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Whether you choose glass or plastic, understanding the architecture of a bottle and the terminology used can help you choose the right bottle for your application.
The cap on your bottle has to fit correctly to prevent leakage, evaporation and potentially dangerous spills. What many don't know is how to make sure the cap is the right size for the bottle. Also called the "mouth" of the bottle, the opening ranges from narrow to wide mouth. Depending on your application, the opening of the bottle may be critical to how the contents are filled and dispensed.
During the bottle selection process, a common bottle part often referred to is the "neck finish". This is represented as the outer diameter of the neck of the bottle (in millimeters). Along with the neck finish, "thread finish" is another common bottle part phrase. This is the height of the cap and the style of threads on the bottle and corresponding cap.
Before you select a cap for your bottle, you need to know the correct size or Neck Finish of the bottle. These sizes are not interchangeable — a 28-400 cap will not fit properly on a bottle with a 28-410 neck finish.
The body of the bottle has important qualities that play a role in determining what the best bottle is for its intended use. The shape of the bottle's body and its capacity are the most common selection factors.
Round bottles can provide for greater comfort and less hand fatigue when dispensing. Square and rectangular bottles are ideal for allowing for maximum storage on the workbench.
Capacity is typically shown as the amount of space inside a container for a given amount of product. The packaging industry uses standard sizes, usually represented in ml (also known as cc), drams and ounces. When a bottle is filled to this capacity, the contents generally fill the container to its shoulder area.
Overflow capacity is the maximum volume of a bottle if the contents were filled to the very top (or the brim). Headspace is the area above the contents of the container and below the neck opening and may be critical for some volatile compounds. Headspace may also be a consideration if the contents need to withstand any changes in pressure.