Shortly after World War II (1945) plastic manufacturers started working on different types of spray pumps using plastic materials. This allowed for diverse commercial and domestic liquids to be used cheaply. The mighty trigger spray pump was also developed using plastics and now comes in an array of beautiful designs, styles, colours and safety features.
Throughout this article, we will explore all the possibilities and considerations of the trigger pump. We hope this gives you a better idea of how and why to use them.
Trigger spray pumps are used for a wide variety of liquid applications. The most popular would have to be cleaning products. These would include sanitising agents, soaps and cleaning foams. The trigger spray pumps can also be used for hair products such as gels and sprays, strong cleaning agents such as stain removers or alloy wheel cleaners. The medical industry also uses these for pain relief products. In fact, you will probably find a trigger spray being used for some type of solution in most industry sectors.
Trigger Sprayers are available with different outputs, these include 0.75ml, 1.3ml and the higher output of 1.6ml. The most popular would have to be 1.3ml as this offers a good level of consistency for most liquid types.
Trigger pumps offer a good range of dosage. This can be important depending on the application and purpose. A dosage can range from 0.22ml to 1.5ml. The application can also affect the spread (surface area) and the mist created from the trigger pump. If a product needs a larger spread a higher dosage is recommended. Options include:
A *continuous spray option is new to Raepak. This lets the user press on the trigger enabling a dosage that lasts longer, rather than a one spray application.
Trigger sprayers have various size screw caps to fit different bottlenecks. The popular sizes you will find are
Some pumps will only be available in one neck size however, some pumps will be available in all sizes.
The spray pattern can be quite important to some liquid products. You may want a widespread, short spread, mist or foam solution. The liquid type being used is the most important factor here. A good comparison would be a frying oil or a foam cleaning product. A frying oil would need a widespread short-range spray. This would cover the frying pan perfectly before cooking. The foamed spray would need a short-range mechanism as the contents would be of different consistency, and the liquid would be applied more directly.
The viscosity of the fluid for trigger pumps is a measure of its resistance to gradual deformation by shear stress or tensile stress. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of “thickness”; for example, honey has a much higher viscosity than water. A High Viscosity (HV) pump can deal with thicker liquids more efficiently.
Trigger sprayer pumps come in a great selection of designs, styles and colour options. Depending on your product line you might want to offer something classical, modern, technical or possibly futuristic. The shroud is the plastic container around the trigger mechanism. There are some wonderful designs available. There is also a variation of the trigger pump which is called the mini trigger pump. Mini trigger pumps can also be used for a wide selection of liquids product solutions.
Hitting your target market correctly does mean you will need to do a little research, especially with colour matching options. To give you some hints we have put some colour code options together for you.
MARKETING SECTOR COLOURS USED Cosmetic Industry White, Transparent, Soft colours. Kitchen Cleaners Oranges, Blues, Purples. Toilet Cleaners Blue, Yellow, Transparent, White. Automotive Industry Black, Grey, Red, Yellow. Medical Industry Transparent Amber, White. Salons Blacks, Whites, Ocean Teals. Gardening Green, Black, Red.These are not compulsory however consumers are used to seeing these colours for products in these industry sectors.
We all know some liquids can be fatal to young children. They can breathe chemicals in if the wrong spray nozzle is used or some liquids can actually burn the skin. Child safety is very important when choosing your trigger pump. Here are our 4 top child safety tips:
#1. If the chemicals are toxic to the lungs consider a foaming option.
#2. Most trigger sprayers come complete with a twist lock on the end of the nozzle. This is a perfect solution for young children.
#3. Some trigger sprays come with a snap click screw cap. This design is very difficult to remove.
#4. Trigger sprayers can also come with an on/off clip that slides left to right for a working and non-working modes.
Trigger sprayers are made up of a simple plastic squeeze-pump handle that can be mounted on different designed plastic bottles. They come with several advantages to the consumer.
Trigger spray pumps have a straightforward design and work with several parts to ensure the pumping action delivers liquid in the bottle as a spray.
Once pulled using a few fingers, the trigger lever activates a small pump. This pump is attached to a plastic tube which draws cleaning fluid from the bottom of the reservoir inside the bottle.
The pump forces this liquid down a narrow barrel and out a small hole at the spray valve.
Inside the shroud, a small spring compresses the fluid once pulled back by the trigger.
The moving piston compresses the spring, so the piston is pushed back out of the gasket when you release the trigger. These two strokes of the piston move the cylinder out again and contribute to the entire pump cycle.
This extraction motion shrinks the cylinder and forces the fluid out as a one-way system. Once the trigger is released, the movement allows the processes to be repeated without any delivery problems. Slightly different designs are used depending on the pump type and delivery solution.
Raepak offers a ‘build your own’ trigger pump service. This gives the brand owner more control over the final design. Custom changes include trigger options, nozzle options and collar options.