Containers

The lid is the writing surface

On this page14

A sorted set lives or dies by its labels And the side of the jar is the wrong place So the lid is the surface Which is also how a set is read 22 of the 288 closures are dome lids And 179 are plain continuous thread polypropylene lids 42 metal or aluminium CT caps 17 metal lug or twist caps So the label area follows the mouth Which is an argument for the wide necks on two grounds And we supply no printing A written label is the right answer here anyway Which is unusual in this library References

22 dome lids out of 288 closures. And a flat top on every jar.

A sorted set lives or dies by its labels

Ten pin lengths in ten identical jars are ten identical jars until something is written on them.

And the side of the jar is the wrong place

Because lock parts arrive oiled, the oil runs down the inside and the hands go to the outside. A side label is handled every time.

So the lid is the surface

210 of the 251 containers are jars, and a jar has a flat top that faces up in a drawer or a tray.

Which is also how a set is read

A tray of ten jars is read from above, so the top is the surface a user actually looks at.

22 of the 288 closures are dome lids

A dome adds a raised top without adding capacity, which gives more area to write on and lifts it clear of a flat surface.

And 179 are plain continuous thread polypropylene lids

Which have a flat top and take a marker. The ordinary answer and the commonest article on the shelf by a wide margin.

42 metal or aluminium CT caps

Which take a marker poorly and an engraved or stamped mark well, and are the only metal closure family here.

17 metal lug or twist caps

Which have the largest flat top of any closure on this shelf, because a lug cap covers the whole mouth of a wide jar.

So the label area follows the mouth

56 containers at 70-400 and 56 at 89-400, and a wide mouth means a wide lid means a legible label.

Which is an argument for the wide necks on two grounds

Fingers in, and a label on top. Both point at the same 112 containers.

And we supply no printing

No marking, labelling or coding service on any shelf, which three other properties in this library state in the same terms. The marker is yours.

A written label is the right answer here anyway

Because a sorted set changes as sizes are used up and restocked, and a printed label is a commitment a handwritten one is not.

Which is unusual in this library

Most properties here want a permanent mark. This one wants a rewritable one, and a lid takes a marker and a wipe.

References

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. 539 rows: 251 containers and 288 closures. This is the store-small-dry shelf, shared identically by nine groups, and the sewing notions property enumerates the inventory. 5 to 500 mL with a median of 177, with 60 containers under 60 mL and 22 under 30. 210 jars, 27 bottles, 12 tubs and pails, 2 tubes. Buyability, a snapshot: 159 of 251 available, 91 not, 1 unrecorded; 93 quote only; 65 full case only, with case packs from 12 to 6,370 and a median of 288.

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. The 251 containers on this shelf are 117 PET, 78 polypropylene and 56 glass, so 195 plastic against 56 glass, a little over four to one. For a small metal part the difference is practical: glass does not scratch, does not haze and does not take a static charge, and both plastics do all three.

Written from 18 U.S.C. 1704 and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. That section is a theft and forgery statute about keys to Postal Service locks and says nothing about containers, labeling or packaging; it is quoted because it is the federal provision that names a key. Nothing here addresses the lawfulness of making, holding or selling any key or key blank, locksmith licensing, restricted keyways, key duplication, or whether any mark has legal effect, and nothing here would assist anybody in defeating a lock. This shelf is shared identically by nine groups and the sewing notions property enumerates the inventory.