Custom Wax Paper Bags
Custom wax paper bags sized to your cookie, sandwich or pastry and printed in food-safe ink, from 100 packs. Dry-waxed so they resist grease without going soft — the spec and price come back the same working day.
A bag that lets the pastry breathe
- Stock
- Dry-waxed bleached or natural kraft, 30–40 gsm
- Formats
- Flat, gusseted, window and tin-tie bags
- Sizing
- Made to the product; from about 100 × 150 mm upward
Get a price for Wax Paper 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.
Dry wax, wet wax, and why it matters for food
Dry-waxed paper has the wax driven into the fiber, leaving a matte surface that is grease-resistant and prints well. Wet-waxed paper carries a layer of wax on the surface — glossier, more water-resistant, and it can flake or transfer onto warm food. For bakery and sandwich bags the dry-waxed grade is the right one, and it is what we run as standard.
Bag styles and what goes in each
Most counters run two: a flat bag for singles and a gusseted bag for anything with height.
| Flat bag | Cookies, flatbreads, single pastries; cheapest, seals with a fold |
|---|---|
| Gusseted bag | Muffins, sandwiches, bagels; stands open for filling |
| Window bag | A cut-out with a glassine or paper window; shows the product |
| Tin-tie bag | A wired strip at the mouth; coffee beans, granola, loose items |
Sizing a bag to the food, not to a chart
Send a photograph of the product beside a ruler and we size from that.
- Flat bag width: the product width plus 10–15 mm. Length: product plus 30 mm for a fold.
- Gusseted bag: width plus gusset equals the product footprint; height with room to fold twice.
- Sandwiches on the diagonal need a wider bag than the bread suggests — measure the cut sandwich.
- Round items (bagels, cookies) fit a bag square to their diameter, not a rectangle.
Print that survives grease
Wax paper takes one or two colors flexo cleanly on the dry-waxed grade. Grease coming through the paper will darken the sheet slightly where the food sits, so a print placed away from the base of the bag stays crisp longer. Inks are food-contact grade as standard; a pattern that repeats across the sheet hides the fold and the grease mark better than a single centered logo. Our food paper range has the matching sheets and wraps for the same counter.
Wax paper is not for the microwave or oven. The wax softens above about 50°C.
Recyclability, honestly
Dry-waxed paper is compostable and is accepted in many paper recycling streams, though not all; heavily waxed and wet-waxed paper generally is not. If a recycling claim is going on the bag, we specify the exact grade so the claim is true for that sheet.
Wax Paper 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
- Stock
- Dry-waxed bleached or natural kraft, 30–40 gsm
- Formats
- Flat, gusseted, window and tin-tie bags
- Sizing
- Made to the product; from about 100 × 150 mm upward
- Flexo 1–2 colors, food-contact ink
- Barrier
- Grease resistant; breathable; not heat resistant
- End of life
- Compostable; recyclable in many paper streams
- Minimum
- 100 packs
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 wax paper bags 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: wax paper bags
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 Wax Paper Bags 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 wax paper 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.
Are wax paper bags food safe?
Yes. We use food-grade dry-waxed paper and food-contact inks as standard.
What is the difference between dry-waxed and wet-waxed?
Dry wax is in the fiber and leaves a matte surface that prints well and does not flake. Wet wax sits on the surface, is glossier, and can transfer onto warm food. We run dry wax for food bags.
Will the bag go soft with a warm pastry in it?
No — that is what it is for. Wax paper lets steam out, so a warm croissant stays crisp where a plastic bag would make it limp.
Can I put it in the microwave?
No. The wax softens above about 50°C. It is a serving and carry-out bag, not a heating bag.
Can you print my logo on it?
Yes, in one or two colors. A repeating pattern hides folds and grease marks better than a single centered logo.
What sizes do you make?
Any size from about 100 × 150 mm upward, sized to the product. Send a photo of the product beside a ruler.
Are they compostable?
Dry-waxed paper composts. Many paper recycling streams accept it too, though not all, so we specify the grade if a claim goes on the bag.
What is the minimum order?
100 packs.
Do you make bags with a window?
Yes, with a glassine or paper window so the whole bag stays plastic-free.
Can the bag stand open for filling?
A gusseted bag does. Flat bags are for single items slid in and folded over.
How do I close it?
A fold, a sticker, or a tin-tie strip on the bags that have one. Wax paper does not heat-seal.
Do you ship to the UK, Canada and Australia?
Yes, all four markets, quoted in the delivery currency with freight included.
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