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Measuring & Cutting Your Dip Tube for Optimal Dispensing
Many personal care products such as lotion, hand soap, body spray, perfume, hand sanitizers, and moisturizers are conveniently packaged in bottles paired with dispensing closures: lotion bottles with lotion pumps or treatment pumps or spray bottles with fine mist sprayers. The dip tube for each of these closures must be measured and cut correctly to ensure your packaging performs. A too-short or too-long dip tube can lead to poor performance, product waste, and customer dissatisfaction. Here are a few easy steps to achieving the perfect dip tube length.
Locate the top of the gasket at the underside of the pump or sprayer cap
Measure the dip tube length
To determine the overall dip tube length, measure from the top of the gasket to the bottom of the tube. You MUST measure the ENTIRE LENGTH starting at the gasket, not just the length of the tube itself.
Measure the bottle
Now that you’ve determined the length of the dip tube, you need to measure the inner height of your bottle. You can use the dimensions provided if you have a technical drawing or spec sheet for the bottle. If you cannot access the bottle’s technical drawing, you can measure the bottle itself. You can refer to our Anatomy of a Bottle article if you are unfamiliar with the terminology in this article.
Measure your bottle from the top of the finish (top of the bottle) to the base. To get an accurate measurement, insert a ruler into the bottle. If you don’t have a ruler that fits, you can use a narrow object such as a straw or pencil and mark where the object meets the top of the bottle and use your ruler to measure from the bottom of the object to the mark.
Determine how the dip tube should be positioned in the bottle
There are two options when placing your dip tube.
Option 1: Cut the tube at an angle, leaving a slight gap between the dip tube and the base of the bottle. This angle allows space for the product to be dispensed.
Option 2: Cut the tube at an angle, long enough to bend the tube toward the sidewall of the bottle to maximize dispensing.
DO NOT cut your dip tube to be flush with the base of the bottle. This blocks product from being dispensed.
Make a test cut
Before cutting your dip tubes in mass, test one tube with your container and use it as a template for the rest. Be cautious when trimming to avoid cutting dip tubes too short.
Measure your final product
Once you are satisfied with the fit of your dip tube with your container, repeat the first two steps to measure the length. This will give you the custom length of your dip tube.