A great many manufacturers utilize tubes only for some products so they limit the range of application. However, some of them misunderstand the tube packaging resulting in the restriction of packaging usage.

The first of mistakes is that some people reckon that tubes are more appropriate for thick creams while bottles are more suitable for thinner and less viscous products. Whereas, with the development of scinece and technology, the orifice of the tube can be decreased to about a millimeter using special caps or applicators with valves so that thin fluids, like toners can be kept in tubes. The second mistake is that tubes are not as much popular as bottles among consumers. But it is apparent that the most well-known sun tan lotions are packed in tubes and those consumers thinking bottles are more popular prefer tubes due to the convenience. Besides, new decorating techniques can be applied to tubes, such as silk screen printing, hot stamping technologies and offset printing which can make packaging more high-end. The third mistake is that tubes are more expensive than bottles. In fact, it is difficult to compare the cost of tubes and bottles owing to various factors, like supplier distance and size of tubes or bottles. For small manufacturers, they tend to choose bottles as they can fill manually while they have to fill tubes by machines. But for those who are willing to buy filling machines, they may realize that the footprint for tube filling machines is smaller since the steps are less, unlike a bottle filling line which needs more steps and space. As a result, the price of tube filling machines is lower.

In order to decrease the cost, some manufacturers import tubes from China. As a matter of fact, the quality of tubes should be guaranteed; otherwise, some tubes of poor quality may be thrown away so the cost will be higher. Albeit the tubes in China are high-qualified, local suppliers are also good choices for cosmetic manufacturers. There are several advantages of tubes for cosmetic, personal care, pharmaceutical and food packaging but some manufacturers consider tubes are not popular and it is hard to fill products of less viscosity in tubes. Fortunately, these problems have been solved because of dispensers with valves to control the flow of fluid inside. And the printing of tubes is appealing for customers.

On account of progress, manufacturers can pack most cosmetics by tubes. Acctually, tubes are advantageous if the quantity is small since tubes are squeezable and customers can dispense, which is a good deal.