A plastic bottle is a bottle made from various plastic resins like polyethylene terephthalate or high density polyethylene. They are mostly used to store various liquids and consumer products. A wide variety of goods like water, juices, oils, medicines, syrups, ink and other such fast moving consumer goods are stored in plastic bottles. The size and shape may vary considerably depending upon market preferences. Certain blow molded containers often have handles or shapes suitable for grasping and easy handling.

With the invention of plastic several materials used for packaging like ivory, wood, glass and so on were replaced. Plastic was initially pricey, but as cost of production came down, plastic became more cost efficient than other types of packaging materials. Plastic is strong, shatterproof and transparent. Polyethylene terephthalate, a type of plastic with resin identification code number 1. Chemical resistance, high strength-to-weight ratio, shatterproof properties, and low-cost of production make plastic resins such as PET an accessible solution for consumable product packaging.

Plastic bottles came into commercial use in 1947. However, since it was a new invention production costs remained high till the 1950’s during which time high density polyethylene was developed. Plastic resins like polyethylene terephthalate and high density polyethylene became highly popular with bottle manufacturers for several reasons. Plastic bottles were lightweight, production costs were low and they were not prone to shatter and break. This also reduced the cost of the product itself, making plastic a favorite of consumers. Plastic bottles come in various shapes, colors and sizes. This makes plastic bottles more attractive and efficient. Some types of plastic bottles available today, sorted according to their shapes are given below.

Boston Round Bottle

Boston round bottles are one of the most aesthetically pleasing bottle shapes. It is used by several brands for personal care and beauty products. Pharma products, and other liquid or cream based products too often come in Boston round bottles. In plastic form, manufacturing costs are less for Boston round bottles. Boston round bottles have a soft rounded shoulder and a narrow neck. The round shape maximizes the surface area the manufacturers have to place labels. The more the surface area of the label is, the greater the opportunity for designing an upscale, aesthetically pleasing label that will surely reflect the quality of the product. Boston round bottles come in several sizes and colors. The most common color is amber, which is a shade of brown.

Cosmo Round Bottle

Cosmo round bottles have an elegant design which makes it great for personal care products. The soft rounded shoulders and tall glossy sides with high clarity make the bottle look high quality. Cosmo round bottles have a sleek profile with long straight sides and round base and gently sloping shoulders. They have flat bases. This is important when it comes to things like make-up products. Cosmo round bottles are also known as bullet bottles. They closely resemble imperial round bottles. They are usually made from BPA free, food grade plastic. Cosmo round bottles can be used for several purposes. It can be used as pump bottles, or spray bottles or simply as water bottles. Cosmo round bottles can be used for cosmetics, body care products, perfumed products, hygiene products, oils and so on. They are available in different colors, including frosted and clear, and different sizes.

French Square Bottles

French square bottles are generally made of glass. This type of bottle is said to have originated in France. Like the name implies, the bottle has four sides. The beveled sides of the French square bottles contribute greatly to its elegance. It is usually used to story cosmetics and bath salts. With plastic resins, the production of French square bottles have become more cost efficient. Plastic French square bottles are used for a variety of consumer goods. It has a standard neck and it can be filled with several types of products including jams, sauces, soup mixes, dry spices or herbs and beverages except carbonated drinks. Materials like PET from which French square bottles are made allow great visibility for the products these bottles carry. Their unique design lets consumers, and shops save much more space than other kinds of bottles. French square bottles come in several shapes and sizes.

Oval Bottles

Plastic oval bottles are generally used for various purposes like commercial everyday use and laboratory use. It can be used as both a cosmetic and industrial container. It can be made with HDPE or PET. Oval bottles offer a large hollow space for carrying products. Manufacturers can choose from different sizes for different products like shampoos, body lotions, washes and sprays, hair products and so on. Among oval bottles, cosmo oval bottles are especially popular because of their aesthetically pleasing appearance with respect to cosmetic products. A bottle with an oval shoulder and a rectangular base is called an oblong bottle. The different types of oval bottles are:

• Cosmo Oval Bottle: The basic shape is a little different from a perfect ellipse. It is extended vertically and rounds off into smooth shoulders. Cosmo ovals are easy to handle and elegant.
• Naples Oval Bottle: It has a wide round shoulder and slopes slowly into a round-oval base. The purpose is to make sure your eye moves smoothly from top to bottom without any distractions.
• Dundee Oval Bottle: Dundee oval bottles slope outwards into a straight side at the beginning of the neck. It gives the product a rigid look but it still retains flexibility of use.

Collapsible Bottles

Collapsible bottles are relatively new to the market. It is designed in such a way to conserve the space occupied by a bottle and reduce the empty volume of the bottle. Collapsible bottles are great to take along on hikes and long trips as they save a great amount of space. It is usually made of silicon or high quality, food grade thermoplastic polymers. Collapsible bottles are also known as accordion bottles or origami bottles. Apart from outdoor use, collapsible bottles are used for laboratory purposes. It can be used to store light sensitive chemicals or those that get oxidized fast. The bottle can squeeze out excess air. Collapsible bottles also help in increasing shelf life by reducing exposure to atmospheric moisture.

Round Packer Bottles

Round packer bottles are hard plastic bottles with a rounded shoulder, wide body and wide mouth. It has a large surface area for labeling. Larger the label, the more information about the product can be printed. The wide mouth makes it easy for consumers to use the bottle to dispense products like tablets. It is generally made from plastic resins like HDPE or PET and used for pharmaceutical purposes. Usually round packer bottles have a continuous thread. Products like vitamin tablets, natural supplements, protein powder and so on usually come in round packer bottles. This is why it is also known as pharma bottles, pill packers, vitamin packers or pharma rounds. Round packer bottles can also be used as food containers. Oval bottles with wide mouths may occasionally be called round packer bottles.

Narrow Mouth Bottles

Narrow mouth bottles, also known as narrow neck bottles are generally used in labs all over the world. They are used to contain liquids with low viscosity, that is, they flow easily. The neck of the bottle is narrow, usually less than 40 millimeters in diameter. The narrow mouth allows the user to control the flow of the liquid easier than with wide necked bottles. The neck will also have a continuous thread to which things like a pump, sprayer or cap can be attached. These bottles can be made from a variety of materials like glass and plastic resins including polypropylene. Lab grade bottles are often autoclavable. They can be used to store or transport chemicals or distilled water.

Evolution Round Bottles

Evolution round bottles are tall, sleek and appealing. You may have come across this type of bottle more often than not. They have sloping shoulders and round, flat bases. Evolution round bottles are unique due to their deeply sloping and narrow shoulders. They are made from different plastic resins, including HDPE and polypropylene. Evolution round bottles can be used to store different commercial products like milk, water, flavored beverages and so on. It is an aesthetically pleasing simple and efficient design.

Royalty Round Bottles

Royalty round bottles are quite similar to the Boston round bottle and the imperial(bullet) round bottle. Royalty round bottles have the gently rounded shoulder of the Boston round bottle and the height of the Imperial round bottle. Even so, it would not be as tall as an Imperial round bottle. Thus, it is great for limited spaces, and it does not diminish the elegance of the bottle. Like the other round bottles, the Royalty round bottle is great for cosmetics, hair products, oils, body care products, lotions and so on.

Modern Round Bottles

Modern round bottles are unique for the indent on the side of the body that allow label application. It is usually made from PET or HDPE. HDPE bottles are translucent and excellent for the storage of liquids. Modern round bottles have angled shoulders and a round base which increases the volume of the bottle. It makes pouring easier. Modern round bottles usually have a continuous thread closure. They are used as containers for body care products or medicinal products.

Squat Boston Round Bottle

As the name sounds, squat Boston round bottles are very similar in shape to Boston round bottles. The main difference is that the base of squat Boston round bottles is flatter than the base of normal Boston round bottles. The panels on the side of the bottle form a nearly right angle at the base. They are also shorter in length and have a rounded shoulder. Squat Boston round bottles are used in various products including personal care products, cleansers, lotions and so on.

Oblong Bottles

Oblong bottles can easily be mistaken for oval bottles, however there is a basic difference between the two. Oblong bottles have a rectangular base. They have nearly oval bodies, with horizontally elongated shoulders and straight sides ending in a rectangular base. Oblong bottles offer a greater space for labeling and additional decoration. They are generally made from PET or HDPE and are great space savers. It can be used with different closures such as spray caps, pumps and so on. Oblong bottles are often seen in association with common products like hand soaps, lotion and body care, especially those for men.

Tottles

Tottles have a rather interesting name. It is a combination of two words- a tube and a bottle. It is basically a tube inflated into a desired shape, but so are most other plastic bottles. What makes tottles so useful is the fact that it is an easy dispenser of whatever product is within. Tottles can be made of HDPE or PET. It usually has normal caps or flip top caps. It is an upside down bottle that stands on the dispensing cap rather than the base. Tottles are hardy bottles that offer great flexibility. They can be used as a container for hair products like conditioners, skin care products and food containers like sauce and mayo bottles.

F-Style Jugs

Industrial F-Style jugs are those kinds of bottles that are big and wide, and have handles. They are made from a variety of plastic resins, including HDPE, PET and PVC. F-Style jugs usually have a rectangular body. The durable handle helps consumers carry the product with no great difficulty. They often have a wide mouth which facilitates easy dispensing. It is also easier to transport this type of bottles. F-Style jugs are a great choice for several purposes including industrial, automotive, sanitation, and chemical storage.

Plastic Contour Bottles

Contour bottles were made popular by Coca Cola. Plastic contour bottles can be produced on a larger scale in a more economical manner. Contoured bottles are durable and impact resistant. They are easier to hold and have a buttress finish. They also have a no-drip neck. Contoured bottles are usually used for beverages, but it need not be limited to just that. Labeling is tough on contoured bottles. A better alternative option is a shrink sleeve.

Diamond Round Bottle

Diamond round bottles have a narrow neck and tall body. Its round shoulders have a gentle slope, much like bullet bottles. Diamond round bottles are quite similar to Imperial round bottles. The distinctive feature is that the body of diamond round bottles are wider. It has a narrow neck with continuous thread closure. Other types of closures such as pumps or sprayers can be added as well. They are great as containers for personal care products, beverages and other such liquid products.

Dairy Square Bottles

Dairy square bottles are opaque and square shaped. They are generally used for dairy products like, but need not be used exclusively for it. It is used with a variety of other bottles. Dairy squares have a quadrangular shape and often come with a handle which increases ease of handling. The usual material used for dairy square bottles is HDPE. The opaque nature of dairy square bottles make it a great choice to store perishable food products as it would protect them from sunlight.

Industrial Round Bottles

Industrial round bottles are quite common and are used in several industries. They can be used for different types of liquids including chemicals, cleaning products, food products and automotive products. Industrial rounds are distinct with respect to their thin handles and wide bodies. The bottle shape is versatile and can be used for various purposes. The handles make carrying and pouring easier and more precise.

Cylinder Round Bottles

Cylinder round bottles are different from other bottles due to its sharp shoulders and narrow neck. Continuous thread caps, pumps, and sprayers can be used as closures. It has a narrow body and is often tall. They have straight, long sides. This gives it a slender and elegant look. Cylinder round bottles are easy to label. They are usually used to store liquids. These bottles can be made of different plastics such PET and LDPE. Usually PET containers are useful for various households. LDPE containers are tough but at the same time, they are quite flexible

Roller Ball Bottles

As the name suggests, roller ball bottles have a roller ball in their lids in order to dispense the product easily and evenly. Roll on bottles are usually small cylindrical bottles with a roller ball. The product is dispensed efficiently when the bottle rolls against the application surface. Roller ball bottles are most commonly used for lotions, deodorants and other cosmetic products. It is made with glass, or in the case of plastic, with a rigid plastic like polypropylene.

Dual Airless Chamber Bottles

The purpose of a dual airless chamber in a bottle is to push air into the bottle in order to push the product out of the small opening. There are two chambers within the bottle and each has a different product. Each chamber can dispense its product individually or simultaneously with the other. Dual airless chambers are great for products that need to be used together but cannot be intermixed. It is also useful for products like day/night perfumers. Dual airless chambers can be used for personal care, cosmetics, lotions and so on.

Carafe Bottles

Carafe bottles have a ridged neck that provides a better grip for the user. The body and base are round in shape. The shape of the body provides a good amount of space for labeling. Carafe bottles are usually used for cleaning liquids, sanitation liquids and gardening chemicals. It is usually used for spraying liquids. The ridges on the bottle’s necks provide grip while spraying. It can be made from plastic resins like HDPE.

Foamer Pump Bottles

Foamer pump bottles are quite common, especially as containers of handwash. It has a tall, slender and round body and a pump. The foaming pump can either be attached to the bottle or be seperate from it. Foamer pumps often have a foaming chamber in it where the liquid components get mixed. The foam pump is used to foam up the liquid in the bottle. Foamer pump bottles are specially suited for liquid products. It can be used for cosmetics, soaps, face cleansers, hand washes and so on. It is most popularly used as bottles of hand wash or soap. It is also great for hair care products like hair color. Foamer pump bottles reduced the need for certain products like hair color to be shaken vigorously before using.

Airless Pump Bottles

Airless pump bottles are great for those types of products that need to be kept away from exposure to air to prevent the risk of oxidation. Airless pumps feature an integrated piston mechanism in order to use the product more economically and to prevent the entry of bacteria. It reduces the need for chemical preservatives. Thus, the product would be much more appealing to a health conscious consumer. Airless pumps draw the product from the top of the bottle. There is a disc at the bottom of the bottle and with each pump, the product is pushed up by the disc with each pump. In other types of pump bottles, it will be hard to reach the leftover product at the bottom of the bottle. Airless pump bottles are easy to handle and use.

Dropper Bottles

Dropper bottles can be made of glass or plastic resins like HDPE, LDPE or PET. They are great as essential oils, eye drops or nasal drops and such other liquids. These are small bottles that often carry high concentrations of a product. Dropper bottles allow users to dispense very small quantities of products at a time. This is especially useful when it comes to products like medicines that need to be taken in a specific small quantity. Nasal, oral and eye drops are often taken in quantities measured by drops. They are paired with droppers and a cap. They are easy to fill and use.