Today businesses and consumers alike are increasing their demands for safer chemicals in everyday products. Meeting this demand, DayGlo created Ezentus™, a new and innovative formaldehyde-free pigment.

Unlike some fluorescent pigments, EZ Ezentus™ pigments are based on new revolutionary polymer technology that is free of formaldehyde and other potentially harmful chemicals. Ezentus™ pigments are migration free, have improved thermal stability and superior lightfastness compared to older formaldehyde based pigments.

The EZ Ezentus™ pigments are currently available in four colors:

• EZ-11 Aurora Pink
• EZ-15 Blaze Orange
• EZ-17 Saturn Yellow
• EZ-21 Corona Magenta

CHAPTER ONE: WHO INVENTED FLUORESCENT PIGMENTS?

Bob Switzer, a pre-med student at the University of California, spent the summer of 1933 working at a tomato quality control laboratory in Berkeley, California, until an accident occurred. Spending the next few months in a darkened room to recover, Bob and his brother Joe began playing with fluorescence under black light and discovered a shared new passion. In 1934, the Switzer Brothers founded the Fluor-S-Art Co. to continue to develop their paints for advertising displays. Eventually their search for new applications of their fluorescent paints led them to Cleveland, Ohio, to partner with Continental Lithograph, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers Pictures.

CHAPTER TWO: DAYGLO COLOR CORP.

Come 1946, the Switzer Brothers ended their agreements with Continental Lithograph and founded Switzer Brothers, Inc. (now known as DayGlo Color Corp.) to expand their research to improve their daylight fluorescent pigments. The use of fluorescent pigments continued to grow through the 1960s and reached peak popularity in 1980s pop culture. Psychedelic posters, clothing, toys and accessories- DayGlo fluorescent colors began to invade everyday life. Today sportswear and safety apparel continue to use bright DayGlo pigments to promote individual style and safety, making it no surprise why DayGlo and Reebok caught each other’s eye.

CHAPTER THREE: BRIGHT. FUN. FUNCTIONAL.

Dedicating hours of research and funding to improve their pigments, DayGlo Color Corp. pushed itself to the top as a leader in fluorescent materials. As consumer health and safety concerns increased, a team of DayGlo scientist searched for a way to remove formaldehyde from the manufacturing process. With the creation of Ezentus™, known simply as “EZ™” DayGlo Color could offer shoe and clothing industries with a formaldehyde-free pigment without sacrificing style and creativity. Teaming up with Reebok and our Ezentus™ pigment, the brightly colored Reebok ZOKU RUNNER was born.