Do you find yourself referring to parts of plastic and glass containers as "that roundy part on the bottom"? Or, perhaps "that squiggly thin part on the top"?
Doesn’t sound very professional does it? Well, no worries! We've put together a simple to understand illustration and list of terms used to describe the standard parts of most plastic and glass bottles.
Neck - The section of the bottle that is above the shoulder. The neck includes the Neck Finish, Satellite Ring, Mouth, and the Sealing Surface.
Neck Finish - The top part of the bottle or jar, above the neck. Containing the spiral threads. The length, thickness and Pitch of the threads determine the standard classification of the Neck Finish.. To learn more, see our post How To Measure the Neck Finish of your Bottle or Cap.
Sealing Surface - The flat, top area around the Mouth of the Neck Finish. This surface makes direct contact with the liner in the closure to form a seal.
Mouth - The inner diameter of the opening in the neck. Some bottles and jars have mouths that are nearly the same diameter as the container itself. These are called “Wide Mouth” containers.
Satellite Ring - A ring molded into the neck of the bottle or jar at the base of the finish. Essentially designed to provide a handle for the manufacturing machinery during production. The Satellite Ring can also play a key role in helping to seal in the contents of the bottle when shrink wrap is applied over the ring and closure together.
Shoulder - The part of the bottle that joins the wider, main body, and the narrower neck. The "slope" or "curve" of the shoulder can have a significant effect on how quickly a product will pour out of the bottle.
Body/Sidewalls - The main part (sidewalls) of the bottle. This area also contains the label panel.
Label Panel/Area - Most bottles have a designated area on the body that will accept an adhesive, printed label. Sometimes bottles are designed with a recessed label area to protect the labels from rubbing during shipping and storage.
Bottom Plate - The entire lower part of the bottle below the sidewalls. The bottom includes the Heel, Base and Pushup.
Heel - The lower curve of the bottle where the Body (Sidewall) meets the Base.
Base - An extruded ring around the inside diameter of the Bottom Plate that provides a more secure surface for the bottle to rest.
Pushup - A concave, dome-shaped, indentation on the inside of the Base on the Bottom Plate. The pushup can range from just a slight concave, to a significantly deep one. Grab a plastic sports drink or a glass bottle of wine and take a look. These products typically have very deep pushups at their base. The pushup can help prevent the bottle from rocking.
Registration Marks - Small indentations on the Bottom Plate designed as registration and grappling points for a printer to line up the bottle when silk screening.
Recycling Symbol - The recycling number will indicate the type of plastic the bottle is made from. It doesn’t always indicate that the bottle can be recycled. Each municipalities determine what bottles they recycle.
Company Logo - Often a company will include their logo or name on the bottom of the bottle. Look for the Aaron Packaging logo at your favorite grocery store to find our bottles.
Cavity Number - This number indicates what cavity of the mold this bottle came from. This number becomes important if there are quality defects.
