Glossary

Glossary

A Glossary of Common Packaging Industry Terms

Amber
A brown color of glass or plastic containers used primarily to protect the contents of the container from exposure to light.

Application Cap
A closure designed to be used to apply the contents of a container.

Artwork
An original design intended for reproduction.

Bail
A metal wire formed into a semi-circle to serve as a container handle. Ends fit into the ears on a general line can.

Bead
The depressed or raised circles or rings at the top of a closure. Also known as a rounded depression around the surface of a container or end; used to stiffen or improve its appearance.

Blow Molding
A method of fabrication in which a warm plastic parison (hollow tube) is placed between the two halves of a mold (cavity) and forced to assume the shape of that mold cavity by the use of air pressure.

Buttress Thread
A design of thread profile (cross-section) which takes the form of a right triangle or slight modification of that form. It is usually positioned so that the right angle is at the bottom of the thread cross-section and adjacent to the neck of the bottle finish. The horizontal leg of the right triangle is the bearing surface for a matching cap thread.

Can Dimension
The dimensions of a can expressed in inches and 1/16. Example: a 401×411 can has a 4 1/16″ diameter and is 4 11/16″ tall.

Capacity
The amount of space inside a container provided for a given amount of product.

Carboy
A largeware container used principally for acids and chemicals.

Chuck
Component of a capping machine.

Closure
A term used to describe a metal or molded cap which affects a primary seal when properly applied to a container for the purpose of retaining the contents and preventing contamination thereof.

Coating
A layer of varnish, lacquer, or other organic material which has been applied in fluid form and dried and united with or adhered to the surface of the closure.

Composite Can
A can with a fibre body composed of a composite of paper (label and liner could be aluminum foil or plastic), and one or both ends made of metal.

Copolymer
A material whose chemical structure is made up of long chains of two differently structured chemical units (monomers), which repeat a more or less regular pattern in the chain.

CT Closure
A continuous thread design that begins near the bottom of the closure skirt and continues upward toward the liner with the correct number of turns depending on the closure size designation.

Density
Weight per unit volume of a substance expressed in grams per cubic centimeter, pounds per cubic foot, etc.

Drop Test
Any test method in which the article being tested is dropped in a specified manner for a specified number of times or until the article fails from impact.

Dropper Cap
A bottle closure that includes a dropper and a rubber bulb attached.

Ears
Parts soldered, bumped, or riveted to the side of a can to which a carrying bail is inserted.

Embossing and Debossing
Creating a design on the surface of a container or closure by raising the letters through pressure dies. Debossing is lowering portions of the surface in a like manner.

EVOH
Ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer. A high-barrier plastic resin used in packaging.

“F” Style Can
A rectangular base general line can be fitted with a screw cap. “F” style originated as a specific closure.

Finish The material surrounding the neck opening of any container which is designed to accommodate a specific closure.

Fitment
A device used as a part of a closure assembly to accomplish a certain purpose, such as a dropper, sprinkler, powder shaker, etc.

Fittings
Any parts other than ends necessary to complete the closure of a can, i.e., rings, plugs, screw necks, or caps and spouts.

Flash
Extra plastic attached to a molding along the parting line; it must be removed before the part can be considered finished.

Flame Treating
A method of rendering inert thermoplastic object receptive to inks, lacquers, paints, adhesives, etc., in which the object is bathed in an open flame to promote oxidation of the surface of the article.

Flat Top
A cap or shell in which the top is perfectly straight across its entire diameter, without a bead or design.

Flint
A term used to describe a glass color which is clear and transparent.

Flowed-In Gasket
Gasket formed by flowing a liquid material (vinyl or latex) directly into a gasket groove and curing in place, usually by baking.

Fluorination
A process to reduce permeability and improve the chemical resistance of various plastics and elastomers. When fluorine gas is brought into contact with a polymer, its molecular structure is altered on all exposed surfaces.

G-Cap (G-450)
A 70-millimeter closure with a deep screw-threaded skirt.

Head Space
The space between the level of the contents in the neck of a container and the closure. It is intended to furnish room for expansion of product due to heat or other action after packing.

Heat Transfer Label
A label applied to a container by transferring the label, preprinted on a substrate, to the container surface.

Inner Seal
An additional seal applied to the land area of the finish prior to, or during the application of the closure.

Injection Blow Molding
A two-stage process where a preform or parison is injected molded. The bottle finish is formed at this time. The preform is then transferred to a blow mold where the bottle takes its final shape.

Linerless Closure
A closure, usually plastic, that is designed to seal with no liner.

Lithographing
A printing process used to decorate metal cans and caps. The printing is applied on flat sheet metal and involves the employment of metal plates. The metal to be printed passes over the plate and the desired design is transferred to the sheet metal.

Lug Cover
A type of cover commonly used on open head 5-gallon steel pails. The pail cover is lined with a puff type compound which seats on the top rim of the pail The seal is effected by compression of the cover to the pail. The seal is maintained by clinching the lugs, which are an integral part of the cover, to the pail rim.

Mil
The unit of measurement is .001 inch.

Mold Cavity
The hollowed-out portion of a set of molds that will be used in shaping a container as it is formed on a bottling machine.

Multi-Layer Bottles
Multi-layer bottles are composed of layers of selected plastic materials which are co-extruded to retain and utilize the unique characteristics of each material. The purpose is to improve the barrier qualities of the container which leads to a longer product shelf life.

Narrow Mouth (N/M)
The finish of a glass container that is small relative to the diameter of the body.

Natural Color
A term used to describe the natural material of a plastic container or closure which is translucent.

Neck Ring
The part of the mold equipment which forms the finish of a bottle.

Offset Printing
A printing technique in which ink is transferred from a reservoir to a printing plate; from the inked printing plate the image is printed on a cylindrical rubber roll (blanket) and then onto the object being printed.

Orifice
Generally, an opening in a dispensing closure or fitment from which the product is dispensed.

Overcap
A cap (normally plastic) which is provided with some open-top cans and is used to cover the open end once the can has been opened. This term is also used to describe a cap that is used to cover the primary closure, sprayer, or another dispensing system such as fingertip sprayer or aerosol valve.

Pail
A flaring or tapered body container quipped with a bail or handle. A variety of top closures are used.

Paneling
Distortion (sidewall collapse) of a container occurring during aging or storage, caused by the development of reduced pressure inside the bottle.

Parting Line
Mark on a bottle where halves of the mold meet in closing.

Programming
A process for changing the size, weight, or wall thickness of the parison mechanically during its formulation.

Sealing Surface
The lip portion or land area of the bottle finish that makes contact with the sealing gasket or liner and forms a seal.

Shelf Life
The period of time during which a product can be stored under specified temperature conditions and remain suitable for use.

Side Seam
The seam joining the two edges of a blank to form a body.

Sifter Fitment
A plastic component which is part of a package closure system that is designed to allow the product to be dispensed by shaking.

Silk Screen Printing
This method, in its basic form, involves laying a pattern of insoluble material in outline on a finely woven fabric, so that when ink is drawn across it, it is able to pass through the screen in the desired area only.

Sleeve Labels
Printed polyethylene slip-on labels that can be applied to a plastic container.

Surface Treating
Any method of treating a plastic so as to alter the surface and render it receptive to inks, lacquers, and adhesives, such as chemical, flame, or electronic treating.

Therimage
Registered trademark of Dennison Mfg. Company. A gravure decorating process for plastic containers which transfers the image of a label or decoration to the object under the influence of heat and pressure. Permits application of multi-color graphics, in one pass, to a wide variety of plastic containers.

Tinplate
Steel plate (can making quality black plate) to which a specified weight of pure tin is applied by an electrolytic or hot dip tinning process.

Tolerance
A specified allowance for deviation from standard specifications or dimensions.

Torque
The amount of circular force applied to a closure to seal or open the container.

Wide-Mouth (W/M)
Containers with large-finish opening or those that have a large-finish size in relation to capacity.

Window Stripe
A transparent vertical stripe on a molded opaque bottle.