Technical reference

Adhesive Packaging Formats

Tins, drums, pails, aerosols, cartridges and sausages — what each suits, what it costs you, and why the format your market expects may not be the one a supplier quotes.

Last updated: 2026-09-07

Format is a cost decision, not a detail

Packaging is a substantial share of what a filled adhesive costs, and the format decides whether the product runs on your customers' equipment at all. It is usually the last thing discussed in an enquiry and one of the first things that goes wrong.

Two questions settle most of it: what equipment does the end user already own, and how much do they get through in a month.

The formats

Tin can

0.5L · 1L · 3L · 15L

For: Brush and roller application, small workshops, retail and trade counter sale

Every opening loses solvent. On a busy line, decant into a smaller vessel rather than working from an open 15L.

Drum

200L

For: Production lines with a pump or gun feed

The most economical format per kilogram, and the one most exposed to solvent loss and contamination if left open.

Pail

1L · 5L · 20L

For: Water-based grades and trowel-applied products

Water-based product in a pail must not freeze — a frozen dispersion is finished and looks normal once thawed.

Aerosol can

450ml · 550ml · 650ml

For: Spray application without a gun or compressor — upholstery, foam, site work

Ships as UN 1950 regardless of contents, stores upright, and must stay below 50°C. The propellant is part of what you pay for, so compare coverage per can rather than volume.

Cartridge

280ml · 300ml

For: Sealant and construction adhesive from a standard caulking gun

Regional standards differ. Confirm the cartridge fits the guns your market already owns before ordering a container of them.

Sausage / foil pack

590ml

For: High-volume sealant application from a sausage gun

Less packaging waste and better shipping density than cartridges, but needs the right gun — which your customers may not have.

What each product is available in

Product	Available formats
Neoprene Contact Adhesive	0.5L, 1L, 3L, 15L tin cans; 200L drums
SBS Contact Adhesive	0.5L, 1L, 3L, 15L tin cans; 200L drums
Water-Based Contact Adhesive	1L, 5L, 20L pails; 200L drums
PU Shoe Adhesive	1L, 3L, 15L tin cans; 200L drums
Neoprene Shoe Adhesive	0.5L, 1L, 3L, 15L tin cans; 200L drums
Upholstery Spray Adhesive	450ml, 550ml, 650ml aerosol; 20L drum for spray gun application
Foam Spray Adhesive	450ml, 550ml, 650ml aerosol; 20L drum for spray gun application
Neutral Silicone Sealant	280ml, 300ml cartridge; 590ml sausage; 20L pail
Acetoxy Silicone Sealant	280ml, 300ml cartridge; 590ml sausage; 20L pail

Your market's formats are not ours

Pack sizes are regional conventions, and a supplier quoting their standard format is quoting you a repackaging problem. The conversions are arithmetic; the tooling is not.

Our format	US equivalent	Note
280 ml cartridge	≈ 9.5 fl oz	US trade standard is 10 oz — close but not identical
300 ml cartridge	≈ 10.1 fl oz	The nearest match to a US 10 oz cartridge
590 ml sausage	≈ 20 fl oz	US sausage packs are commonly 20 or 29 oz
550 ml aerosol	≈ 18.6 fl oz	Aerosol fill weight matters more than volume — ask for both
20L pail	≈ 5.3 US gal	Close to a US 5-gallon pail but not interchangeable on a filling line
200L drum	≈ 53 US gal	The 55-gallon US drum is a different container

"Close enough" is not close enough on a retail shelf. A 280ml cartridge sold against a 10 oz competitor looks like short measure whether or not it is. Tell us the format your market expects at the enquiry stage — it is anOEM setup question, not an afterthought.

Frequently asked questions

Can you supply adhesive in US gallon pails and ounce cartridges?

Our standard formats are metric — tins from 0.5L to 15L, 200L drums, 280ml and 300ml cartridges, 590ml sausages and 450-650ml aerosols. The sizes that sell in North America, principally 10 oz and 29 oz cartridges and 1 and 5 US gallon pails, are a different fill volume and in some cases different tooling, so they are quoted as an OEM run rather than taken from stock. Send us the pack format your market expects and we will price against that rather than asking you to re-sell ours.

Which packaging format is cheapest?

Per kilogram of adhesive, the 200L drum by a wide margin — packaging is a substantial share of the cost of a filled product, and a drum spreads it over the most material. But cheapest per kilogram is not always cheapest per bond: a drum needs pumping or decanting equipment, and it loses solvent and shelf life every time it is opened. If your consumption is under roughly a drum a month, smaller formats usually cost less in practice.

Does the packaging format change the dangerous goods classification?

It changes the paperwork rather than the class. A solvent-borne adhesive is UN 1133, Class 3 whether it is in a 1L tin or a 200L drum, but packing group, permitted packaging types and limited-quantity provisions differ by size, and some carriers treat small packages more leniently. Aerosols are a separate case: they ship as UN 1950 because of the propellant, regardless of what is inside them.

How many units fit in a container?

It depends on the format, the carton configuration and the pallet pattern, and we would rather calculate it for your specific order than publish a figure that turns out not to match your loading. Send the format and quantity you are considering and we will give you the pallet count and container fit. For planning purposes a 20ft container holds roughly 18-20 tonnes of liquid adhesive.

Can we have our own brand printed on the packaging?

Yes. Printed labels on standard containers is the straightforward route and follows the standard MOQ of the selected product. Fully printed cans and cartridges are a larger commitment, because the printing plate and can-printer minimum sit behind them — custom printed aerosols start from 5,000 cans. Both are covered under private label and OEM programmes.

What packaging do you recommend for a first trial order?

The smallest format your process can genuinely evaluate on, which is usually a tin rather than a drum. A trial exists to test the bond on your substrates at your line speed, and that does not need volume — our liquid trial quantity is 200 kg. Ordering a drum for a trial means committing to a format decision before you have the data to make it.

Format, cost and shipping

What happens between order and container
Eight stages with real durations, and the three places programmes actually stall.
Printed labels and printed cans
Where a format decision becomes a tooling decision, and what each costs to start.
Modelling landed cost rather than ex-works
Format decides container fit, which decides freight per unit.
Storage, shelf life and what heat does to it
Why a container crossing the tropics at 60-70°C is the hardest storage condition your adhesive will see.
How to read the numbers on a datasheet
What each figure predicts, what it does not, and why one without its test method is not comparable.
Look up a term and its other names
Non-acid silicone is neutral cure; liquid nails is grab adhesive. Fifty terms with their synonyms.
Eight checks before you pick a supplier
Manufacturer or trader, grade-level test data, VOC position and dangerous-goods handling — apply them to us too.
Put your own brand on it — OEM and ODM
Custom labels, cartons and formulation adjustments from our existing lines.
Browse the full technical library
Every reference page and guide, grouped by the question it answers rather than by date.
Send a specification and get a quote
Substrate, volume and destination market are enough for us to price it.

Tell us the format your market expects

Cartridge size, can volume, pail or drum — and what equipment your customers already own. We will tell you what runs from stock and what needs an OEM setup, with the cost of each.

Send a technical enquiry See OEM and ODM options