A tube prints flat and is then wrapped, so the printable width is the circumference: from 40 mm on a Ø13 tube to 186 mm on a Ø60, with Ø25 at 77.6 mm, Ø35 at 109 mm and Ø50 at 155.6 mm. The three template distances — front centre, unwrapped centre and back centre — tell you where the face, the seam side and the back of the tube fall on the flat file; the front-panel centre sits at one quarter of the unwrapped length. Print height is set by tube length minus the 3.5–4.5 mm end seal and the shoulder, registration is held to ±1.5 mm (≥100 ml) or ±1 mm (smaller), and the eye-mark position belongs to the factory template, not the designer.
The print area is the circumference
Offset and flexo tube printing happens on the sleeve before it is headed and capped: the extruded tube is rotated under the plates and the artwork is laid on as a flat band that meets itself once round the back. So the width of your artwork file is not the diameter you see on shelf; it is the unwrapped length, which is effectively π times the diameter. A Ø35 tube — the most common facial cleanser size at 100–150 ml — gives you a 109 mm wide band. A Ø19 eye-cream tube gives 58.5 mm, which is why small tubes carry a logo and a claim and nothing else.
| Tube diameter | Front centre distance | Unwrapped centre distance | Back centre distance | Total unwrapped length | Typical fill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ø13 | 10.00 | 20.00 | 30.00 | 40.00 | 3–15 g samples, lip treatment |
| Ø16 | 12.40 | 24.80 | 37.20 | 49.60 | 3–15 g eye cream, serum minis |
| Ø19 | 14.65 | 29.30 | 43.95 | 58.50 | 3–15 g eye cream, spot treatment |
| Ø22 | 17.00 | 34.00 | 51.00 | 68.00 | 15–40 g eye and face cream, travel |
| Ø25 | 19.40 | 38.80 | 58.20 | 77.60 | 15–40 g hand cream, travel sizes |
| Ø30 | 23.25 | 46.50 | 69.75 | 93.00 | 30–100 g face cream, primer |
| Ø35 | 27.25 | 54.50 | 81.75 | 109.00 | 30–100 g cleanser, sunscreen, hand cream |
| Ø38 | 29.50 | 59.00 | 88.50 | 118.00 | 80–150 g cleanser, mask |
| Ø40 | 31.00 | 62.00 | 93.00 | 124.00 | 80–150 g hair treatment, body cream |
| Ø45 | 34.90 | 69.80 | 104.70 | 139.60 | 80–150 g body cream, mask |
| Ø50 | 38.90 | 77.80 | 116.70 | 155.60 | 150–250 g body lotion, shampoo |
| Ø55 | 42.75 | 85.50 | 128.25 | 171.00 | 150–250 g conditioner, shower gel |
| Ø60 | 46.50 | 93.00 | 139.60 | 186.00 | 150–250 g body lotion, shower gel |
What the three centre distances mean
Read the Ø35 row: 27.25 / 54.50 / 81.75 / 109.00. The file is 109 mm wide. The front centre distance (27.25 mm) is where the centre line of the face panel falls — one quarter of the way across, so the front panel is centred on that line and runs about a quarter of the circumference either side. The unwrapped centre distance (54.50 mm) is the middle of the file, which lands on the side of the tube; on a laminate (ABL or PBL) tube this is where the side seam is usually placed, so keep critical type off it. The back centre distance (81.75 mm) is the centre of the back panel, where the ingredients list, barcode and address block go. The two file edges meet round the back, so a continuous design needs the template's overlap allowance and a hard-edged one should end short of the join.
Practical layout: brand, name, one claim and net weight centred on the front distance; directions, INCI, warnings and barcode centred on the back distance. Barcodes run ladder-wise around the circumference so curvature does not distort bar widths.
Print height: length minus seal and shoulder
The table gives the width. The height is the tube's length, and the length is not a catalogue number: it is set by the factory to hit your fill weight at your diameter. A brief that says "Ø35, 80 g" fixes both; a brief that says "100 ml tube" does not. From that length, subtract the two zones that do not print. At the open end, the end seal takes 3.5–4.5 mm; artwork should stop clear of it, because the seal is formed after filling and any ink in the weld zone is a seal risk. At the other end, the shoulder is a moulded head, not part of the printed sleeve, so the artwork ends at the sleeve top. Ask for the factory template before a designer starts.
Rules that keep artwork inside the area
| Item | Rule | Why |
|---|---|---|
| File width | Total unwrapped length for the diameter (40–186 mm) | The band meets itself once round the back |
| Panel centres | Front, unwrapped and back distances from the template | Face and back land where the consumer expects; seam side stays clear |
| Eye-mark (registration mark) | Position set by the factory template, never by the designer | The press reads it to register colours and cut length; a mis-placed mark drifts every tube |
| Registration tolerance | ≤±1.5 mm on tubes of 100 ml and above; ≤±1 mm on smaller tubes | Curved-surface printing; hairline registration and butt-joined colours will show movement |
| Bleed and safe zone | Keep critical elements inside the panel; allow for shrinkage in heated steps | Extrusion, heading, varnish, offset oven and UV cure each shrink the sleeve slightly within tolerance |
| Colours | Up to 8 spot colours or 4-colour process; Pantone matched at the proof stage under D65 | Some separations cannot be produced; the factory pre-flight should name them |
| Barcode | Ladder orientation, around the circumference; contrast checked on the printed proof | Curvature distorts bar widths in picket-fence orientation |
| End seal zone | No artwork in the 3.5–4.5 mm seal; batch code may be embossed there | Ink in the weld is a seal-strength risk (seal tested ≥20 N/cm) |
Choosing the diameter for the artwork you have
Fill weight comes first, diameter second, artwork last — but the table lets a brand check whether its story fits the tube it can afford to fill. A Ø19 eye tube (58.5 mm) carries a wordmark and one line; a Ø25 hand cream (77.6 mm) a name and a two-line claim; a Ø35 cleanser (109 mm) full face and back panels with INCI; a Ø50 body lotion (155.6 mm) a full-wrap illustration. If mandatory copy does not fit the back panel legibly, the fix is a longer tube (more fill) or a larger diameter, not a smaller font.
Print area does not change the economics. Every diameter runs on the same industry floor of 5,000–10,000 tubes per SKU (3,000 sometimes negotiable), the same RMB 200–300 (≈USD 28–45) plates per design and the same 15–20 days from sample-tube approval; a second design is a second set of plates, not a second minimum on the same run. The commercial side is in tube MOQ and plate cost; the wall structure that sits under the print is in EVOH, ABL or PBL.
How the print is checked
At the printed proof, colour is approved under a D65 standard light source and the proof becomes part of the golden sample. At final inspection, registration is gauged against the ±1.5 mm / ±1 mm thresholds, and decoration adhesion is tested with 3M 600 tape over the print — pressed ten passes, pulled at 45°, no lift — and a 75% alcohol soak for 30 minutes with no coating loss. The full sheet — structures, seals, the QC battery — is on cosmetic tube specifications, the thirteen finishing processes on decoration process comparison, and the four inspection gates on the QC standards page. The pre-flight questions to put to a tube supplier are in how to evaluate a China packaging supplier.
Vella is a Guangzhou-based beauty packaging solutions provider — a sourcing partner working with vetted partner factories operating to ISO 22716 / GMP — and sends the factory template for the chosen diameter and fill before artwork starts, then checks the file for eye-mark, barcode and separations before plates are cut. Formats are on cosmetic tubes; body and hair tubes at Ø40–Ø60 on haircare and bodycare packaging, face-care tubes on skincare packaging.
Frequently asked
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