Soft Tubes: 30–300 ml, Barrier Layers and What Print Does to Lead Time
By Joe Joo · 8PCK · Shantou · Updated 2026
A tube is the cheapest way to put a cream, gel or paste on a shelf — and the format most often specified without deciding whether the product needs an EVOH barrier.
Extruded tubes are made in the same building as our bottles: the tube body is extruded, the shoulder and cap are injection moulded, and the print goes on before filling.
This page covers the sizes we run, when a barrier layer earns its cost, and how decoration changes the schedule.
When a Barrier Layer Earns Its Cost
An EVOH layer slows oxygen and aroma transfer. It matters for essential oils, vitamin C, and anything with a fragrance that has to survive twelve months on a shelf.
It roughly doubles the tube's material cost. For a body lotion in a 200 ml tube, mono PE is usually enough; for a 30 ml serum, the barrier is what keeps the formula from turning.
Print Before Filling, Always
Tubes are printed as blanks, then filled and sealed at the cap end. That means artwork approval comes before production, and a late change stops the line rather than delaying a label.
Six-colour offset or flexo is standard; hot stamp and metallising are available at 5,000 pcs.
What to Send With the Brief
Fill volume, product viscosity, whether the formula contains a solvent, cap style, and the artwork. Viscosity decides the orifice; the solvent decides whether the inner layer needs to change.
Samples from an existing tube mould leave in 7 days; a new diameter needs a die, which is 15–20 days.
Questions We Get on This Format
What is the minimum order for a printed tube?
3,000 pcs per design at 1–6 colours. Below that, plain tubes with a label are the practical route.
Can the tube be refilled?
Not practically — the seal at the crimp end is single-use. Tubes are priced as single-use packs.
Do you supply the cap and the tube together?
Yes. Flip-top, screw and octagonal caps are moulded in the same plant and fitted before packing.