Container Styles Guide

Our Container Styles info page defines common bottle and jar terminology to help you select the right container. The image below explains basic container "anatomy", to which we will refer throughout this article.

Mouth - The opening at the top of a container
Neck Finish - The area of a container that holds a cap or closure. visit our neck finish info page for more information.
Shoulder - The sloped area of a container between the neck and body with a curved radius
Label Panel - A flat area upon which a label can be applied. Typically 1/8" to 1/4" down from the shoulder and up from the base
Wall - The thickness of the container, which is typically measured along the sides
Base - The bottom of a container, which has a curved radius

A plastic or glass bottle is considered to be:

Round when the container's horizontal cross section or base is a circle.

Oval when the bottle has an oval-shaped base

Oblong when the bottle has a rounded rectangular base

Round Bottles

General Bottle Shapes

Round Bottles

Boston Round Bottles

(Boston rounds, round bottles, squat boston rounds)

Boston rounds have straight sides with gradually curved shoulders. SKS' boston round bottles are considered to be a "squat" style with a wider, shorter profile than traditional boston rounds.

Buy Boston Round Bottles

Cosmo Round Bottles

(cosmo rounds, bullet bottles, jefferson round bottles)

Cosmo rounds are tall, narrow bottles with gradually sloped shoulders. Cosmo round bottles are narrower versions of boston rounds.

Buy Cosmo Round Bottles

Cylinder Bottles

(cylinder rounds, cylindrical bottles)

Cylinder bottles are tall and narrow with straight sides. These bottles have horizontal shoulders that transition into the sides abruptly.

Buy Cylinder Bottles

Pharmaceutical Bottles

(pharm rounds, round packer bottles, tablet rounds, pill bottles, wide mouth rounds)

Pharmaceutical rounds are straight-sided, wide-mouth bottles with short, sloped shoulders.

Buy Pharm Round Bottles

Sauce Bottles

(woozy bottles, woozey bottles, keuka bottles)

A round bottle with a narrow neck that tapers into a wider base. Woozy bottles have a gradual, smooth taper from neck to base while sauce bottles have a more rounded shoulder. Sauce bottles often have indented label panels.

Buy Woozy & Sauce Bottles

Oval Bottles

Cosmo Oval Bottles

A cosmo oval is a tall bottle with a narrow depth that has gradually sloped shoulders and an oval base.

Buy Cosmo Oval Bottles

Straight Sided Oval Bottles

These oval bottles have straight vertical sides, a narrow depth, horizontal shoulders and oval-shaped bases.

Buy Straight-Sided Ovals

Naples Oval Bottles

An exception to the "oval" rule, this bottle has a round base but an oval-shaped cross section. A naples oval has gradually sloped shoulders that taper down to the narrow base.

Buy Naples Oval Bottles

Oblong Bottles

Flask Bottles

(apothecary bottles, oblong bottles, flasks)

Similar to a straight-sided oval, a flask has a narrow depth and horizontal shoulders with an oblong-shaped base.

Buy Oblong Flask Bottles