Custom Paper Nacho Trays
Nachos are the hardest thing a paper tray is asked to hold. Melted cheese, sour cream, salsa and jalapeño brine all at once, on a shallow open surface, carried in one hand by someone who is also holding a drink.
- Build
- Shallow open tray, glued corners; single or divided wells
- Board
- Grease-resistant food-grade; corrugated for catering sizes
- Corners
- Glued as standard — lock corners leak melted cheese
Get a price for Paper Nacho Trays
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.
Lock corners will leak this
A lock corner is folded and tucked, which leaves a mechanical gap at each corner. Melted cheese and salsa find it within a couple of minutes, and the leak appears on the outside of the tray where the customer is holding it.
Glued corners are the correct specification for nachos, without exception. It costs a little more per tray and it is the difference between a tray and a complaint.
Test with real toppings, warm. Water at room temperature will stay in a lock-corner tray that hot cheese runs straight out of.
Shallow and wide, because the toppings are the product
Nachos are bought on how they look, and a deep tray hides everything below the top layer. A shallow wide tray shows the whole portion and lets several people reach in at once, which is how they are usually eaten.
It also spreads the load. A deep tray of nachos concentrates weight in a small base area, and that is where a paper tray flexes.
Dividers, and whether you want them
A divider is the cheapest way to stop the chips going soft before the customer reaches them. It also changes the look, so it is a menu decision as much as a packaging one.
| Single well | Everything together; how nachos are traditionally served |
|---|---|
| Two wells | Chips separate from dips; keeps chips crisp for longer |
| Three wells | Chips plus two dips; popular in cinemas and stadiums |
| Separate dip pot | A second component; best crispness, most waste |
Board grade, because a full tray is heavier than it looks
- A loaded nacho portion is a real weight on a base with no lid to stiffen it.
- The failure is a base that flexes on pickup and tips the contents forward.
- Grease-resistant board handles the oil; board weight handles the load. Both are needed.
- For catering sizes, corrugated rather than folding board.
Heat, steam and the crisp you are selling
An open tray vents naturally, which is the right behavior for anything fried and crisp. Covering it with film for delivery traps steam and the chips go soft before they arrive.
If nachos are on a delivery menu, they need a vented closed container rather than a covered tray — the venting reasoning is the same as across our open tray range.
Printing a tray that will be greasy in five minutes
Kraft with one or two colors hides grease marks better than white board, which shows every one. No varnish on the inner face, where food sits and fingers go.
The alternative worth considering is a plain tray with a printed sleeve or a paper liner carrying the branding. It keeps the printed surface away from the food entirely and lets one stock tray serve several menu items.
Paper Nacho Trays — 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
- Build
- Shallow open tray, glued corners; single or divided wells
- Board
- Grease-resistant food-grade; corrugated for catering sizes
- Corners
- Glued as standard — lock corners leak melted cheese
- Options
- Divided wells, printed liners, printed sleeves
- Kraft with one or two colors; no varnish on the food face
- Minimum
- 100 trays
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 paper nacho trays 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: paper nacho trays
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 Paper Nacho Trays 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 paper nacho trays? 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.
Why is cheese leaking from the corners?
Lock corners have a mechanical gap. Nachos need glued corners, without exception.
Shallow or deep tray?
Shallow and wide — the toppings are the product, and a deep tray hides everything below the top layer.
Do dividers help?
They keep the chips crisp by holding the dips separately. It changes the presentation too, so it is a menu decision.
Can I use these for delivery?
Not covered with film — the chips will steam and go soft. Delivery needs a vented closed container.
What board should I choose?
Grease-resistant food-grade for counter sizes; corrugated for catering trays that carry real weight.
Can the tray be printed, or should I use a sleeve?
A sleeve keeps print off the food face and lets one stock tray serve several dishes.
Why is cheese leaking from the corners?
Lock corners have a mechanical gap. Nachos need glued corners, without exception.
Shallow or deep tray?
Shallow and wide. The toppings are the product, and a deep tray hides everything below the top layer.
Do dividers help?
They keep the chips crisp by holding the dips separately. It changes the presentation, so it is a menu decision too.
Can I use these for delivery?
Not covered with film — the chips will steam and go soft. Delivery needs a vented closed container.
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