Custom Zip Lock Bags
Custom zip lock bags in your size and print — clear, frosted or colored, flat or stand-up, with a zipper that reseals — from 100. Food-grade film, quoted the same working day.
A bag that is opened more than once
- Film
- LDPE 50–100 micron, clear, frosted, colored or white; mono-material PE
- Formats
- Flat, stand-up with bottom gusset, hang-hole, with tear notch
- Zipper
- Press-to-close, double track, slider, child-resistant
Get a price for Zip Lock 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.
Zipper types, and which to specify
| Press-to-close (single track) | The standard; cheapest; fine for dry goods |
|---|---|
| Double track | Two ridges; a more reliable close on powders and food |
| Slider | A plastic slider on the track; easiest to open one-handed; dearer |
| Child-resistant | A locking zipper that needs a squeeze and pull; for regulated products |
Film: clear, frosted, colored, mono-material
Laminated barrier films with a zipper are a different product; our mylar bags with barrier layers cover those.
- Clear polyethylene (LDPE), 50–100 micron — the everyday zip bag; recyclable as soft plastic.
- Frosted — a matte surface that hides fingerprints and reads premium; garments and cosmetics.
- Colored or white — opaque, for a printed bag that hides the product.
- Mono-material PE with a PE zipper — the whole bag in one polymer, so it recycles as one.
Sizing, and the space the zipper takes
Bag width is the product plus 10–20 mm; length is the product plus 40–50 mm, because the zipper and the seal above it take 20–25 mm that cannot be filled. A bag sized to the product alone will not close over it. A hang hole above the zipper adds another 15 mm. We make a plain sample in the size before printing.
Powders and fine goods work into a single-track zipper and stop it closing. Specify a double track or a slider for them.
Print and the tear notch
Flexo in up to six colors on the outside face, with a white underprint where color has to read against the product. A matte varnish on a frosted bag keeps the look. A tear notch above the zipper lets the first opening be a tear, so the bag is tamper-evident and then resealable; most food bags have one.
Food, garments, parts and everything else
Snacks, dried goods, coffee (with a valve), pet treats and supplements in the food grades; garments and textiles in frosted; hardware, kits and spares in clear; cosmetics and travel sets in frosted or colored. Any product taken out and put back is a zip-bag product.
Zip Lock 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
- LDPE 50–100 micron, clear, frosted, colored or white; mono-material PE
- Formats
- Flat, stand-up with bottom gusset, hang-hole, with tear notch
- Zipper
- Press-to-close, double track, slider, child-resistant
- Sizing
- Product plus 10–20 mm width and 40–50 mm length for the zipper
- Flexo up to 6 colors; white underprint; matte varnish
- Food contact
- Food-grade film and inks on request
- Minimum
- 100 bags
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 metallised 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 zip lock 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 micronMetallised PET
A vapour-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.
Metallised 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: zip lock 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 Zip Lock 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 zip lock 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 zipper should I choose?
Press-to-close for dry goods, double track for powders and food, a slider for one-handed use, child-resistant for regulated products.
Are the bags food safe?
Yes, in the food-grade film and ink specification, which we use for anything edible.
Can they be printed?
Yes, up to six colors on the outside, with a white layer under colors that must read against the product.
What sizes are available?
Any size. We add the room the zipper and seal need — about 40–50 mm on the length — so the bag closes over the product.
Are zip bags recyclable?
Polyethylene bags recycle as soft plastic where that is collected. A mono-material PE bag with a PE zipper recycles as one piece.
What is the minimum order?
100 bags.
Can the bag stand up?
Yes, with a bottom gusset. Stand-up zip bags are the shelf format for snacks and pet treats.
Why does my zipper stop closing?
Powder or crumbs in a single-track zipper. A double track or a slider solves it.
Can I have a tear notch?
Yes, above the zipper, so the first opening is a tear and the bag is tamper-evident.
Frosted or clear?
Frosted hides fingerprints and suits garments and cosmetics; clear shows the product and costs less.
Can I get a sample?
Yes, a plain bag in the size so you can check the fit and the zipper before printing.
Do you ship outside the US?
Yes, to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, quoted in the delivery currency.
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