Custom Branded Poly Mailers
A mailer is handled by a courier, left with a neighbour, carried through a hallway and opened at a kitchen table. For a business shipping a few hundred orders a week it is the most widely seen thing the brand owns, and it usually arrives blank.
- Film
- Recycled-content or virgin polythene; compostable on request
- Sizes
- 250 × 350, 350 × 450, 450 × 550 mm as standard; any size to order
- Full coverage, both sides, digital or flexo; label panel kept clear
Get a price for Branded Poly Mailers
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.
Print costs almost nothing here
Film takes print across its whole surface with no tooling and no material penalty. Unlike a box, where a second print pass means a second run through a press, a mailer printed on both sides costs barely more than a plain one.
That makes it the cheapest branded surface in a small ecommerce operation by a wide margin — cheaper per impression than a printed box, an insert card or a sticker.
Leave a clear panel where the shipping label goes. A label over a busy print is harder for a scanner and a courier to read.
Recycled content, and what to claim
The honest position is recycled-content film with plain wording about disposal. Overclaiming on a mailer is unusually visible, because the customer is holding it while they read it.
- Recycled-content polythene performs identically to virgin film in every practical way.
- It is recyclable, but almost never in a curbside bin — say where it can actually go.
- A printed line naming the local drop-off route is worth more than a symbol.
- Compostable film needs a stream most of your customers do not have.
Sizes, and the ladder that covers a catalog
Mailers fold down around their contents, so a slightly large one is not the waste it would be in a box. Three sizes covers most apparel catalogs comfortably.
| 250 × 350 mm | A single garment, a book, most small items |
|---|---|
| 350 × 450 mm | Two or three garments, or one bulky one |
| 450 × 550 mm | Coats, bedding, multi-item orders |
| Custom | Worth it only once one size is a large share of your volume |
The return strip pays for itself
A second adhesive strip below the first lets the customer reseal the same mailer for a return. In apparel, where returns are routine, that removes a whole second pack and a decision from the customer.
It costs a few pence per mailer and is the single feature most likely to be noticed and appreciated — the wider construction choices are in our poly mailer notes.
What not to put in one
Anything rigid with sharp edges wears through the film, anything fragile has no protection, and anything that must not bend arrives bent. A mailer is a bag; it keeps weather and dirt out and does nothing else.
Books are the common mistake. They fit, they are not fragile, and they arrive with bent corners every time — a book wrap costs more and solves it.
Branded Poly Mailers — 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
- Film
- Recycled-content or virgin polythene; compostable on request
- Sizes
- 250 × 350, 350 × 450, 450 × 550 mm as standard; any size to order
- Full coverage, both sides, digital or flexo; label panel kept clear
- Features
- Return adhesive strip, tear notch
- Contents
- Soft goods only — no fragile, rigid-edged or must-not-bend items
- Minimum
- 100 mailers
On every job
- Print process
- Flexo in up to ten colors on the outer film, or digital for short runs and changing artwork.
- Color
- A white underprint carries normal color on metallised or clear film. Without it, every color takes on what is beneath it.
- Tolerance
- Bag width plus or minus 2 mm, length plus or minus 3 mm. Film stretches, so a barcode is verified on a filled bag.
- Tooling
- Print plates or cylinders per design, kept. There is no cutting die — the bag is formed and sealed rather than cut.
- Food contact
- A food-grade sealing layer against the product, with the inks trapped between layers rather than on the food face.
- Sustainability
- Mono-material PE or PP where the shelf life allows, which recycles as a soft plastic. A foil laminate does not.
- 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 branded poly mailers on
A flexible pack is a stack of films laminated together, and the middle layer is the barrier. The structure is chosen from the shelf life you need and what you want to be able to say about recycling.
PET / PE
A printable outer and a sealing inner. Moisture barrier, modest oxygen barrier. The everyday laminate for dry goods sold quickly.
2-ply, 70–110 micronPET / AL / PE
Aluminum foil in the middle: the strongest barrier against light, oxygen and moisture. Coffee, supplements, anything with a long shelf life.
3-ply, 90–130 micronMetallised PET
A vapour-deposited metal layer. Bright, lighter and cheaper than foil, with a weaker barrier. Most silver and gold bags are this.
2–3 plyMono-material PE
Every layer polyethylene, so the bag recycles as a soft plastic. Less barrier and a slightly softer hand; the sustainable choice where shelf life allows.
100–130 micronMono-material PP
Stiffer and clearer than PE, with better heat resistance. Suits a stand-up pouch that has to hold its shape on a shelf.
90–120 micronKraft-paper laminate
A paper outer over a film barrier. The natural look with a real barrier behind it; the paper takes only a matte, flat print.
Paper 60–80gsm + filmCompostable film
PLA and cellulose structures certified for industrial compost. Lower barrier, higher cost, and no home-compost claim unless the certificate says so.
60–90 micronLDPE mailer film
Co-extruded opaque film for shipping bags: tear- and puncture-resistant, weatherproof, and recyclable where soft plastics are collected.
60–80 micronNot 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.
Film is finished in the lacquer and the ink, not with a laminate.
Matte lacquer
A soft, non-reflective face. Hides handling marks and the most-used finish on a premium pouch.
Gloss lacquer
Wet-looking color. Reads cheaper on some categories and exactly right on confectionery.
Spot matte on gloss
A matte shape on a gloss field, or the reverse. The film equivalent of spot UV.
Metallised effects
Print over the metal layer so a color picks up the shimmer, or lay white under it for a normal color.
Registered emboss
A raised texture pressed into the film. Rare, expensive, and unmistakable in the hand.
Kraft-paper face
A paper outer laminated to the barrier. Matte and flat by nature; no varnish needed.
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 pouch by what goes in it, not by a bag size: branded poly mailers
Film packs are specified by fill, not by dimensions. Two products of the same weight can need very different bags, because density decides volume — whole coffee beans take far more room than the same weight of powder.
- Fill weight and density
- Give us both, or send the product. We size from the volume it actually occupies, settled.
- Lay-flat width
- Half the circumference of the finished bag. It is the number a converter works to, and we calculate it from your product.
- Headspace
- Enough film above the fill to seal cleanly and for the bag to stand. Too little and the seal traps product; too much and the pack looks underfilled.
- Gusset
- Bottom gusset depth sets how the bag stands; side gussets add volume without width. Both are chosen from the shelf, not the fill.
- Seal width
- 5–8 mm. Wider on liquids and creams, which contaminate a seal, and on anything that will be posted.
- Sample fill
- A plain bag at the finished size, filled from your line, is the only reliable check before print.
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
Spec your Branded Poly Mailers
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a film 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 branded poly mailers? 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.
Is printing both sides expensive?
Barely more than plain. Film has no tooling and no second press pass, which is why mailers are the cheapest branded surface you can buy.
What should I say about recycling?
Name the route your customers actually have. A symbol alone overclaims, and they are holding the bag while they read it.
How many sizes should I stock?
Three covers most apparel catalogs. A mailer folds down around its contents, so a slightly large one is not wasted.
Can I post books in a mailer?
They fit and they arrive with bent corners. A book wrap costs a little more and protects the edges.
What is the minimum order?
100 mailers, in any of our three standard sizes or a custom one.
Where should the shipping label go?
On a clear panel left unprinted. A label over a busy print is harder for a scanner and a courier to read.
Is printing both sides expensive?
Barely more than plain. Film has no tooling and no second press pass, which is why mailers are the cheapest branded surface you can buy.
What should I say about recycling?
Name the route your customers actually have. A symbol alone overclaims, and they are holding the bag while they read it.
How many sizes should I stock?
Three covers most apparel catalogs. A mailer folds down around its contents, so a slightly large one is not wasted.
Can I post books in a mailer?
They fit and they arrive with bent corners. A book wrap costs a little more and protects the edges.
Same range
