Custom Gusseted Mylar Bags
Custom gusseted mylar bags from 100 — side-gusset bags that fold into a brick and stack on a shelf, and bottom-gusset bags that stand up open, both in foil or metallized laminate, printed across the front, back and gussets.
The gusset is where the volume lives
- Film
- Mylar laminate with foil or metallized barrier, 4–6 mil; kraft-faced option
- Gusset
- Side gusset, bottom gusset, side gusset with flat bottom, quad seal
- Common sizes
- 4 oz, 8 oz, 12 oz, 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb equivalents, sized by product volume
Get a price for Gusseted Mylar Bags
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.
Side gusset or bottom gusset
| Side gusset | Two folded panels on the sides; the bag is a brick when full and folds flat when empty |
|---|---|
| Bottom gusset | One folded panel underneath; the bag stands up and opens wide, like a stand-up pouch |
| Side gusset with flat bottom | Side folds plus a separate bottom panel; a true box shape that sits square |
| Quad seal | Side gusset with sealed corner edges; the sharpest brick, eight printable faces |
A side-gusset bag stacks and faces front on a shelf. A bottom-gusset bag stands alone on a counter. Choose by where the customer will see it.
How a side-gusset bag fills and stands
A side-gusset bag arrives flat with the gussets tucked in. Open the top and the gussets unfold, so the bag becomes a rectangular tube. Fill it and the weight pushes the gussets out square, which is why a full bag stands and an empty one does not. The top is then folded over and held with a tin tie, or heat sealed straight across. Because the bag is a tube until the top is closed, it fills faster on an auger or a scale than a stand-up pouch does, and that is the reason packing rooms prefer it for a product sold by the pound.
The flat-bottom variant adds a bottom panel so the bag sits level even when it is half full. It costs a little more in film and in conversion, and it is the shape to pick when the bag will be opened and used from over several weeks.
Closures, matched to the use
- Tin tie: a wire strip on the top fold, for a bag the customer reopens; the classic coffee and granola closure.
- Press zipper below a tear notch: cleaner than a tin tie and usual on bottom-gusset bags.
- Heat seal only: for single-use contents or where a seal is needed for shelf life.
- Degassing valve: added only for roasted coffee, where our valved coffee bag range covers the detail.
Printing across the gusset
A gusseted bag has more faces than a pouch, and the gussets are the ones people forget. On a side-gusset bag the gussets are visible whenever the bags are shelved side by side, so a color or a pattern that continues around the corner reads as a finished design, while a white gusset next to a printed front reads as a mistake. We print the gussets in the same pass, and we keep text off the fold line, because the gusset creases through whatever is printed there.
The laminate is the same as our other mylar bags: a clear print layer on the outside, a foil or metallized barrier in the middle, and a food-contact sealant inside. Matte, gloss and soft-touch finishes all run on it. Kraft-faced laminate, where paper is bonded to the barrier film, gives the look of the brown bags in the photos while keeping the barrier of a foil bag.
Sizing by volume, not weight
Customers order by weight, but the bag is sized by volume, and products differ a great deal. A pound of whole-bean coffee needs about twice the space of a pound of flour, and a pound of puffed snack needs five times. Tell us the product and the fill weight and we will size the gusset depth and height so the bag fills to about four fifths and still leaves room for the top fold or the seal. If you already have a bag that works, its measurements save a round of samples.
Gusseted Mylar Bags — 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
- Mylar laminate with foil or metallized barrier, 4–6 mil; kraft-faced option
- Gusset
- Side gusset, bottom gusset, side gusset with flat bottom, quad seal
- Common sizes
- 4 oz, 8 oz, 12 oz, 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb equivalents, sized by product volume
- Closure
- Tin tie, press zipper with tear notch, or heat seal; valve for coffee only
- Full color on front, back and both gussets; matte, gloss or soft-touch
- Window
- Optional clear panel on the front wall
- Food contact
- Inner sealant layer suitable for dry food
- Minimum
- 100 bags per size and design
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 metalized 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 gusseted mylar bags 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 micronMetalized PET
A vapor-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.
Metalized 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: gusseted mylar bags
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 Gusseted Mylar Bags
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 gusseted mylar bags? 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 the difference between a side-gusseted and a bottom-gusseted mylar bag?
A side gusset gives a brick that stands when full and stacks on a shelf. A bottom gusset gives a bag that stands up on its own and opens wide, like a stand-up pouch.
Do gusseted mylar bags stand up when empty?
Side-gusset bags fold flat and only stand when filled. Bottom-gusset and flat-bottom bags stand on their own.
Can gusseted mylar bags have a tin tie?
Yes. A tin tie on the top fold is the usual closure for side-gusset bags that the customer reopens.
Can a gusseted mylar bag have a zipper instead?
Yes, a press zipper below a tear notch, which is more common on bottom-gusset formats.
Do you print on the gussets of a gusseted mylar bag?
Yes, in the same pass as the front and back. We keep text off the fold line, where the crease would break it.
What products suit gusseted mylar bags besides coffee?
Nuts, granola, loose-leaf tea, flour, protein powder, pet treats and dried fruit, which is to say any dry product sold by the pound.
How do I know what size gusseted mylar bag I need for a pound?
By volume, not weight. Tell us the product and we size the gusset and height so the bag fills to about four fifths.
Can gusseted mylar bags look like brown kraft bags?
Yes. Kraft-faced laminate bonds paper to the barrier film, so the bag looks like paper and performs like foil.
Are gusseted mylar bags heat sealable?
Yes. The inner layer is a heat-seal sealant, so the top can be sealed on a bar or impulse sealer with or without a tin tie above it.
Can gusseted mylar bags have a clear window?
Yes, a window can be cut into the front wall, which lowers the barrier only where the window is.
Do you add a degassing valve to gusseted mylar bags?
Only for roasted coffee, which needs one. Other dry products do not, and a valve on them is a hole in the barrier.
How many gusseted mylar bags can I order?
From 100 per size and design, so a roaster or a snack maker can print each variety on its own.
Same range
