Choose the right glass bottles for your products

Glass bottles come in a variety of shapes and materials. Flint glass bottles are clear, optical and highly refractive. Borosilicate glass bottles are heat and breakage resistant. Soda-lime glass is the most popular commercial glass and can be used for inexpensive glass bottles. For products that are sensitive to light, choose colored glass bottles.

I recommend: SKS Bottle & Packaging offers clear (flint) glass bottles as well as colored bottles with a variety of closure options. At the O.BERK Company, you can find a wide selection of glass bottles. Container and Packaging Supply offers specific lines of glass bottles specific to food, beverage, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

Consider the benefits of plastic bottles

Lightweight plastic bottles offer many benefits, such as low costs, durability and child-proof safety. When choosing plastic bottles, consider how temperature, density and molding will affect the type of material held within. PET (polyethylene terephthalate) has become the material of choice for most plastic bottles because it is lightweight and shatter resistant. LDPE (low density polyethylene) plastic bottles offer added flexibility, and HDPE (high density polyethylene) plastic bottles are known for impact and moisture resistance. Clear, ridged PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic bottles are commonly used for cosmetics or as travel-size containers.

I recommend: Specialty Bottle offers a wide array of PET and HDPE bottles in addition to its selection of glass bottles. Look for PET, LDPE, HDPE and PVC plastic bottles at SKS Bottle & Packaging. Cleveland Bottle & Supply Co. offers a large selection of plastic bottles made from a variety of materials, as does Plastic Bottle Corporation.

Use specialty bottles for unique needs

If you require bottles for lab work or bottles with a narrow mouth, a wide mouth or a hinged lid, you can find specialty bottles to meet those needs.

I recommend: Find specialty bottles at Cape Bottle Co., which specializes in small orders for small businesses and requires no minimum order. Freund Container offers specialty bottles for a number of uses. For a good selection of bottles designed for laboratory use, visit Best Lab Deals. Sunrise Containers manufactures specialty bottles for the medical industry.

Shop for wholesale bottles to cut costs

Buying wholesale bottles isn't the only way to save money on bottles. Look for vendors that offer low shipping costs, closeout deals and low or no minimum orders.

I recommend: eBottles.com is a provider of wholesale bottles offering a low price guarantee and surplus specials. BottleStore.com offers $5 shipping and handling on all orders. Check the closeout section at Container & Packaging Supply for great deals on glass bottles. No minimum order is required for online orders at SKS Bottle & Packaging or Specialty Bottle.