Containers and pack formats
Find production answers for bottles, jars, tubs, cans, tubes, pouches, sacks, cases, trays and specialist packs.
60 detailed topic guides
Each guide contains the same 18 customer problem routes, making it easier to compare symptoms across applications.
18 answersAirless pump bottles
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for airless pump bottles.
Open the guide →
18 answersAmpoules
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for ampoules. Small dimensions, breakage risk, precise handling and inspection are particularly important.
Open the guide →
18 answersBag-in-box packs
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for bag-in-box packs. Pack opening, film stiffness, sealing surfaces and support through transfers need to be proven.
Open the guide →
18 answersBlister packs
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for blister packs.
Open the guide →
18 answersBottle rinsing before filling
new containers that must be inverted, rinsed, drained and returned to the line before filling
Open the guide →
18 answersBuckets and pails
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for buckets and pails. Weight, operator access, safe handling and larger-format dosing or movement must be included.
Open the guide →
18 answersCartridges
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for cartridges. Small dimensions, breakage risk, precise handling and inspection are particularly important.
Open the guide →
18 answersClamshell packs
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for clamshell packs.
Open the guide →
18 answersComposite cans
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for composite cans.
Open the guide →
18 answersCorrugated cases
shipping cases requiring stable filling, closing, taping and transport strength
Open the guide →
18 answersCups with foil lids
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for cups with foil lids.
Open the guide →
18 answersDisplay-ready trays
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for display-ready trays.
Open the guide →
18 answersDoypacks
stand-up pouches whose base gusset and zipper affect opening and presentation
Open the guide →
18 answersDropper bottles
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for dropper bottles.
Open the guide →
18 answersFolding cartons
printed board packs that must erect, load and close consistently
Open the guide →
18 answersFour-side-seal sachets
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for four-side-seal sachets.
Open the guide →
18 answersGlass bottles
rigid but breakable containers requiring controlled contact and base support
Open the guide →
18 answersGlass vials
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for glass vials. Small dimensions, breakage risk, precise handling and inspection are particularly important.
Open the guide →
18 answersHDPE bottles
opaque plastic containers with moulding variation and static behaviour
Open the guide →
18 answersHexagonal jars
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for hexagonal jars.
Open the guide →
18 answersIntermediate bulk containers
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for intermediate bulk containers. Weight, operator access, safe handling and larger-format dosing or movement must be included.
Open the guide →
18 answersJars
wide-mouth containers used with screw, twist-off or vacuum closure systems
Open the guide →
18 answersJerrycans
larger handled containers requiring stable support and controlled filling
Open the guide →
18 answersLarge bottles
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for large bottles.
Open the guide →
18 answersMetal cans
rigid containers used for food, beverage, chemical and industrial products
Open the guide →
18 answersMetal tins
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for metal tins.
Open the guide →
18 answersMiniature bottles
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for miniature bottles.
Open the guide →
18 answersOpen-mouth bags
paper or plastic bags used for powders, granules and larger fills
Open the guide →
18 answersOval bottles
containers that can rotate or rock unless positively controlled through the line
Open the guide →
18 answersPallet loads
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for pallet loads. Weight, operator access, safe handling and larger-format dosing or movement must be included.
Open the guide →
18 answersPaper sacks
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for paper sacks. Pack opening, film stiffness, sealing surfaces and support through transfers need to be proven.
Open the guide →
18 answersPET bottles
light plastic containers that can deform, scuff or become unstable under line pressure
Open the guide →
18 answersPlastic drums
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for plastic drums. Weight, operator access, safe handling and larger-format dosing or movement must be included.
Open the guide →
18 answersPlastic tubs
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for plastic tubs.
Open the guide →
18 answersPre-filled syringes
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for pre-filled syringes. Small dimensions, breakage risk, precise handling and inspection are particularly important.
Open the guide →
18 answersPremade pouches
flexible packs that must be picked, opened, filled and sealed consistently
Open the guide →
18 answersPump bottles
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for pump bottles.
Open the guide →
18 answersRetort pouch containers
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for retort pouch containers. Pack opening, film stiffness, sealing surfaces and support through transfers need to be proven.
Open the guide →
18 answersReturnable bottle washing
used containers requiring sorting, label removal, washing, rinsing, drying and inspection
Open the guide →
18 answersReturnable crates
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for returnable crates. Weight, operator access, safe handling and larger-format dosing or movement must be included.
Open the guide →
18 answersRound bottles
cylindrical containers suited to wrap labelling but vulnerable to uncontrolled rotation
Open the guide →
18 answersSachets
small single-dose flexible packs with demanding dose and seal control
Open the guide →
18 answersShipping mailers
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for shipping mailers. Pack opening, film stiffness, sealing surfaces and support through transfers need to be proven.
Open the guide →
18 answersSmall bottles
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for small bottles.
Open the guide →
18 answersSpouted pouches
flexible packs with a rigid spout that may be filled before or after spout insertion
Open the guide →
18 answersSquare bottles
flat-sided containers that need stable orientation and controlled corners at transfers
Open the guide →
18 answersSqueeze tubes
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for squeeze tubes.
Open the guide →
18 answersStick sachets
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for stick sachets.
Open the guide →
18 answersThree-side-seal sachets
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for three-side-seal sachets.
Open the guide →
18 answersTrays
open or lidded formats used to collate, support or protect products
Open the guide →
18 answersTrays with lidding film
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for trays with lidding film.
Open the guide →
18 answersTrigger spray bottles
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for trigger spray bottles.
Open the guide →
18 answersTubes
compressible packs whose orientation, filling and sealing method depend on tube material
Open the guide →
18 answersTubs
wide containers that may use snap lids, foil seals or overcaps
Open the guide →
18 answersVacuum bags
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for vacuum bags. Pack opening, film stiffness, sealing surfaces and support through transfers need to be proven.
Open the guide →
18 answersValve bags
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for valve bags. Pack opening, film stiffness, sealing surfaces and support through transfers need to be proven.
Open the guide →
18 answersVials
small containers where precise dosing, cleanliness and controlled handling are critical
Open the guide →
18 answersWicket bags
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for wicket bags. Pack opening, film stiffness, sealing surfaces and support through transfers need to be proven.
Open the guide →
18 answersWide-mouth jars
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for wide-mouth jars.
Open the guide →
18 answersWoven polypropylene sacks
a packaging format where dimensions, material, centre of gravity, opening, closure and contact surfaces affect machine handling for woven polypropylene sacks. Pack opening, film stiffness, sealing surfaces and support through transfers need to be proven.
Open the guide →Start with the problem you can see
Questions customers also ask
Open a question for a concise answer, then use the detailed guide above for the full production checks.
What is covered in the Containers and pack formats section?
This section contains 60 customer topics and 1,080 detailed answers for find production answers for bottles, jars, tubs, cans, tubes, pouches, sacks, cases, trays and specialist packs.
How should I start diagnosing a pack formats problem?
Begin with the symptom you can measure, record a baseline using representative samples and trace the first point where the process loses control.
What information is needed before comparing pack formats machinery?
Provide real products and packs, dimensions, current and required output, tolerances, utilities, cleaning requirements and the hardest production case.
Why is sustained good output more useful than maximum speed for pack formats?
Sustained good output includes waiting, replenishment, changeovers, short stops and rejects, so it reflects the capacity the customer can actually use.
How are the answers linked to specialist solutions?
Each topic and answer shows a prominent best-matched specialist website selected from the packaging machinery and support network.
Can the guidance replace a machinery trial for pack formats?
No. The guidance helps define the route, but final suitability needs representative samples, a written requirement and measurable acceptance testing.