Custom Mylar Snack Bags
Custom mylar snack bags from 100 — stand-up pouches for nuts, mixes, chips and cookies, printed edge to edge, with a zipper and a barrier film chosen for the fat and salt in the snack.
Salt wants moisture and fat wants oxygen
- Film
- Mylar barrier laminate: PET/foil/PE, PET/metallized/PE, or clear PET/PE; 3.5–5 mil
- Formats
- Stand-up with bottom gusset, flat-bottom, pillow bag
- Sizes
- 4 × 6 to 10 × 14 inches; 2 oz to 2 lb fills
Get a price for Mylar Snack 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.
Choosing the film by the snack inside
| Roasted nuts, trail mix | Foil or metallized barrier; oxygen is the enemy, light helps it |
|---|---|
| Chips, pretzels, crackers | Metallized film for moisture; nitrogen flush before the seal if run on a line |
| Jerky, dried fruit | Foil barrier plus a thicker gauge; the product is sharp and oily |
| Cookies, granola | Clear PET/PE or kraft-look with a barrier layer; a window is common |
Stand-up, flat-bottom or pillow
Most snack brands choose the stand-up pouch with a bottom gusset: it sits on a shelf, holds 2 to 16 ounces, and the front face is one flat print area. A flat-bottom (box-bottom) pouch stands squarer and gives five printable panels for a larger pack. A pillow bag, sealed at both ends with no gusset, is the chip-aisle format and is filled on a form-fill-seal line rather than by hand.
Opening it and closing it again
- A tear notch above the zipper so the bag opens straight across without scissors.
- A press-to-close zipper for mixes and nuts eaten over several days; a slider for a large family size.
- A hang hole, round or sombrero-shaped, for a peg display at the counter.
- A clear window, shaped or straight, where the product sells itself: granola, pretzels, colored candies.
Print that survives a greasy hand
Snack bags are printed in reverse on the inside of the clear outer layer, so the ink is sealed between films and cannot rub off on fingers or shelf. Matte varnish is the common finish; a soft-touch matte is popular for premium nuts, and a gloss window keeps the product visible. Nutrition panels, barcodes and allergen boxes go on the back panel in a type size that stays legible on a 4-ounce bag. For a snack that is sold as a boxed set rather than loose, see our printed cartons for snack packs.
Sizes and fill weights
We size by the fill weight and the bulk density of the snack, which is why a 4-ounce bag of puffed corn is as large as a 12-ounce bag of almonds. Common stand-up sizes are 4 × 6 inches for a 2-ounce single serve, 5 × 8 for 4 to 6 ounces, 6 × 9 for 8 ounces, and 7 × 11½ for a pound. Bags ship flat, zipper closed, in cartons of 500 or 1,000.
Send us a sample of the snack and we will fill a blank pouch before you approve the size.
Mylar Snack 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 barrier laminate: PET/foil/PE, PET/metallized/PE, or clear PET/PE; 3.5–5 mil
- Formats
- Stand-up with bottom gusset, flat-bottom, pillow bag
- Sizes
- 4 × 6 to 10 × 14 inches; 2 oz to 2 lb fills
- Closures
- Tear notch, press zipper or slider, heat seal
- Options
- Window, hang hole, degassing valve for roasted nuts
- Full color, reverse-printed and trapped between films; matte, gloss or soft-touch
- 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 mylar snack 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: mylar snack 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 Mylar Snack 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 mylar snack 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.
Which mylar snack bag keeps nuts from going rancid?
A foil or metallized barrier bag that blocks light and oxygen. Clear bags let light reach the oil and shorten shelf life.
Can a mylar snack bag have a window?
Yes, a shaped or straight clear window. It suits granola, pretzels and candy; for nuts we keep the window small or leave it out.
What size mylar snack bag holds 8 ounces of trail mix?
Usually a 6 by 9 inch stand-up pouch. Puffed or light snacks need a larger bag for the same weight.
Do mylar snack bags come with a zipper?
Yes, a press-to-close zipper under the tear notch is standard; a slider zipper is available for larger bags.
Will the print on a mylar snack bag rub off?
No. It is printed on the inside of the clear outer film and sealed under it, so grease and handling do not reach the ink.
Can a mylar snack bag stand up on a shelf?
Yes, with a bottom gusset. A flat-bottom pouch stands squarer and gives printable side panels.
Are mylar snack bags food safe?
Yes. The inner sealant layer is food-grade polyethylene and the inks are trapped away from the product.
Can mylar snack bags be heat sealed on a small sealer?
Yes, a hand impulse sealer closes the top. Pillow bags are the only format that needs a filling line.
Can a mylar snack bag have a hang hole for a peg?
Yes, a round or sombrero hole above the seal, placed so the bag hangs level when full.
Does a mylar snack bag for jerky need anything different?
A thicker gauge and a foil layer, because jerky edges are sharp and the fat oxidizes quickly.
How many mylar snack bags can we order per size?
From 100 per size and design. Two flavors in the same size count as two designs.
Same range
