How Paintballs Are Made

Paintballs are made by dye encapsulating machines. These machines, worth a considerable amount of money, also are used to make encapsulated drugs such as gel-caps and even bath beads. It is not surprising, then, that most (if not all) paintball manufacturers are pharmaceutical companies.

The actual process is rather involved and technical, but in a nutshell here it is. Two wide ribbons of softened gelatin are fed into the machine. These two strips are joined by two counter rotating drums that have dozens of concave 'pockets'which form the paintball. At the same time the drums also inject fill in between the gelatin strips and seal the seams thus forming the paintball. The paintballs are still very soft because the gelatin of the shell is still warm, and are placed in a tumblers (to ensure roundness) until they are cooled and hardened enough for the next stage. They are then set on trays and left out to continue hardening. A special machine packages the paintballs by weight, although a case of paint is sold by quantity. In a case of 2500 you will get, on average, from 2490 to 2510 paintballs.

The paint used is both biodegradable and water-soluble. Basically it is mineral oils, food colouring, calcium, ethylene glycol, iodine and other harmless chemicals. If left in clothing for a period of months, it will stain otherwise it just washes out.