Glass Bottle Specifications: A Checklist for Supplier Enquiries

A usable bottle enquiry gives a supplier enough to quote the same item every other supplier is quoting. It states the container dimensions and tolerances, capacity and fill point, finish designation, glass color and weight, strength and quality requirements, decoration, and how the bottles will be packed and delivered. Where a standard governs a value, name the standard. Where you have no requirement yet, say so instead of leaving the line blank.

The checklist below is grouped the way a bottle drawing and a quality agreement are usually organized, and it works for stock and custom bottles. If you are still choosing a shape or sourcing route, start with glass bottle types and sourcing. Read the finish section below before you fix a closure.

Start with the drawing

Ask each supplier for a drawing of the exact article and quote against it. Every other line in the enquiry should point back to that drawing.

Cetie, the European glass packaging technical body, lists a data sheet whose stated aim is to help customers build meaningful specifications for the manufacturing and filling of glass containers (DT12.00). It also lists data sheets on standard tolerances for capacity, height, diameter, verticality and base-to-mouth parallelism of the finish (DT02.00), and a glossary of glass container visual defects (DT26.01) that notes severity values should be agreed between the glassmaker and the filler. A specification can cite these references, and they are free to download with an account.

The specification checklist

Container geometry and weight

Item	What to state	Notes
Article reference	Supplier article number or your drawing number and revision	Prevents quoting from different versions
Overall height	Nominal value and tolerance	Tie to line and case limits
Body diameter or width	Maximum, with tolerance; for non-round bottles, both axes	Starwheel, guide and carton fit
Verticality and base-to-mouth parallelism	Required limits or the standard to follow	Affects capping and labeling; covered in Cetie DT02.00
Weight	Target and tolerance, or “supplier standard”	A lower weight changes other properties; see lightweight wine bottle guidance in lightweight wine bottles
Base and push-up	Profile, and whether a flat or recessed base is required	Affects conveying and stability

Capacity and fill

Item	What to state	Notes
Nominal capacity	The labeled volume	Legal or labeling reference
Brimful capacity	Target and tolerance	The volume to the rim; ask how it is measured
Fill point or fill height	Distance from the top of the finish to the product level	Needed for filler setup, see glass bottle filling machines
Headspace requirement	Required headspace, product temperature and expected change	Cetie’s FS07.00 gives design headspace recommendations for liquids in bottles and jars; for vacuum-seal food jars the filler and cap supplier own the fill level

Cetie DT09.00 gives factors to convert the mass of water to true volume, and refers to ISO 8106 for gravimetric capacity determination. Ask which method the supplier uses to report capacity so numbers are comparable across quotes.

Finish and closure

Item	What to state	Notes
Finish designation	A GPI code such as 28-400 or a named European finish	Do not give a diameter alone; see bottle neck finishes and closure compatibility
Closure type	Continuous thread, lug, crown, cork or ROPP	Cetie DT31.00 lists the main sealing types on glass containers
Closure and liner	Maker, part number, liner material	Needed to confirm compatibility with the supplier
Sealing surface	Required planarity or finish quality	Cetie’s flaconnage (small molded bottle) data sheet notes that finish planarity must meet the sealing system, especially for hot sealing or twist-off; ask whether the same applies to your container
Minimum bore	If a filling tube or insert is used	Cetie lists minimum through-bore data for BVP and BVS finishes

Glass color and appearance

Item	What to state	Notes
Color name	Flint, amber, a green shade, or a supplier color	Names differ by supplier; Berlin Packaging lists flint, super flint, amber and several greens for wine
Color control	A sample or a measured reference	Cetie DT30.00 covers colour measurement of glass packaging
Surface treatment	Hot-end and cold-end coating requirements	Cetie DT13.00 describes both; relevant to line handling

Strength and special requirements

Item	What to state	Notes
Internal pressure	Product carbonation or filling pressure	Cetie DT11.00 sets procedures for beverages above 2 g/l CO2
Vertical load and impact	Required test method or limits, if any	Cetie lists standard test data sheets in its strength and performance category
Thermal conditions	Hot-fill, pasteurization or cold-fill	State the temperatures used in the process
Product contact	Food or beverage use and any regulatory requirement	State the market the product will be sold in

Decoration, labeling and marking

Item	What to state	Notes
Label type and panel	Pressure-sensitive, wet-glue or sleeve; panel size and position	See bottle labeling methods
Alignment features	Spotting bars or locating dimples, if the line orients the bottle	Cetie DT19.01 and DT20.00 define bars and dimples
Printing, embossing or frosting	Artwork, position and method	Confirm who supplies tooling
Laser marking	Areas to avoid and cold-end codes	Cetie DT28.00 gives areas to avoid for laser marking

Quality, packing and delivery

Item	What to state	Notes
Defect classification	Critical, major and minor defect definitions and sampling plan	Agree with the supplier; Cetie glossaries support this
Certificates	Certificate of conformity, test reports, traceability	Specify what must ship with each lot
Packing	Pallet pattern, layer pads, tops, bulk or cased	Match to your depalletizing method
Quantity and schedule	First order, annual forecast, delivery points	Needed for stock versus custom comparison
Samples	Number, source (production or pre-production)	State that samples must come from production molds

Published requirement, supplier claim and your requirement

Keep three kinds of statement separate in the enquiry and in your notes. A published standard or data sheet is a reference both sides can read. A supplier’s catalog figure is a supplier claim, so request the drawing behind it. Your own requirement, such as a maximum height for your line, is yours to set, and you should write it as a requirement, not as a general fact. Verallia, a glass maker, describes a standard catalog and customized bottles with specific shapes and colors, which shows that the starting point (stock or custom) changes who owns the drawing and the tolerances. The cost and document differences are covered in stock vs. custom glass bottles.

Questions to send suppliers

1. Please provide the drawing for this article, including the revision, finish designation, brimful capacity, weight and tolerances.
2. Which standard or internal specification governs your dimensional and capacity tolerances?
3. How is brimful capacity measured, and what are your reported results for recent lots?
4. What is the fill point for the nominal capacity, and what headspace do you recommend for my product and filling temperature?
5. What defect classification and sampling plan do you use, and can they be written into the supply agreement?
6. What strength tests do you run, and what pressure rating applies if my product is carbonated?
7. Which closure and liner combinations have you validated on this finish?
8. What are the packing options, and what documentation ships with each lot?
9. If I change the closure, label type or fill temperature later, what needs to be revalidated?

When the bottle is part of a line purchase, the same data feeds the equipment request in the bottling equipment RFQ checklist.

Evidence and limitations

This checklist is an editorial synthesis of published data sheets and distributor and supplier descriptions. It cannot replace the standard, the drawing or the supply agreement. The relevant standards depend on the market: Cetie documents are European and voluntary, and North American buyers often use GPI finish conventions and supplier-specific drawings. Requirements for strength, headspace, color and defects depend on the product, the line and the supplier, and the values must be agreed in writing for each item.

• Cetie general data sheets (DT), Cetie: tolerances, specification preparation, capacity conversion, colour measurement, surface treatment, sealing types, spotting bars, laser marking and defect glossaries.
• Cetie recommendation data sheets (FS), Cetie: headspace recommendations and mass-to-capacity guidance.
• Cetie finish data sheets (GME), Cetie: finish specifications and minimum through-bore information.
• Wine Bottle Sizes, Shapes and Colors Guide, Berlin Packaging: glass color names and capacities (distributor description).
• Verallia bottles, Verallia: supplier description of standard and customized bottle offers.
• Guide to Bottle Neck Finishes, Thread Sizes, & Dimensions, Paramount Global: finish designation format and the need for the I dimension for filling-tube clearance (distributor guide).