Custom Economy Poly Mailers

Printing on a Budget Bag

Economy mailers are usually printed in one or two solid colours rather than full photographic artwork. That suits the format well. A strong logo, a web address and perhaps a short tagline on a coloured or white bag are clear, recognisable and inexpensive to reproduce across large runs.

Choose bag colour and ink colour together. White ink on a black bag, black ink on a white bag or a brand colour on grey all give strong contrast. Print can go on one side or both sides, and repeating the logo in a pattern means it shows however the courier label is applied.

Leave a clear area for the shipping label on the front. Couriers need a flat, plain space, and a label stuck over your artwork hides the brand you paid to print.

If you want something a little more distinctive without moving to full colour, a coloured film with a contrasting ink does a lot of the work. A pastel bag with a dark logo, or a bold brand colour with white print, is instantly recognisable on a doormat and costs no more to print than a standard combination. p3 The same print rules apply to our branded poly mailers in full colour.

• One or two colour logo prints
• White, black, grey and coloured film
• Single or double-sided printing
• Repeating pattern prints
• Clear label panels

Seals, Strips and Returns

Every economy mailer comes with a peel-and-seal adhesive strip on the flap. Once closed, the seal shows if someone has tried to open the bag, which gives your customer confidence the parcel has not been interfered with.

For fashion shops with high return rates, a second adhesive strip is worth considering. The customer opens the bag along a tear line, keeps the bag and reuses the second strip to send the item back. It saves them finding packaging and makes returns faster for your warehouse. p1 The returns strip is explained in more detail on our tear strip poly mailers page.

Choosing Sizes for a Clothing Range

Lay out your most common orders, folded as they will be packed, and measure the flat size of each. A single T-shirt needs a much smaller bag than a hoodie or a pair of jeans, and using a bag that is far too large wastes film and looks careless. Equally, an overfilled bag strains the seal and the film.

Most shops settle on two or three sizes that cover nearly every order: a small bag for single light garments and accessories, a medium bag for heavier items or two garments, and a large bag for multi-item orders. Allow width for the thickness of the folded garment as well as its flat size, as a thick knit takes up more room than its flat dimensions suggest.

Remember that the seal flap is part of the stated size on some bags but not others. We always quote the usable internal size so you can compare like for like.

Check your sizes against your packing process as well. If garments are folded on a board to a fixed size before bagging, the bag can be cut close to that size for a neat, flat parcel. If folding varies between packers, allow a little more room so nobody has to force the seal.

Packing Efficiently at Volume

Economy mailers come flat in boxes or bundles that sit easily on a packing bench. Keep each size in its own labelled stack within reach, so packers can grab the right bag without thinking. A bag that is the correct size for the garment means fewer folds, faster sealing and a neater parcel.

If you include an invoice, thank-you card or returns slip, slide it in with the garment rather than loose in the bag so it does not catch on the seal. Printing returns information on the bag itself can remove the need for a separate slip altogether.

Watch how the bags behave in the first few weeks. If packers regularly double-bag heavier orders, that is a sign to add a thicker bag for those items. If the smallest bag is rarely used, you may be able to drop it and simplify stock. Adjusting the mix after a short trial usually gives the best balance of cost and protection.

Finally, keep your bags out of direct sunlight and away from heaters in the stockroom. Film and adhesive both last longer when stored cool and flat, so the seal performs on the last bag of a box just as it did on the first. p3 Shops sending very large orders keep a few large poly mailers for bulky orders on the bench.

Fold Three Garments and Weigh the Parcel

Economy mailers earn their keep on postage, so size them from the courier bands, not from the bag. Fold a typical single-garment order and a typical three-item order as your packers do, measure each and weigh it in a sample bag; if the lighter film keeps the parcel inside a cheaper band, that saving repeats on every order. Send those two or three sizes with your monthly volume.

Keep the print to one or two solid colours and choose the bag colour for contrast; a dark logo on a pastel bag reads on a doormat as well as full colour would. Ask for a second adhesive strip if your returns run above a few per cent. The custom quote arrives by email within one working day with the minimum set per job.

The free proof shows the print on each bag size with the label area clear. Production takes 4 to 7 working days after approval and the bags reach UK mainland addresses by free tracked delivery. Shops that bundle heavier orders usually keep a thicker standard-gauge poly mailer beside the economy bag for those parcels.