Glass beads are the retroreflective component of a road marking: light from a headlamp enters the bead and is returned toward the driver, which is why the bead, not the paint alone, decides how a marking performs at night. That makes bead sourcing a specification exercise rather than a catalogue exercise. A purchase order normally has to settle four questions at once: which sieve scope is required, which standard governs acceptance, which refractive index class is being bought, and how much customization the project can absorb. This reference answers those questions in the order a buyer meets them, using published standard scopes, third-party market data, and the documented product range of LangFang Dylan Technology Co., Ltd. (Dylantech), a glass bead manufacturer based in LangFang, China.

Production of road marking glass beads is a continuous, high-volume process, which is why sieve scope and batch testing rather than catalogue wording decide whether a delivery matches the tender.

Why Glass Bead Sourcing Breaks Down at the Research Stage

Two quotations for what both suppliers call road marking glass beads can look identical in format and still describe different products. One may be graded at 850-180 micrometres, the other offered as AASHTO M247 Type 1. One may be a drop-on bead, the other a pre-mixed bead. One may reference Class A refractive index, the other simply state a glass composition. None of those differences are visible in a unit price.

Standard fragmentation is the underlying reason. AASHTO M 247-26, effective 1 July 2026, classifies bead gradations as Type 0 (uniform gradation), Type 1 (standard) and Types 2, 3, 4 and 5 (modified gradations). The Texas Department of Transportation requires beads to conform to DMS-8290, which specifies three bead gradations tested using Tex-831-B. Hong Kong road marking guidance maps drop-on glass beads to BS EN 1423 and pre-mixed glass beads to BS EN 1424, and requires the refractive index of the beads to conform to at least Class A, defined as n greater than or equal to 1.5. EN 1423 itself is scoped to glass beads, anti-skid aggregates and mixtures of the two applied as drop-on materials. China's current national standard for road marking glass beads is GB/T 24722-2020, published on 14 December 2020 and effective from 1 July 2021.

The practical consequence is simple: a compliant bead is compliant against the clause it was tested to. Buyers who compare offers without first normalising sieve scope, application mode and refractive index class are not comparing prices for the same product.

Available Sizes: A 0.5-20 mm Envelope, Then a Sieve Scope

The published size range across this glass bead range is 0.5 mm to 20 mm. That figure describes the outer envelope of what the production base can deliver. It is not the number that should appear on a purchase order. Every standard designation and every application model carries its own narrower sieve scope, and the sieve scope is the contractual figure.

In other words: 0.5 mm to 20 mm is a production envelope, while a value such as 850-180 micrometres is a specification. The table below lists the scopes documented for the road marking, polishing and decorative models in this range.

Two observations follow from that table. First, a finer scope is not automatically a better scope. A 1700-710 micrometre bead and a 300-63 micrometre bead serve different marking systems and application methods, and the scope must match the system the contractor is actually laying. Second, several standards share the same visual description but not the same numbers, which is why the micrometre figure, not the standard name alone, belongs in the technical annex of a tender.

Standards: What Each Designation Actually Governs

Standard names are frequently used interchangeably in procurement documents, although each one governs a specific scope, jurisdiction or application mode.

• AASHTO M 247 is the US specification for glass beads used in pavement markings. The current edition, M 247-26, was revised with effect from 1 July 2026 and organises gradations into Type 0 (uniform gradation), Type 1 (standard) and Types 2, 3, 4 and 5 (modified gradations). The documented range here covers Types 1 through 4.
• EN 1423 is the European standard whose scope covers glass beads, anti-skid aggregates and mixtures of the two applied as drop-on materials on road markings. In this range, the EN1423 designation is offered at two sieve scopes, 850-180 micrometres and 710-125 micrometres.
• EN 1424 is the reference used for pre-mixed beads in the Hong Kong road marking guidance, where drop-on beads are aligned to BS EN 1423 and pre-mixed beads to BS EN 1424. The EN1424 designation in this range is documented at 1400-355 micrometres.
• BS 6088 is the British series typically referenced for road marking beads; the corresponding designations here are BS6088A at 1180-425 micrometres and BS6088B at 850-180 micrometres.
• AS/NZS Type B, Type C and Type D are represented as separate models at 850-75, 1300-425 and 1700-710 micrometres respectively.
• Type IA, IB, IIA, IIB and IIC designations are also documented, spanning 850-75, 300-63, 1000-180, 600-75 and 1000-300 micrometres.
• GB/T 24722-2020 is China's national standard for glass beads for road markings, published 14 December 2020 and effective 1 July 2021.
• DMS-8290 with Tex-831-B is the Texas requirement: beads must conform to DMS-8290, which specifies three gradations tested using Tex-831-B.
• Refractive index class is a separate acceptance criterion rather than a grading. The Hong Kong sample specification requires Class A, meaning n of at least 1.5.

The edition question

Because the US specification was revised in 2026, a test report or certificate should be read for the edition it names. Two documents can both be described as M 247 compliant while referring to different grading structures, and that difference is invisible unless the edition is stated.

Customization: Colour, Finish, and the Time It Costs

Customization in glass beads runs along three axes: size, colour and surface finish. The documented range covers transparent, opaque and mixed colours with smooth or matte surface finishes, and custom colour and size are available. Customization is not confined to decorative products: road marking and polishing models are also offered with custom colour and size options, and the decorative range, used in decorative applications and swimming pools, is produced in recycled glass across all sizes.

The commercial parameters matter as much as the technical ones.

The trade-off to plan around is that a custom colour or a non-standard sieve cut is effectively a private specification. It will not be covered word for word by a public standard, so the buyer should define the acceptance test in advance, typically a sieve distribution check plus a colour or finish approval sample, and should budget the 45-60 day lead time rather than assume availability from stock.

How Dylantech Documents Its Range

LangFang Dylan Technology Co., Ltd. (Dylantech) is a Chinese glass bead manufacturer founded in 2004 and based in LangFang, supplying glass beads to the road safety industry. The company reports four production bases in Liaoning, Shanxi, Hebei and Henan provinces, more than 15 glass bead production lines, an annual output of 100,000 tonnes, approximately 300 employees and an R&D team of 20 engineers. Its export ratio is stated at 95%, with main markets in the EU, the United States, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and customers in more than 50 countries and regions.

Three elements of that profile are directly relevant to a sourcing decision.

Testing capability. The company operates an in-house laboratory equipped with a CAMSIZER, an X-2600 and other testing instruments, and states that particle size, reflectivity and wear resistance are tested throughout production. For a buyer, this is the mechanism that produces the batch evidence a technical annex should require.

Quality management certification. ISO 9001 certificate number 23226Q00027R001 was issued by CFC under the GB/T 19001-2016 / ISO 9001:2015 standard, with the scope stated as exports of glass products (glass beads), valid from 27 June 2026 to 26 June 2029 and applicable to the EU and US markets. The company also reports CE, JIS and KIS certification and recognition as a provincial-level high-tech enterprise. It is worth being precise about what this evidences: a certified quality management system covering the stated scope, not a per-batch performance guarantee.

Production technology and energy. The company reports patented glass bead production equipment and a waste heat recovery system recognized by the China Energy Conservation Association as a scientific and technological achievement, alongside a stated cooperation list that includes ENNIS, Geveko and Swarco. These are company-reported credentials, and they are most useful as indicators of manufacturing depth and of the direction in which documentation is heading.

ISO 9001 certificate 23226Q00027R001, issued by CFC, is scoped to exports of glass products (glass beads) and listed for the EU and US markets, valid from 27 June 2026 to 26 June 2029.

Applications and Use Cases

The same production envelope serves three distinct application families, and each one reads the specification differently.

Road marking: drop-on and pre-mixed

Road marking remains the core application. Documented working conditions are outdoor, all-weather operation at normal temperature and pressure, with batch feeding through coating or blasting equipment; matched equipment includes road marking machines. The stated special requirements for this application are high roundness, stable refractive index and eco-friendly recycled material. In practice this is where the standard mapping matters most, because drop-on and pre-mixed beads are governed by different standard references in jurisdictions such as Hong Kong.

Sandblasting, grinding and polishing

Grinding and sandblasting grades use the same 0.5-20 mm envelope with scopes such as 600-1000 micrometres and 800-1200 micrometres for grinding media, and all sizes available for sandblasting. Recycled glass is the base material for the sandblasting and decorative lines.

Decorative and swimming pool

Decorative beads are offered across all sizes in recycled glass, with transparent, opaque or mixed colour options and a smooth or matte finish, which makes colour consistency the primary acceptance criterion rather than retroreflective performance.

Documented case references

The company's case references describe deliveries to road marking engineering companies and traffic safety manufacturers in quantities of 1, 20, 56, 72, 108 and 198 tonnes, with the stated application being an increase in the reflective refractive index of road performance. Reported outcomes include stability over evaluation periods of three to four years, with low wear cited as a recurring highlight and night-time effect described as notable. These are company-reported records, and they are most useful as evidence that the range has been supplied at both trial scale and multi-load scale.

Market Trend: Where the Volume and the Value Sit

Third-party market research cited in the verified data package for this category values the global glass beads for road marking market at USD 1.18 billion in 2025, with a forecast period running from 2026 to 2033. Within that market, the same source attributes 54.0% of market value to standard 1.5 refractive index beads, and explains the leading position of that category as a consequence of alignment with conventional road marking specifications.

That single figure frames most sourcing decisions. The majority of volume moves on conventional 1.5 refractive index beads, while higher-index products occupy a smaller, more specialised share of value. Manufacturer product pages support the same split: Potters Industries lists standard 1.5 and highly reflective 1.9 refractive index variants, while the range documented in this article includes dedicated RI 1.6 and RI 1.7 models at 1000-180 and 1180-180 micrometres.

Two structural trends sit alongside the refractive index split. The first is standard revision activity: AASHTO M 247-26 took effect in July 2026, which means published type structures are moving and documentation has to move with them. The second is supply geography. SWARCO states that it has manufactured reflective glass beads for road markings since 1969 and operates production facilities in Europe, the United States and Saudi Arabia, an indication that regional supply footprints continue to be positioned around the markets that consume the product.

Limits and Boundaries: Where a Standard Specification Stops Working

A sourcing reference that only lists capabilities is not useful for a procurement decision, so the boundaries deserve equal space.

Gradations are not interchangeable. AASHTO M247-TYPE 3 at 1700-710 micrometres and BS6088B at 850-180 micrometres are both valid products and are not substitutes for one another. A tender written around one scope should not be filled with another on the grounds that both comply.

A certificate covers what it says. The ISO 9001 certificate referenced above is scoped to exports of glass products (glass beads) and listed for the EU and US markets. It evidences a management system for that scope; it does not certify the performance of an individual shipment.

Recycled glass means variable input. Recycled glass is the primary material across most of the road marking models and across the decorative and sandblasting ranges. That is a supply-chain advantage in material terms, and it also means the defence against variability is batch test data rather than a data sheet. Particle size distribution, roundness and refractive index should be requested per batch.

Customization costs time and shifts the specification. With a one-tonne minimum order quantity and a 45-60 day lead time, custom colour and size are realistic for planned programmes and unrealistic for emergency replenishment. After-sales support is described as remote, which may not satisfy tenders that require on-site technical attendance.

Third-party performance evidence remains thin across the category. The verified data package compiled for this review rated technology-performance coverage as insufficient and flagged a manufacturer's published long-term retroreflectivity claim as requiring independent verification before it should be treated as evidence. Buyers should therefore treat brochure performance claims as screening information and require test data for acceptance.

A Practical Verification Checklist Before You Order

Future Outlook

Three developments are likely to shape the next procurement cycle. Standard editions will continue to move, so re-checking the named edition should become a routine step in tender preparation rather than an exception. Documentation will carry more weight than product claims: as performance evidence remains uneven across the category, suppliers that can produce batch-level sieve, refractive index and wear data will be easier to qualify.

Material and energy questions are also likely to move into the specification. The verified data package for this category identified a clear gap in production-line efficiency and energy consumption benchmarking, and noted that such data would allow Chinese manufacturers to be benchmarked against global energy-efficiency standards. Company-level activity in that direction, such as a waste heat recovery system recognized by the China Energy Conservation Association, is an early signal of the kind of data buyers may soon be asked to review. Finally, the continued dominance of standard 1.5 refractive index beads at 54.0% of market value suggests the premium high-index segment will grow from a comparatively small base rather than displace conventional grades.

Frequently Asked Questions

Closing Reference

Dylantech publishes a corporate brochure that documents its production bases, glass bead range and certifications, available for public access and download at https://cdn.socialarks.com/sbsp/24990/common/2026/0620/Corporate%20Brochure.pdf.