How Are Crayola Crayons Made?

Crayola History

Edwin Binney's father owned a pigment business in the 1800s. Edwin and his cousin C.Harold Smith took over the business in 1885. The Crayola brand began in 1903. Today, the world headquarters and the major manufacturing facilities are in Easton, Pa. Other manufacturing facilities are in Bethlehem, Pa., and Mexico City. Crayola became a subsidiary of Hallmark in 1984. Other major brand names are Portfolio Series, Silly Putty and Model Magic. Crayola has a visitor's center in Pennsylvania that invites children to play, explore, and see how Crayola crayons and markers are made. Each quarter the center creates new projects and themes for the children.

Crayola crayons are made from two basic products: paraffin wax and powdered pigment. The wax is stored in heated tanks where the pigments are added and mixed. Then the mixture is poured into crayon molds starting from the tip and filling upward. Once the wax mixture is cooled, each crayon is inspected. If the crayon does not pass inspection, it is sent back to be melted again and molded again. The rest of the crayons are fed into a cylinder. Labels are then fed into a rotating cylinder while a white roller presses the labels against glue. The labels are wrapped around the crayon twice to give the crayon strength. There are 18 different colored labels. The packages used for Crayola crayons come in different sized boxes from the small package of eight crayons to the 150-count crayon tower.

Crayola crayons are nontoxic and safe. In 1936, Crayola became a founding member of Crayon, Watercolor and Craft Institute, now called the Art and Creative Material Institute (ACMI). The institute promotes product safety in art materials made for children. Crayola follows all government and safety standards. Crayola has a quality assurance team that oversees the material used in their products. They screen, evaluate and test their products and the raw materials used.

Crayola works closely with schools in supplying projects and teacher ideas for students. It also has the Crayola Gold Star Teacher's Program that supplies teachers with demonstrations, workshops, product testing and lesson testing. Teachers participate in events, learn first about new products, receive discounts on products, and participate in contests. The Crayola Website offers many project ideas for teachers as well as the annual Children's Art Exhibition. This exhibition supplies a theme for students from kindergarten through sixth grade. Students write stories and create pictures for their pieces.