The right capping machine can improve production speed, provide excellent repeatable torque accuracy, and reduce operator fatigue, but each type of machine has its own strengths and limitations. This buyer’s guide compares handheld, benchtop, and automatic capping machines so you can quickly determine which option is best suited for your caps, containers, production volume, cost considerations, and the needs of your operators.
Quick Comparison
Handheld Capping Machines
Strengths: substantially reduce the physical strain and fatigue of capping by hand, provide excellent torque accuracy, tighten the vast majority of common screw caps, are portable, and affordable.
Limitations: still require operator effort, are less comfortable to operate than benchtop or automatic capping machines, and are not well suited for high production runs. They are also not compatible with trigger spray caps, some pump caps, or ROPP caps. They are also a poor choice for large caps, high-torque applications, or very short bottles unless equipped with the proper accessories.
Benchtop Capping Machines
Strengths: make capping dramatically more comfortable than capping by hand or with a handheld capping machine, provide excellent torque accuracy, tighten the vast majority of common screw caps, are well suited for larger caps and higher-torque closures, are often ideal for tubes and vials, support small to medium production runs and frequent changeovers, and are much more affordable than automatic capping machines.
Limitations: still require an operator, do not eliminate labor like an automatic capping machine, and are less suitable for high-volume production than an automatic capping machine.
Automatic Capping Machines
Strengths: deliver very high production speeds, eliminate operator effort from the capping process, reduce labor requirements, provide excellent torque accuracy, tighten the vast majority of common screw caps, are well suited for large caps and high-torque closures, and are ideal for higher daily production volumes and larger production runs.
Limitations: require a larger investment than handheld or benchtop capping machines, may not justify the cost for very low production volumes, require more dedicated space, are less portable, and are less suitable for small production runs with frequent changeovers.
Detailed Comparison
Handheld Capping Machines
Strengths
Handheld capping machines are a major improvement over hand capping, greatly reducing operator fatigue and physical strain while helping prevent sore hands, bruising, blisters, and repetitive stress injuries that can result from tightening caps by hand.
Because handheld capping machines are a major improvement over hand tightening, operators can typically work longer and achieve higher daily throughput.
Handheld capping machines also provide repeatable torque accuracy that is not possible with hand capping, helping reduce leaks and improve customer satisfaction.
Handheld capping machines are well suited for tightening the vast majority of screw caps, including standard continuous-thread caps, child-resistant caps, tamper-evident caps, and many common dispensing closures such as dropper, flip-top, disc-top, spout, and yorker caps.
Handheld cappers are much more affordable than automatic systems, making them a practical choice for startups, small businesses, and lower-volume applications.
Due to their compact size, handheld cappers are easy to move and can be used in different work areas.
The simplicity of handheld cappers allows them to be put into service more quickly than automated machines, which is especially helpful for small batches and frequent changeovers.
Limitations
Handheld capping machines still require operator effort, so they are less comfortable to operate than benchtop or automatic capping machines.
Handheld capping machines are not well suited for high production runs, because the operator effort required can become fatiguing over time, making it difficult to sustain output over long periods.
The practical estimated production rate when using a handheld capping machine is about 15 caps per minute. This limit is not due to the speed of the capping machine itself, which tightens a cap in less than a second, but to the overall semi-automatic process of placing the cap, capping the container, removing the finished bottle, and positioning the next one. When one operator performs all of these steps, the full cycle typically takes about four seconds, or 15 caps per minute.
Significantly higher rates are possible when part of the sequence is handled by others, such as when another worker pre-places the caps on the containers or helps feed or remove bottles. If output above 15 caps per minute is required without adding labor, an automatic capping machine is the better choice.
Handheld capping machines are not well suited for tightening caps 63 mm and above or other high-torque applications, because the torque required to tighten the cap creates a strong reaction force that the operator must resist to prevent the machine from rotating during capping. In many cases, that force can be excessive, resulting in operator strain and increasing the risk of repetitive strain injury. In these cases, a benchtop or automatic capping machine is the better choice. For customers who want a handheld solution, the optional PowerCap package prevents the capping machine from rotating during capping, allowing large caps to be tightened more comfortably and safely.
Handheld capping machines are also not ideal for tightening caps onto very short bottles, because the limited height leaves too little room for the operator to safely and securely hold the container during capping. Benchtop and automatic capping machines are better suited for short containers. However, this limitation can be addressed with the lever-activated base, an accessory that holds the container during capping, allowing very short bottles to be capped with a handheld capping machine.
Handheld capping machines are not compatible with trigger sprayers and some pump and spray closures because they apply torque by using a chuck that contacts the closure from above, usually at or near the outer edge of the cap. This requires clear access to the outer portion of the closure, so caps with features that extend to or beyond the outside diameter of the cap, such as pumps, cannot be properly gripped. These closures must instead be gripped from the side and are better suited to capping machines designed for side gripping, such as our PumpCap benchtop spindle capper and Versa-Max automatic spindle capper.
Handheld capping machines are not compatible with ROPP (roll-on-pilfer-proof) caps.
Benchtop Capping Machines
Strengths
Benchtop capping machines are a customer favorite for a very simple reason: they make capping effortless. Compared to capping by hand, or capping with a handheld capping machine, they deliver a dramatic improvement in operator comfort by taking virtually all of the strain and fatigue out of the capping process.
Benchtop capping machines also provide excellent torque accuracy. Unlike capping by hand, they allow for repeatable torque application, which helps reduce leaks and improve customer satisfaction.
Because capping with a benchtop capping machine is much less fatiguing than capping with a handheld capping machine, or capping by hand, operators can typically work longer and achieve higher daily throughput.
Benchtop screw cappers are well suited for tightening the vast majority of screw caps, including standard continuous-thread caps, child-resistant caps, tamper-evident caps, and many common dispensing closures such as dropper, flip-top, disc-top, spout, and Yorker caps.
Our benchtop spindle capper, the PumpCap, can tighten any type of screw on cap, including trigger spray caps and lotion pumps. Benchtop capping machines are much more affordable than automatic systems, making them a practical choice for startups, small businesses, and lower-volume applications.
Due to their compact size, benchtop cappers are easy to move and can be used in different work areas.
The simplicity of benchtop cappers allows them to be put into service more quickly than automated machines, which is especially helpful for small batches and frequent changeovers.
Benchtop capping machines are an excellent solution for tightening large caps and other high-torque closures that handheld capping machines are not well suited for.
Benchtop capping machines are often the ideal solution for tubes and vials, as they are well suited to the small, precise nature of these applications. We also offer specialized accessories designed specifically for these containers. Their compact footprint makes them a natural fit for the environments where tubes and vials are commonly capped.
Limitations
Benchtop capping machines still require an operator, so they do not eliminate labor in the way an automatic capping machine does.
The practical estimated production rate of a benchtop capping machine is about 15 caps per minute. This limit is not due to the speed of the capping machine itself, which tightens a cap in less than a second, but to the overall semi-automatic process of placing the cap on the bottle, capping the bottle, removing the finished bottle, and positioning the next one. When one operator performs all of these steps, the full cycle typically takes about four seconds, or 15 caps per minute.
Significantly higher rates are possible when part of the sequence is handled by others, such as when another worker pre-places the caps on the containers or helps feed or remove bottles. If output above 15 caps per minute is required without adding labor, an automatic capping machine is the better choice.
While they greatly reduce operator effort, automatic capping machines eliminate it entirely, so benchtop machines are less suitable for high-volume applications.
Benchtop screw capping machines are not compatible with trigger sprayers and some pump and spray closures because they apply torque by using a chuck that contacts the closure from above, usually at or near the outer edge of the cap. This requires clear access to the outer portion of the closure, so caps with features that extend to or beyond the outside diameter of the cap, such as pumps, cannot be properly gripped. These closures must instead be gripped from the side and are better suited to capping machines designed for side gripping, such as our PumpCap benchtop spindle capper and Versa-Max automatic spindle capper.
Kinex Cappers® benchtop cappers are not compatible with ROPP (roll-on-pilfer-proof) caps.
Automatic Capping Machines
Strengths
Automatic capping machines dramatically increase production by capping at very high speeds. We offer automatic capping machines with speeds up to 105 caps per minute.
Because capping is fully automatic, they eliminate operator effort, strain, and fatigue from the capping process.
By automating the capping process, they reduce labor requirements and allow employees to be reassigned to other tasks.
Automatic capping machines provide excellent, repeatable torque accuracy, ensuring high-quality closures that help eliminate leaks and improve customer satisfaction. Automatic screw capping machines are well suited for tightening the vast majority of screw caps, including standard continuous-thread caps, child-resistant caps, tamper-evident caps, and many common dispensing closures such as dropper, flip-top, disc-top, spout, and Yorker caps.
Our automatic spindle capping machine, the Versa-Max, can tighten any type of screw on cap, including trigger spray caps and lotion pumps.
Because capping with an automatic capping machine is faster and requires no operator involvement, they are especially well-suited for higher daily production volumes and longer production runs.
Automatic capping machines are an excellent solution for tightening large caps and other high-torque closures that a handheld capping machine is not well suited for.
They are an excellent choice for tightening caps on very short containers, which are often difficult to cap with handheld capping machines. We offer several options that allow even the shortest containers to be capped successfully.
Limitations
Automatic capping machines require a larger investment than handheld or benchtop capping machines.
For very low production volumes, the added speed and automation may not justify the extra cost of an automatic capping machine.
Automatic capping machines are also less portable and require more dedicated space than handheld or benchtop equipment.
Changeovers are more time-consuming on automatic capping machines than on benchtop or handheld capping machines. As a result, they may not be the best fit for small production runs with frequent changeovers.
Automatic screw capping machines are not compatible with trigger sprayers and some pump and spray closures because they apply torque by using a chuck that contacts the closure from above, usually at or near the outer edge of the cap. This requires clear access to the outer portion of the closure, so caps with features that extend to or beyond the outside diameter of the cap, such as pumps, cannot be properly gripped. These closures must instead be gripped from the side and are better suited to capping machines designed for side gripping, such as our PumpCap benchtop spindle capper and Versa-Max automatic spindle capper.
Kinex Cappers® automatic cappers are not compatible with ROPP (roll-on-pilfer-proof) caps.