The assembly machine lines up the marker barrels in the same direction as they move along a conveyor belt. The end plug and ink reservoir are inserted into the marker barrel, and the color solution is injected into the soft reservoir. The marker nib, or drawing tip, is added to the open end of the marker, followed by the cap. It takes a minute or two for the ink to travel up from the reservoir to color the nib, so the marker is ready to write! 

5. The finished markers are placed in a sorter - a machine with separate sections for the assorted colors. A chute drops one marker of each color onto a conveyor belt, creating the colorful assortment that will fill the marker box. 

6. A robotic arm opens the flat marker boxes and sends them down the conveyor belt. Another robotic arm pushes the markers into the boxes and closes them. After the assembled markers are packed in large cartons, they are ready to be shipped to stores.