Packaging is not easy, nor is it simple. But hey, such is life, right? There are so many options to choose from, and one wrong decision can result in a major packaging mishap down the road. From product oozing through container walls to bottles literally collapsing in on themselves, we've seen it all. So here are four tips to help your product avoid a similar demise!

1. Choose the Right Material

With six foundational resin types, there's an option for almost any kind of product. Beyond plastic, there are varying glass, metal, and pulp options as well. Many of these materials may look similar but they behave quite differently. To ensure your product and selected container material are a good match, you should research, sample, and test them together. Without proper testing, the following mishaps could be in your future:

The container or lid could be eaten away by your product.
The product might take on the flavor or scent of the container.
The product can lose potency or effectiveness.
The container can crack or burst.

2. Fix Your Paneling

Paneling happens when a container collapses due to negative internal pressure. This occurs when gasses or liquids from the product leach out through the container walls, leaving a ˜vacuum' inside the container. In addition to leaving your bottle bent out of shape (pun intended), the results of paneling can cause dangerous emissions, loss of flavor or fragrance, or decreased¯product weight.¯

To prevent paneling, sometimes you can simply change the container or packaging material you are using.
In tricky cases, a fluorination treatment coating may be needed to solve your paneling pains.

3. Stop the Leaks!

Whether you have a leaky lid, faulty pump, or some other closure issue, ill-functioning closures can give your consumers a bad experience with your product. Here's how to fix that.

Check your thread. It is recommended that the thread/neck finish on your lid and container match exactly. Sometimes you can successfully match non-exact lids and closures (for example, some 24-400 lids fit on 24-410 containers, and vice versa). Either way, we recommend that you test your lids with your containers and try to get the fit as close as possible.
Consider a liner. Depending on your product's potency and viscosity, a liner may be exactly what you need!
If a pump, sprayer, or dropper is leaking, it is usually because that closure does not work well with your selected container. In this case, it is best to simply replace it with a different part number. However, occasionally leaks occur due to manufacturing errors. Either way, our team will work with you to get you the non-leaking replacements you need.
Ship leaky spray, pump, and droppers on the side of your container, and use a more secure lid (such as a foam-lined lid or polycone lid) for the transit. This can help drastically avoid leaks during shipment.

4. Make the Decoration Look Nice

Poorly decorated products make everyone sad. Let's fix that!

The first fix to bad packaging decoration is to adjust the size. To help you get the decoration sizing right, we recommend ordering samples and measuring them yourself if you want a custom label size. We also provide recommended decoration panel measurements for most of our items on our website.
Also, some plastic containers receive decorations better than others. To make sure your labels don't fall off porous containers, flame treatments will help make the decoration area smoother and more receptive to decoration. Some decorations screen printed on glass will chip off over time. A heated decoration method, such as ceramic ink application, can bake the ink into the glass and provide a stronger and longer-lasting print.

If you've tried these four tips but are still having issues, the good news is our packaging experts are on hand to help.

Good luck, and happy packing!

Container and Packaging assumes no responsibility for suitability of any container or closure for customer's particular use. It is the customer's responsibility to do product compatibility testing with containers and closures selected by the customer. Customer is responsible to comply with any State and Federal laws. Seller expressly disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for purpose, title, and noninfringement. We are not responsible for consequential damages arising from customer's selection and use of containers and closures supplied by us. Container and Packaging makes no warranties that the products comply with individual State or Federal regulations.

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