Tube (container)

Toothpaste in tube

Tube of adhesive

A tube is a soft squeezable container which can be used for thick liquids such as adhesive, caulking, ointment, and toothpaste. Basically, a tube is a cylindrical, hollow piece with a round or oval profile, made of plastic, paperboard, or aluminum. Both ends of this tube are treated differently during the manufacturing process and filling. In general, on one end of the tube body there is a round orifice, which can be closed by different caps and closures. The orifice can be shaped in many different ways. Plastic nozzles in various styles and lengths are just one good example.

To attach caps and closures, in most cases a thread is tapped onto the opening structure. Furthermore, something all aluminium tubes have in common is that the other open end is folded several times after the contents have been added. The tube is thus hermetically sealed and nearly germ-free due to the high temperatures during the production process. Furthermore, it is possible to coat the inside of the tube with special coatings to prevent the material from reacting with the contents.

Tubes are not poured from liquid aluminium; they are produced by the process of impact extrusion. In this process, the tube body is extruded from a small piece of aluminium with the round shape of a coin.

Unlimited printing designs can be applied to the tube, thanks to the wet-in-wet offset printing method. Six tones can be printed with this printing procedure, which gives packaging designers great opportunities to express their creativity.

The filled content can be easily squeezed out by the pressure of two fingers. The main characteristic of aluminium tubes is the total separation of the contents from the surrounding atmosphere; therefore, such tubes are especially suitable for the packaging of highly perishable contents. Aluminium tubes are used as packaging technology for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, and technical products.

Plastic Tubes : Tube containers can also be produced in plastic, most commonly PE. The use of plastic tubes is very popular for the storage of Cosmetics such as hand creams etc. and also some food stuffs. The plastic tube retains its shape after each "squeeze" unlike laminate tubes such as toothpaste tubes. Plastic tubes can also be highly decorated or have a special additive such as soft touch to make the tube more appealing during use or point of sale (POS).

A multi-layer plastic tube

5 Layer Tube Extrusion Line

Plastic tubes are produced using the extrusion process. A "sleeve" is first produced using a very specialised extrusion line. The "Sleeve" must be produced to a very high standard (for decoration purposes) and also to very tight tolerances as automated processes are required post the extrusion operation. Once the "sleeve" is produced the tube head is fitted using an automated heading machine. Tube printing using complex and specialised printing machines such as silk screen printing applies the desired decoration. The open tubes are then most likely packed and despatched to another facility for filling and sealing.

The growth of multi-layer plastic tubes has been significant over the last couple of years due to the "barrier" properties of the tube to enable a wider range of products such as food to be stored in them.

Invention

John Goffe Rand, an American portrait painter, invented the squeezable metal tube in 1841 for storing paints.^[1]

Shipping tubes

Other tubes are made of paperboard or corrugated fiberboard for shipping posters or long items. The FedEx "tube" shipping container is actually an extruded triangle.^[2]^[3]

Notes

↑ painting.about.com/od/artsupplies/ig/Winsor-Newton-Factory/invention-paint-tube.htm
↑ FedEx Tube, fedex.com, retrieved March 2, 2010
↑ GIZMORAMA: LIFE IN THE TECH AGE, United Press International, Dec 18, 2001, archived by HighBeam Research, retrieved March 2, 2010

References

Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-08704-6
Soroka, W, "Fundamentals of Packaging Technology", IoPP, 2002, ISBN 1-930268-25-4

External links

Media related to Tubes (packaging) at Wikimedia Commons

Packaging

General topics	Active packaging Child-resistant packaging Disposable food packaging Food packaging Luxury packaging Modified atmosphere/modified humidity packaging Package pilferage Package testing Packaging engineering Pharmaceutical packaging Reusable packaging Shelf life Sustainable packaging Tamper-evident Tamper resistance Wrap rage

Containers	Aerosol Container Aluminium bottle Aluminum can Ampoule Antistatic bag Bag-in-box Bags and flexible containers Barrel Beer bottle Biodegradable bag Blister pack Boil-in-Bag Bottle Box Bulk box Carboy Carton Chub Clamshell Corrugated box design Crate Disposable cup Drum Envelope Flexible intermediate bulk container Foam food container Folding carton Growler Insulated shipping container Intermediate bulk container Jar Jerrycan Jug Juicebox Keg Multi-pack Oyster pail Packet (container) Padded mailer Pail Paper bag Paper sack Plastic bag Plastic bottle Popcorn bag Retort pouch Sachet Security bag Self-heating can Self-heating food packaging Shaker-style pantry box Shipping container Skin pack Spray bottle Tin can Tube Unit load Vial Wooden box

Materials and components	Adhesive Aluminium foil Bioplastic Biodegradable plastic BoPET Bubble wrap Bung Cellophane Closure Coated paper Coating Corrugated fiberboard Corrugated plastic Cushioning Desiccant Double seam Foam peanut Glass Hot-melt adhesive Kraft paper Label Linear low-density polyethylene Liquid packaging board Low-density polyethylene Metallised film Modified atmosphere Molded pulp Nonwoven fabric Overwrap Oxygen scavenger Packaging gas Pallet Paper Paper pallet Paperboard Plastic film Plastic pallet Plastic wrap Polyester Polyethylene Polypropylene Pressure-sensitive tape Screw cap Screw cap (wine) Security printing Security seal Shock detector Shock and vibration data logger Shrink wrap Slip sheet Staple (fastener) Strapping Stretch wrap Susceptor Tear tape Temperature data logger Time temperature indicator Tinplate Velostat

Processes	Aseptic processing Authentication Automatic identification and data capture Blow fill seal Blow molding Calendering Canning Coating Containerization Curtain Coating Die cutting Die forming (plastics) Electronic article surveillance Extrusion Extrusion coating Glass production Graphic design HACCP Hermetic seal Induction sealing Injection molding Laminating Laser cutting Molding Papermaking Plastic welding Plastics extrusion Printing Quality assurance Radio-frequency identification Roll slitting Shearing (manufacturing) Thermoforming Track and trace Vacuum forming Ultrasonic welding Vacuum packaging Verification and validation

Machinery	Barcode printer Barcode reader Bottling line Calender Can seamer Cartoning machine Case sealer Check weigher Conveyor system Extended core stretch wrapper Filler Heat gun Heat sealer Industrial robot Injection molding machine Label printer applicator Lineshaft roller conveyor Logistics automation Material handling equipment Mechanical brake stretch wrapper Multihead weigher Orbital stretch wrapping Palletizer Rotary wheel blow molding systems Shrink tunnel Staple gun Tape dispenser Turntable stretch wrapper Vertical form fill sealing machine

Environment, post-use	Biodegradation Environmental engineering Glass recycling Industrial ecology Life-cycle assessment Litter Paper recycling Plastic recycling Recycling Reusable packaging Reverse logistics Source reduction Sustainable packaging Waste management

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