Closures & Plugs

Child Resistant

Child resistant closures (CR) are most widely used to package drugs, cosmetics, and household chemicals. Both the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Environmental Protection Agency require child resistant packaging with certain products.

CR closures can either be a single piece or a two piece design. They require two motions to open, making it removal by a child difficult. The most common motions are push down and turn and squeeze lock closures. The push down and turn variety consists of two pieces: an inner piece that is a continuous thread cap and the outer piece that gets pushed down. The two-piece variety of closures typically have special requirements for the bottle neck dimensions that are not standard.

The CPSC administers the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970. These regulations provide for CR packaging to prevent children under the age of 5 from gaining access to household products that can cause serious illness or injury. This act specifies, “The term ‘’special packaging’’ means packaging that is designed or constructed to be significantly difficult for children under five years of age to open or obtain a toxic or harmful amount of the substance contained therein within a reasonable time and not difficult for normal adults to use properly, but does not mean packaging which all such children cannot open or obtain a toxic or harmful amount within a reasonable time.”

Plain Continuous Thread

This is a type of finish found on glass and plastic containers where the threads are wrapped around the container’s neck continuously. These containers require a continuous thread (CT) cap. Typically, a CT cap is lined with paper, plastic, foil, film, or combination liner to provide a seal to maintain the product’s integrity while preventing leakage. They are widely used in the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries.

CT caps are made of polypropylene plastic, which is a naturally translucent material with an excellent moisture barrier. Diameters range from 10 to 110 mm. Standard colors are white and black with custom colors available. Outside textures are either a smooth wall or fine ribbed.

It is vital to match the cap to the bottle. Please reach out to an Inmark RCP expert with any questions or concerns.

Tamper Evident

Tamper Evident (TE) closures use a band connected to the cap that must be broken in order to open the bottle. Also called Tamper Indicating, this closure type shows the end user clearly that the bottle has been opened once the band is disengaged from the cap. TE closures protect the integrity of a product and limit product theft.

TE closures are used most frequently in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and automative industries. They are made of polypropylene plastic, which is a translucent material with an outstanding moisture barrier. Neck finish sizes range from 18 to 120 mm. Standard colors are white and black with other colors available on request. Outside textures are either ribbed or smooth. TE closures come with liner options for hot fill, ambient fill, lined, or linerless.

The bottle needs to be designed to accept a TE closure. Please contact an Inmark RCP expert with any questions.

Phenolic Option

Phenolic is a thermoset plastic with the strength and durability with heat-resistant and insulating properties. Phenolic closures are autoclavable, making this sterile option ideal for medical and laboratory applications. This closure type has excellent resistance to chemical corrosion and has low moisture absorption. They are also the most temperature tolerant of all the plastic caps.

Phenolic caps range in neck finish size from 13 to 89 mm. They come in black, green, and white. The black phenolic cap is ideal for chemicals, essential oils, and other aggressive products. A polycone liner for use with glass containers is also available. Choose from threaded and snap-on varieties of phenolic caps.

Disc Top

This variety of cap allows for product dispensation without removing the cap. When light pressure is applied to the recessed portion of the top, a dispensing orifice is exposed. To close the cap after use, press down on the raised end. Disc tops are commonly used in the health and beauty industry, although they are not recommended for very low viscosity products.

Neck finishes come in three sizes: 20, 24, or 28 mm. Standard colors are white and black with custom colors also available. Choose from either a smooth wall or fine ribbed for the outside texture. Disc tops can other be linerless or include a heat seal. There are also multiple options for the size of the orifice for controlled product dispensation.

Flip Top

The flip top is a specific type of dispensing spout that allows a user to dispense the product by squeezing the container without removing the cap. Flip top closures are hinged on one side and the top piece is opened to access the orifice underneath. The turret style cap is also called a spout cap. The orifice is revealed then the spout is lifted from the top of the cap.

Neck finishes range from 20 to 70 mm. There are multiple color options with either smooth wall or fine ribbed exterior textures. Several liners are available: linerless, heat seal, pressure sensitive, clean peel, and the lift n peel. There are a variety of orifice sizes.

Dispensing Spout

Two common types of dispensing spouts are push/pull and twist open/close. Push/pull caps dispense product when the center spout is pulled upward and then is closed when pushed down. Push/pull caps are common on water bottles, dish detergent, and sports bottles. Twist open/close caps dispense products after the cap is twisted one way to open and the opposite way to close. Twist open/close caps are commonly used in food and adhesive packaging.

Push/pull caps are available in 24, 28, and 33 mm sizes and 53 and 63 mm for sports bottles. Twist caps come in 18, 20, 22, 24, 33, and 38 mm neck finish sizes. Choose from natural, white, or custom colors. Outside textures are either ribbed or smooth. Liner possibilities include foam, heat seal, pressure sensitive, and gasket. Orifice varieties include none, 0.03, 0.09, ribbon, and 0.115.

Spice Caps

Made to fit spice bottles, spice caps often accompany a sifter fitment that attaches to the container before adding the cap. A fitment slows a product’s flow and stays in the bottle after the closure is removed. Spice lids are a solid cap with a smooth top and interior stacking ring made to fit standard spice jars and containers.

They come in range of neck finishes from 43 to 63 mm. Standard colors are white and black with custom color options. The outside texture is smooth and fitments are available. Most spice caps have multiple dispensing options, such as holes or a flip-top design.

Shaker Option

Shakers options are the dispensing caps that fit inside sifter holes. One side is hinged and the orifice is exposed when the lid is lifted. The product is shaken out after the bottle is turned upside down. This allows for a controlled outpouring of the product. These are typically made for spice containers with a specific neck finish.

These caps come in two main varieties: sift and spoon or pour and spoon. Neck finishes range from33 to 110 mm. Standard colors include white, black, red, blue, green, and brown. Pressure sensitive and heat seals are available.

Metal Closures

Metal caps are most commonly used with glass bottles and jars and some plastic containers with compatible threading. They provide an airtight, secure closure for many products in the beverage, food, and chemical industries.

Metal closures are made of tinplate, steel, or aluminum. Size ranges from 15 to 120 mm. Liners are available to provide additional product protection. Plain colors with decorating options on some metal caps – check with an Inmark RCP expert for more information.

Brush Caps

Also called dauber caps, these closures have applicators molded to the inside of the lid. It is used to apply a liquid solution such as glue, paint, medicine, or cosmetics. The brush may be made of wool, polyester, horsehair, or nylon. Sizes range from 20 to 89 mm with 1 and ¼ and 1 and ¾ inch size. In some cases, the stems can be trimmed to fit a bottle. Foam liners are available – ask about other options.