Wax Paper and Printed Food Bags

Bag or sheet: how the three products differ

A wax paper bag is a flat kraft bag with an open top, sold plain or with a one-color mark. Staff slide a cookie or a sandwich in and fold the top over. The printed paper food bag is the same shape in larger sizes with your logo on the face, built for bread and takeout.

The printed wax paper sheet is not a bag at all. It is a dry wax sheet in the standard square sizes, printed with a pattern or logo, used to line bakery boxes, wrap candy and sit under a charcuterie spread.

Buy bags for anything a customer carries out one at a time. Buy sheets for anything that is boxed, boarded or displayed.

What goes in a wax paper bag and what does not?

The bag in our photo is natural kraft with a dry wax finish and a serrated top edge, stacked in a block. It takes a cookie, a muffin, a cold sandwich, a wedge of cheese or a few slices of cured meat. The wax face keeps butter and moisture from soaking into the kraft, so the bag stays firm in the hand.

It does not take fries or anything straight from the fryer. Hot oil softens dry wax and the bag goes limp. It also stays out of the oven and the microwave. For warm pastries straight from the rack, let them cool a minute before bagging and leave the top open.

Read the wax paper bags page for the three bag sizes and what fits each one.

Which bag size holds a bagel, a cookie or a baguette?

A 6 x 6 bag is a single cookie or a small pastry. The 6 x 8 takes a muffin or a half sandwich with the top folded over once. A 7 x 9 holds a bagel sandwich, a large cookie or a stack of deli slices.

The printed food bag goes bigger. Its 8 x 12 size is the bread bag: a demi baguette, a small loaf or two bagels. Measure the item at its widest point, add an inch for the opening, and pick the first bag that clears it.

• Single cookie or macaron: 6 x 6 wax paper bag
• Muffin, scone or half sandwich: 6 x 8
• Bagel sandwich, large cookie, sliced meats: 7 x 9
• Demi baguette, small loaf, two bagels: 8 x 12 printed food bag

Wax paper sheets for charcuterie, candy and gift wrap

A printed wax sheet under a charcuterie board stops oil from the meats marking the wood and gives the board a printed edge where it shows past the food. A 12 x 12 sheet suits a small board; a 15 x 15 covers a cake board or lines a large bakery box.

Candy counters use the 12 x 12 to twist around fudge or to separate layers of caramels in a box. The slight sheen on dry wax keeps sugar from sticking to the sheet, which is the reason to pick it over bleached white here.

Gift wrapping is the same sheet with a pattern instead of a logo. A two-color repeat on dry wax reads as a wrapped present without the cost of full color.

Is dry wax safe for warm pastries?

Yes for a warm hold, no for reheating. A croissant from the morning bake can go straight into a wax bag or onto a wax sheet. The paper handles that warmth and the butter without trouble. What it cannot take is the oven or the microwave, so a bag that a customer might reheat in should be the printed food bag on grease-resistant stock instead.

Grease-resistant kraft is the stock for the printed food bag when the item is oily, such as a fried doughnut or a hot sandwich. Our stocks guide for deli paper sets dry wax and grease-resistant side by side.

Printing on a bag versus printing on a flat sheet

A bag prints on one face, usually with a single logo or a small repeat. Because a bag is held upright, a centered logo on the front works, and the mark sits where the customer's thumb is not. One spot color on kraft is the common order; white ink on kraft gives a lighter look.

A sheet prints edge to edge, and the layout that works is a repeat, because the sheet is folded, twisted or cut down for a box. Full color prints on the bleached white sheet for a bakery pattern. The printed wax paper sheets page shows a plain roll next to printed samples.

From quote to delivery for bags and sheets

1. Choose bag sizes or sheet sizes and say plain or printed.
2. For printed items, send a vector logo, or a photo of your sign for a free redraw of a simple wordmark.
3. A written quote arrives within one business day.
4. A free PDF proof follows for printed items; changes are free until you approve it in writing.
5. Printing takes 4 to 6 business days after approval.
6. Free tracked delivery to any US address in 2 to 3 business days.

Each bag size and each sheet size is a separate run of at least 1,000 pieces, invoiced after approval. Misprints or crushed cases reported with photos inside 10 days are reprinted or refunded. Start a bag and sheet quote with your counts.