Custom Paper Bags
Custom paper bags come with twisted paper handles for everyday retail, rope or ribbon for premium and boutique use, or die-cut handles on smaller bags with nothing to attach. Both sides get seen as a bag turns while carried, so the reverse is worth using for a message or secondary branding artwork. A single boutique or one-off event can order from just 100 printed bags.
Ours are on Trustpilot, where we can't edit them or choose which ones you see.
Read them on Trustpilot →(opens in a new tab)Four stages, twelve days
Quote confirmed
A specialist checks your spec against the board and comes back with a firm price inside 4 business hours.
Proof approved
You get a flat dieline and a 3D render. Nothing goes to press until you approve it in writing.
On press
Print, die-cut, glue, and fold. You get a press-side photo the day your job runs.
QC and delivery
Every pallet is sampled against the digital proof or physical sample you approved, then shipped with tracking to your dock or 3PL.
If a box doesn't match the digital proof or physical sample you approved, we reprint the run at no charge.
Read the reprint terms →Know exactly what you're ordering.
Custom Paper Bags, Chosen Paper First and Handle Second
A paper bag order comes down to three choices, and they go in a fixed order. Paper color comes first, because it decides what your print can do: unbleached kraft, bleached white, black, or a brown shade. Handle comes second, since it sets how much the bag carries and how it feels in the hand. Size comes last, and most stores end up needing more than one. This page covers the whole range for buyers who haven't settled on a color yet: a new shop fitting out its counter, a brand adding bags beside its boxes, an event team that needs something printed for one weekend. If you already know you want kraft or black, the variant pages go further into that paper than this one does.
Paper, Handle and Size Options Across the Bag Range
Every bag in the range is specified from the same short list. Size and paper weight aren't catalog numbers; they're set by what goes inside.
| Choice | Options |
|---|---|
| Paper | Unbleached kraft, bleached white, black, brown |
| Handle | Twisted paper, flat paper, rope, ribbon, die-cut |
| Size | Cut to what goes inside |
| One face or both |
Bags are commonly made on an unbleached kraft sheet, with white and black moving you onto a bleached or dyed paper. Twisted paper is the everyday handle, rope carries more and suits a bag that gets reused, and a die-cut grip works on smaller bags with nothing attached. Weight capacity depends on the paper and how the handle is fixed, so send your heaviest typical purchase and we'll spec to it.
Matching Bag Color to How the Store Already Looks
The right variant depends less on the bag than on the store it leaves from. A bag is the last piece of the brand a customer touches, so it should match the shelving and signage they just walked past. A shop fitted out in bare wood and linen reads oddly with a glossy white bag, and a bright white interior can make kraft look unfinished. So start with what's already there. Fashion boutiques at the till show this most clearly: the bag goes out on the customer's arm and stays in view for the walk home, so a mismatch is obvious. Pick the paper that sits with the room, then let the print carry the branding. When the store has no settled look yet, kraft sits beside almost anything.
Ink, Foil and Lamination Across the Bag Family
What a bag can carry in print depends on its paper. Full-color print reproduces most accurately on bleached white, where the sheet adds nothing of its own. On unbleached kraft, color mutes against the brown, which is why one or two inks is the usual call there. On black, regular ink sinks into the paper, so logos go on in foil or white ink instead. Lamination is available on white bags for scuff resistance, with a cost to recyclability worth weighing. On every paper, keep solid color and foil away from the side folds and the base crease, where the bag bends each time it opens and coverage cracks first. What's worth skipping: heavy finishes on a bag that gets used once.
Paper Bags for Bakeries, Boutiques and Pop-Up Events
Paper bags turn up wherever a purchase is handed across a counter rather than shipped. Bread and pastry counters use them for loaves, rolls and boxed cakes going out the door, usually on kraft with a one-color logo. Clothing and gift boutiques favor rope or ribbon handles and a sturdier bag the customer keeps. Pop-up shops, markets and trade-show stands order a run for a single event and hand them out with every sale. Corporate teams fill them as take-home gift packs at conferences and launches. Bookshops, florists and delis all use them for the same reason: a printed bag keeps the store's name in view after the customer leaves, for as long as the bag stays in use.
Getting a First Bag Order to Proof
Most first orders start with a logo file and a rough idea of what goes in the bag, and that's enough to begin. Our design team works up the artwork and a proof on your chosen size, and revisions are free and unlimited until it's right. Nothing prints before you sign off. Every bag then goes through a three-stage check before it leaves, so a misprint or a badly fixed handle is caught by us rather than found at your counter. If the delivered bags don't match the proof you approved, we reprint them at our cost. Setup and plates are in the quote, with no charges added afterward, and shipping is included. From approval, plan on 8–12 business days.
One connected process, start to finish.
Structural Design
Dieline drafted to your exact fit and freight tolerances.
Proof & Sample
Sign off on a digital proof, or request a physical sample.
Tooling
Dies and plates are cut for your job and archived on file.
Production
Print, die-cut, and assembly run under in-line quality checks.
Ship & Reorder
Freight goes out, and the cycle resets for your next run.
Steady process. Powerful results.
Like everything we build, our process is engineered to hold up — no shortcuts, no surprises. Five dependable stages that run the same way every single time, so reorders are just as fast as the first order.
- One dedicated teamFrom first sketch to final freight, the same people carry your order start to finish.
- Dies archived on fileReorders skip tooling and re-setup entirely — we already have your exact spec.
- Checked against your sign-offEvery run is inspected against the digital proof or physical sample you approved.
Set up your file once, correctly
Nine in ten delayed jobs are delayed by artwork, not production. Match these four rules and your proof lands the next morning.
- Bleed1/8 in (3 mm) past every cut line
- Safe ZoneKeep text 1/4 in clear of every crease
- ColourCMYK or named Pantone. No RGB.
- Resolution300 dpi at final size, fonts outlined
No print-ready file?
Send a logo and a rough idea. Our studio builds the production file free with any order over 500 units — you keep the source file either way.
Ask the StudioBackground art must run all the way to the outer bleed edge. Anything inside the white dashed line survives fold tolerance.
What brands say about this box
They live there rather than here, where we can't edit them, delete them, or pick which ones you get to see. That is exactly what makes them worth reading.
Read all reviews on Trustpilot(opens in a new tab)Answers before you have to ask.
What handle options do paper bags come with?
Twisted paper, flat paper, rope and ribbon are the common four. Twisted is the everyday retail standard. Rope and ribbon suit premium and boutique use. Die-cut handles work on smaller bags with no attachment at all.
Can paper bags be printed on both sides?
Yes, and both sides get seen since a bag turns as it's carried. The reverse is often used for a message or secondary branding rather than repeating the front, which gets more from the same print run.
Are paper bags cheaper than boxes?
Usually, since they use less material and a simpler process. The trade is protection — a bag offers almost none against crushing. For retail handover that's fine; for anything fragile it isn't.
How long do custom paper bags take?
Most orders are ready in about 8–12 business days once you approve the proof, handles included. Rush production is available at an extra cost, quoted upfront, with shipping included.
What's the minimum order for paper bags?
100 bags. That's low enough for a single boutique or a one-off event rather than requiring wholesale volume, and design help is unlimited and free at any quantity.