Custom Belly Band Sleeves
Custom belly band sleeves from 100 — narrow printed paper bands that wrap around a salad bowl, a meal container, a box or a stack of goods to carry the brand, the product name and a tamper seal without a full carton.
A strip of paper that turns a plain container into a branded one
- Stock
- Cardstock 12–16 pt coated or uncoated, kraft, or textured paper
- Size
- Length to the container circumference plus overlap; width 1–6 in
- Full color one side or both; spot foil on the logo
Order online
Order belly band sleeves
Starting from $0.75 per unit
Printed to your artwork or plain, sold in runs of 100 up to 5,000 units per product online. Freight to the US, UK, Canada and Australia is inside the price.
How an online order runs
- Add the units you needThen check out with your delivery address. Add other products to the same order on the way.
- A digital proof comes backLaid on the dieline, before anything prints. Change it as often as you need.
- Pay once you approve itPay by PayPal invoice or bank transfer after you approve your digital proof, or cash on delivery in the US and Canada.
- We make it and ship it deliveredYour delivery date is confirmed with the proof, against the spec and your fill date. Freight and customs are handled on the way to you.
Another size, board or finish, or more than 5,000 units? Send the spec for a price instead. Freight by market and our terms cover delivery and remakes.
Get a price for Belly Band Sleeves
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
- Free dielineThe flat drawing comes with the quote, before you commit.
- Proof before pressNothing is printed until you have seen it laid on the dieline.
- Die kept for reordersTooling is paid once. Every reorder skips straight to press.
- Quoted in four marketsUS, UK, Canada and Australia, in the delivery currency.
Where a band works instead of a box
| Salad and grain bowls | Band around a clear bowl; food stays visible above and below |
|---|---|
| Meal prep containers | Band over the lid and base holds them together and names the meal |
| Folding boxes and gift boxes | Band over a plain kraft or white box for each product or season |
| Stacks of goods | Napkins, cards, soap bars or textiles banded into a set |
| Notebooks and stationery | Band printed as the cover label of a plain notebook |
Measuring the band so it closes properly
The band length is the container’s circumference at the point where it sits, plus an overlap of about an inch for the glue or the tab. Round bowls are measured around the widest point the band will reach; rectangular boxes are measured around all four sides. Width depends on how much container you want to hide: two to three inches shows most of a salad, five inches covers most of a box face.
If the band slides on from the end instead of wrapping, it is a closed loop and is sized a little loose, so it moves without tearing.
Closures: glue, tab, sticker or a sealed seam
- Pre-glued strip: the band is wrapped and pressed closed by hand on the packing line.
- Locking tab: a die-cut slot and tab, no glue, easy to undo and reuse.
- Seal sticker: a round label closes the band and doubles as tamper evidence on food.
- Glued loop: closed at the factory and slid on over the end of a box or a stack.
Printing a band for food that sits in a chiller
Bands on grab-and-go food spend days in a refrigerated case, where condensation forms on the container. Coated stock or a light varnish keeps the print from softening, and kraft bands are given a sealed face for the same reason. The band is the label, so it carries the product name, date panel, allergens and barcode as well as the brand. For wider wraps that cover most of a box, look at our printed paper sleeves for boxes.
One plain container, many bands
Banding lets a kitchen or a maker stock one container and one box size, and change the band for each recipe, scent or season. That keeps inventory small and lets short runs of 100 bands cover a new product without a new box. The wider family of wraps and slip-on covers is in our collection of packaging sleeves.
Send the container or its dimensions and where on it the band should sit; we draw the band to that measurement.
Belly Band Sleeves — specification
The rows that are specific to this build first, then what applies to every job we run. Anything not listed is a question, not a limit — send the brief.
This build
- Stock
- Cardstock 12–16 pt coated or uncoated, kraft, or textured paper
- Size
- Length to the container circumference plus overlap; width 1–6 in
- Full color one side or both; spot foil on the logo
- Closure
- Pre-glued strip, locking tab, seal sticker or factory-glued loop
- Finish
- Varnish or lamination for chilled food; uncoated for a handmade look
- Minimum
- 100 bands per design
On every job
- Print process
- Digital below about a thousand, offset above it. One side or both, with spot colors where a match has to hold.
- Color
- CMYK as standard. Uncoated and kraft stocks print lighter and warmer; a spot color is the only exact match.
- Tolerance
- Cutting plus or minus 1 mm, creasing plus or minus 0.5 mm, confirmed on a plain sample before the run.
- Tooling
- A cutting die per size, made once and kept. Foil and emboss dies per artwork, also kept.
- Food contact
- Food-grade board and inks where the carton touches food, with the interior left plain.
- Sustainability
- Mono-material board wherever the product allows; recycled-content and FSC stocks; no claim printed the pack does not earn.
- Artwork
- Vector PDF or AI, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe area, fonts outlined. We check every file and send a proof before press.
- Dieline
- Supplied free with the quote, before you commit. Yours whether or not you order.
- Sample
- A plain unprinted sample at the finished size on request, for fit and construction.
- Reorders
- Skip the tooling and go straight to press at a lower unit price.
- Lead time
- Quoted with the price against your fill date rather than promised before we have seen the spec.
- Markets
- United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia — priced in the delivery currency, freight included.
Boards and films we build belly band sleeves on
A folding carton is one sheet of board, so the board is the product. These are the stocks we run for cartons, what each is good at, and where it lets you down.
Natural kraft
Unbleached folding board. Warm, hides marks, costs least. Mutes color — one or two flat colors print well, photographs do not.
250–350gsm sleeves; 14–24pt cartonsWhite SBS
Solid bleached sulfate: bright, coated, the retail carton standard. Takes accurate color and every finish. Shows scuffs sooner than kraft.
14–24ptWhite lined chipboard
A recycled gray core under a white printing face. Cheaper than SBS and slightly duller; the back of the sheet stays gray.
16–24ptKraft-look coated
A kraft face over a coated inner. The natural look with a barrier behind it — the answer where oil, grease or moisture would mark plain kraft.
14–20ptRecycled-content board
Post-consumer fiber with a gray-brown cast. Right for outers and inner components; poor for bright whites and photography.
16–22ptMicro-flute E and F
A fine corrugated layer where a carton needs structure it cannot get from board — a large panel, a heavy product, a box that ships alone.
E 1.5 mm; F 0.8 mmUncoated and textured
No clay coat, or a linen or laid grain. Print reads softer and warmer; a deboss goes deeper. Photographs do not sit well on it.
280–350gsmMetalized and pearlescent
A metallic or pearl face for a shelf that needs to catch light. Costly, and it fights a photograph — a mark or a pattern suits it better.
16–20ptNot sure which? Say what goes in it and where it is sold — the material follows from that. Our notes on recycled, recyclable and compostable cover which claims each stock can honestly carry.
- 01
Send what you have
A dimension, a photograph beside a ruler, or the product itself. No technical drawing needed — that part is ours.
- 02
We quote and draw
A price, a dieline and a date come back together. If a different build would suit the product better, that is in the reply too.
- 03
Approve the dieline
The flat drawing is yours to check: which panel is the front, where the folds fall, how deep the cavity really is.
- 04
Artwork on the dieline
You place your design on the flat we sent, or we place it for you, and you see a proof before anything goes to press.
- 05
A sample if you want one
A plain unprinted sample at the finished size shows fit and construction — the things a drawing cannot.
- 06
Cut, printed, shipped
The die is cut once and kept, so every reorder skips the tooling and goes straight to press at a lower unit price.
Format
Vector PDF or AI where possible. Raster artwork at 300dpi at final size, in CMYK.
Bleed
3 mm past every trim line, so a fraction of drift on the cutter never leaves a white edge.
Safe area
Keep type and anything important 4 mm inside the cut and away from every fold.
Color
Convert to CMYK before sending. Uncoated stock prints lighter; a spot color is the only exact match.
Fonts
Outline them or supply the files. A missing font substitutes silently and the proof will not match.
Barcodes
On a light, matte, unvarnished patch with the quiet zone clear — a code on gloss fails the scanner.
Not set up that way? Send it anyway — fixing a file is a short conversation, and we check every one before press. Our guide to preparing print files covers each point.
Every finish here is a decision about light on a shelf, not about luxury.
Matte lamination
Reads considered, hides marks, takes a ballpoint.
Gloss lamination
Lifts color; glares under shop lighting.
Soft-touch
Velvet in the hand; shows fingerprints in a bag.
Hot foil
Real metal leaf — the most reliable premium signal.
Emboss / deboss
Shape with no ink; works in the dark.
Spot UV
Gloss shapes on a matte field.
Uncoated kraft
Warm, natural, mutes color.
Textured stock
Texture in the paper; cannot scuff off.
Not sure which suits the shelf it sells from? Say where the product is sold and we suggest one — our notes on specialty finishes show them on real boxes.
Sizing a folding carton so the die comes out right: belly band sleeves
Measure the product, not the box it is in now. A carton is built around what has to fit inside it, assembled — cap on, lid fitted, folded if it folds — at its widest point in each direction. Send those three numbers and say which is which.
- Length x width x height
- Internal, always. External dimensions include the board and are what the carrier measures, not what the product needs.
- Clearance
- 2–3 mm a side for a snug fit; more where an insert or void fill goes in. A carton cut exactly to the product is slow to pack and transmits every knock.
- Board thickness
- Heavier board takes internal space from the product. It matters most on small boxes, where four walls of 24pt is a real share of the cavity.
- Varies between batches?
- Glass, textiles, molded parts and cured soap all do. Measure several and build to the largest.
- Cutting tolerance
- Plus or minus 1 mm on folding board. Confirmed on a plain sample before the run.
- Units
- Metric or imperial, as long as you say which. Mixing them in one spec is where mistakes happen.
Not sure your numbers are right? Send the product dimensions rather than the box dimensions and we work the box out — the full method is in our guide to measuring for a box.
Interactive · five steps · no sign-up
Build your Belly Band Sleeves in 3D
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a board and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about belly band sleeves? The answers below cover what we get asked most. If yours is not here, send it with a brief, message us on WhatsApp, or call +1 503-461-4788 — we reply the same working day.
What is a belly band sleeve?
A narrow printed paper band that wraps around the middle of a container, box or bundle to carry branding and label information.
How do I measure for a belly band sleeve?
Measure around the container where the band will sit and add about an inch of overlap for the closure. We draw the band from that.
Can belly bands be used on salad bowls?
Yes. A band around a clear bowl names the salad and carries the label while leaving the food visible above and below it.
How does a belly band close?
With a pre-glued strip, a locking tab, a round seal sticker, or as a loop glued at the factory that slides on.
Will a belly band hold up in a refrigerator?
Yes, on coated stock or with varnish. Condensation in a chiller softens bare paper, so food bands are given a sealed face.
Can a belly band act as a tamper seal?
Yes. Closing the band with a seal sticker shows if the container has been opened before it reaches the customer.
Can belly bands be printed on kraft paper?
Yes. Kraft bands suit natural products and plain kraft boxes; for food they are given a sealed face.
Can one box use different belly bands?
Yes. Many brands stock one plain box and print a band for each product, scent or season.
How wide can a belly band sleeve be?
From about one inch up to six. Wider wraps that cover most of a box are usually made as full sleeves.
Can belly bands be printed on both sides?
Yes. The inside can carry instructions, a message or a recipe that the customer reads once the band is off.
Do belly band sleeves come flat?
Wrap-around bands come flat with the closure ready; closed loops are glued at the factory and come ready to slide on.
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