Custom Freezer Paper
Custom freezer paper printed with your mark and cut to your sheet size, from 100 packs. Send the sizes you wrap to and we return a print layout and a price the same working day.
One side for the meat, one side for your name
- Stock
- 40–50 lb bleached or unbleached kraft, PE-coated one side
- Formats
- Cut sheets, rolls, interfolded packs
- Sheet sizes
- 12 × 12, 15 × 15, 18 × 18, 18 × 24 in; custom cut
Get a price for Freezer Paper
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.
Coated face in, paper face out, and what each does
A common mistake in artwork is printing a bold flood color that shows through to the coated side. The base is around 40 lb, and heavy coverage ghosts through. We keep the print to a repeat mark or a one-color pattern and it looks right from both sides.
- The poly face goes against the meat. It is a moisture barrier, so the cut does not dry out, and it releases cleanly when thawed.
- The paper face takes the print, the date, and the pencil note a butcher writes on it. It also gives the parcel its grip on the tape.
- The sheet is not heat-sealable in the way a wax bag is; it is folded and taped, or closed with a printed label.
- It is not for the oven or the microwave. The poly softens well below cooking temperatures.
Cut to the way the counter actually wraps
A butcher wraps by hand, fast, and the sheet size is set by the cut, not by a paper standard. A single steak goes in a 12 × 12 in sheet. A roasting joint wants 18 × 18 in. Ground meat in one-pound bricks is most often wrapped in 15 × 15 in, and the sheet is folded twice and taped once.
We cut to any of these, or to the size you tell us, and we can supply the same print on a roll for counters that tear to length. The roll version is cheaper per square foot; the sheet version is faster in use and easier to count for costing. Both sit alongside the other food papers we print.
Weights, coatings and what the barrier is rated to do
The poly weight is what sets the barrier. The paper weight sets how well the parcel holds its fold and how much it costs to ship, since a ream of 18 × 18 in sheets is heavy.
| 40 lb base, 8 lb poly | Standard counter wrap; three to six months in a domestic freezer |
|---|---|
| 45 lb base, 10 lb poly | Heavier wrap for large joints and long storage |
| Locker-grade, 50 lb base | Processors and meat lockers; twelve months and over |
| Unbleached kraft base | Brown look for farm shops; same poly coating |
Meat boxes, subscriptions and the farm shop
Printed freezer paper has grown beyond the butcher counter. Meat subscription boxes wrap each cut in branded paper before it goes into the insulated carton, because the paper is the only thing the customer sees when the ice has melted and the liner is gone. Farm shops use it the same way, often on an unbleached base. In both cases a one-color repeat mark is enough, and the guide to what touches food in our food-contact packaging notes applies to the ink on the paper side as much as to the coating.
Ordering by the pack, and what a pack is
Sheets are packed flat in reams of 100 or 250, and the minimum order is 100 packs of the same print. Rolls are supplied at 18 or 24 in wide and 175 to 1,100 ft long, and one roll is one unit.
Store the reams flat and away from heat. Poly-coated sheets stored on edge curl toward the coating, and a curled sheet is slow to wrap.
Freezer Paper — 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
- 40–50 lb bleached or unbleached kraft, PE-coated one side
- Formats
- Cut sheets, rolls, interfolded packs
- Sheet sizes
- 12 × 12, 15 × 15, 18 × 18, 18 × 24 in; custom cut
- Roll widths
- 18 and 24 in; 175–1,100 ft
- One or two colors, paper side only, food-safe inks
- Minimum
- 100 packs (reams of 100 or 250 sheets, or single rolls)
- Not suitable for
- Oven, microwave, or direct heat
On every job
- Print process
- Flexo in one to six colors, printed on the outer face only and before any lining goes on.
- Color
- Food-safe inks throughout. Kraft mutes color; a white board or liner is needed for anything photographic.
- Tolerance
- Cutting plus or minus 1 mm, and fit confirmed by filling a plain sample from your own kitchen or line.
- Tooling
- A cutting die per size, kept. Molded pulp needs a tool per shape, which is a longer lead and a larger one-off.
- Food contact
- Every board food-contact grade, with grease resistance built into the sheet and never a PFAS treatment.
- Sustainability
- Aqueous linings and unlined boards repulp with ordinary paper. PE-lined cups need cup collection, and we say which you have.
- 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 freezer paper on
Food packaging is chosen for what the food does to it: grease, steam, heat and time. Every board here is food-contact grade, and none of them uses a PFAS treatment for grease resistance.
Food-grade virgin board
Bleached board made for direct food contact. Clean, bright, no recycled fiber and no mineral-oil risk from recovered paper.
14–24ptGrease-resistant board
Resistance built into the sheet rather than sprayed on. Holds fries, pastry and butter without darkening. PFAS-free.
16–24ptPE-lined cupstock
Board with a polyethylene film for hot and cold liquid. Microwave-safe for reheating; recycled only where cup collection exists.
260–350gsmAqueous-lined cupstock
A water-based lining instead of PE. Repulpable in ordinary paper recycling in more places, and compostable; a slightly shorter hold time.
260–320gsmGreaseproof and glassine
Dense, calendered paper that resists fat through the fiber. Wraps, liners and interleaves; breathable, so pastry stays crisp.
30–55gsmFood-grade corrugated
E and B flute with a food-contact liner, vented where steam has to leave. Pizza, catering and anything hot and heavy.
E and B fluteMolded pulp and bagasse
Fiber pressed into a shape. Holds heat, resists grease with no lining, composts, and takes only an embossed or one-color mark.
Molded to shapeRecycled board
Post-consumer fiber. Used for outers, sleeves and anything that does not touch food directly — not for direct contact.
Non-contact onlyNot 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.
Food finishes are limited by what may touch food, and that is the point.
Food-safe inks
Printed on the outer face only. Every food pack we make uses them, laminated or not.
Uncoated kraft
No coating at all. Breathable, so pastry stays crisp, and it takes one or two colors.
Aqueous varnish
Scuff resistance without a plastic film, so the pack still repulps.
Molded emboss
A logo pressed into pulp or bagasse. No ink, nothing to rub off, and it survives grease.
Grease-resistant face
Not a finish you can see. It is in the sheet, it is PFAS-free, and it is why the print stays clean.
Matte lamination
Available on outers and sleeves that never touch food — a cake box lid, a carrier, a gift sleeve.
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 food packaging around a portion, hot: freezer paper
Food is sized by serving, not by dimensions, and it is served hot, heaped and in a hurry. Send us the portion — or better, the box you use now with the food in it — and we size to how it is actually filled.
- Portion, heaped
- Fries, popcorn and salad are served above the rim. A box sized to a level fill looks mean and spills in a bag.
- Lid clearance
- Enough that a loaded burger or a topped cake does not touch the lid. This is the single most common complaint about a food box.
- Venting
- Hot food steams. Vents in the lid keep pastry and fries crisp; a sealed box is right only for cold food.
- Grease path
- Where the fat sits decides the board. Say if the food is fried, buttered or sauced, and whether it is held for minutes or an hour.
- Stacking in a bag
- Delivery boxes are stacked five high on a bike. The lid has to hold the box above it off the food below.
- Sample fill
- A plain box filled from your kitchen settles the size in one try, and we send one before the run.
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 Freezer Paper 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 freezer paper? 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.
Which side goes against the meat?
The shiny, poly-coated side. The dull paper side faces out and carries the print and any handwritten date.
Can it go in the oven?
No. The polyethylene coating softens well below roasting temperatures. It is a freezer and chiller wrap only.
How long will meat keep in it?
Standard counter wrap is generally used for three to six months in a domestic freezer; the heavier locker grade for a year and over. The poly weight is what makes the difference.
Can you print in full color?
One or two colors is the norm. Heavy coverage on a 40 lb base ghosts through to the coated side, so a repeat mark or a pattern works better than a flood.
Do you supply rolls as well as sheets?
Yes. Rolls are cheaper per square foot; pre-cut sheets are faster at a busy counter.
What sheet sizes are common?
12 × 12 in for a single steak, 15 × 15 in for ground meat, 18 × 18 in for roasting joints. We cut to any size you specify.
Is there an unbleached version?
Yes. Brown kraft base with the same poly coating, popular with farm shops for the natural look.
Are the inks food-safe?
The ink is on the paper side, away from the food, and we use food-contact-compliant inks in any case.
What is the minimum order?
100 packs of the same print. A pack is a ream of 100 or 250 sheets, or one roll.
Can I write on it?
Yes, with a pencil, marker or grease pencil on the paper side. That is one of the reasons butchers prefer it to film.
Can it be heat sealed?
Not reliably. It is folded and taped, or closed with a printed label, which we can also supply.
Do you send a layout before printing?
Yes. You get a print layout showing the repeat and a proof, and we hold the job until it is approved.
Is it recyclable?
The poly coating means it is generally not accepted in curbside paper recycling. For a wrap that is, look at our glassine or parchment options.
Same range
