Compostable Mailing Bags in Plant-Starch Film

Colour and Print

The film comes in natural, which is an off-white with a slight translucency, in white, and in black. Black hides marks best in transit and gives a strong base for a white logo. White takes colour print cleanly. Natural suits brands that want the bag to look unprocessed.

Print is one or two colours by flexo. A logo on the front, a line of text, a pattern across the whole bag or a message on the inside face are all possible. Full-colour photographic print is not something we do on this film; if your design needs it, a printed paper mailer is the better route.

Because the film is soft, very fine type and thin lines can fill in slightly. We keep text above 8 pt and lines above 0.5 mm on the proof, and we send a free design proof so you can check the layout before the plates are made. A simple bold logo looks best. Our padded paper mailers for fragile items take fuller print if you need it.

Using the Bags

Pack the item, fold the flap over and press the seal strip firmly along its length. The hot-melt adhesive bonds immediately and cannot be reopened without tearing the film, which makes the bag tamper-evident. Address labels on paper stock stick well to the film; thermal courier labels also adhere without a problem.

Store the bags flat, in their box, out of direct sunlight and away from damp. Shelf life is around a year in normal warehouse conditions, after which the film can start to stiffen, so order the quantity you will use in six to nine months rather than a multi-year stock.

For items with hard corners, such as a boxed product, wrap it in tissue or a card sleeve first so the corners do not stress the film. For clothing and soft goods, no wrapping is needed. Kraft tissue printed with the same logo makes the unboxing feel finished; the tissue paper printed with your logo page has the standard sheet sizes.

Who Orders Them

Online clothing brands are the main buyers, especially those that have had customers ask what the bag is made of. Sock, underwear and babywear labels use the small sizes. Towel, bedding and knitwear sellers use the gusseted versions. Subscription services for socks and T-shirts order the dual-strip bag so returns are built in.

Printing and embroidery businesses that ship finished garments to their own customers use a plain black bag with a one-colour logo. Marketplaces and dropshippers order the natural film with no print at all and add their own label. Craft and fabric sellers like the white bag with a pattern across the face.

A number of buyers run these bags alongside a mailer box, using the bag for single items and the box for multi-item orders. If that is your plan, the custom mailer boxes for online orders can be printed with the same artwork so the two match.

Checking the Bag Before You Switch

We send a few unprinted sample bags with every quote on request so you can test the seal, run a courier label through your printer, and see how the film handles your products. Pack a typical order, seal it, and leave it overnight; then try to open it and check that the film tears rather than the seal peeling.

If you ship through a courier with a sortation hub, the bag will be handled by machine. Starch films cope with that, but a very tightly packed bag with no give can split at the corners, so leave a little room rather than stretching the film over the contents.

Where you need a bag that must survive weeks in damp conditions, or a bag with very fine print, tell us and we will say so and suggest an alternative instead of supplying something that will not do the job. The shipping boxes made to your size are the usual fallback for heavy or sharp-cornered goods.

Price, Proof and Delivery

Send the bag size, the film colour, the number of print colours and the quantity, with your logo. A custom quote comes by email within one working day and names the film, the film maker and the adhesive. Minimums are low and set per job, and one-colour bags start from £0.25 on larger runs.

A free design proof shows the print position on the bag. Production takes 4–7 working days after approval, and delivery is free and tracked to UK mainland addresses in 2–3 working days. The bags come flat in cartons of 100 or 250 depending on size. If anything is misprinted or damaged, tell us within 10 days for a reprint or refund. Clients who want a paper alternative for the same sizes usually look at the kraft paper mailers in postal sizes.