Custom Food Wrapping Paper

Working Out Your Sheet Size

The quickest way to size a food wrapping paper is to wrap your largest item in a plain sheet and measure what you used, allowing a generous fold at each end. A sheet that is too small leaves corners exposed and staff end up doubling it, which doubles your paper cost. A sheet that is too large wastes paper and looks untidy when folded.

Square sheets suit burgers and round items because they can be folded from any side. Rectangular sheets work better for baguettes, wraps and long pastries. If you sell both, two sizes printed with the same artwork usually cover the whole menu. Tell us what you are wrapping and we will suggest sheet sizes before quoting. The wrap-and-measure method is the same one in our guide to measuring a product for packaging.

Print Layouts That Survive Folding

Because a wrap is folded, crumpled and torn open, the artwork needs to work at any angle. An all-over repeat pattern with a small logo tiled across the sheet is the safest choice, since some part of the design always shows whichever way the sheet is folded. A single large central logo looks smart on a flat sheet but can disappear into a fold.

Food papers are usually printed in one or two colours with food-contact inks, which keeps the cost per sheet low. Full colour printing is possible on some grades for brands that want a photographic pattern or a gradient. Keep fine text above a sensible size so it stays readable through grease, and avoid very heavy ink coverage on the side that touches food. Our design team will check this on your free proof and flag anything that may not print cleanly.

Storing and Using Sheets on a Busy Shift

Printed sheets are delivered flat in packs, banded in counts that suit your service. Keep them in a dry spot away from the fryer and the dishwasher, because steam softens paper and makes the top sheets curl. A shallow tray or dispenser beside the prep area lets staff pull one sheet at a time without handling the rest of the stack.

It helps to decide which way the print should face before the first shift. Most businesses wrap with the printed side outward so the logo is visible in the bag and in photos, while the plain side sits against the food. If you use the paper to line baskets, the printed side goes up so customers see it as they eat.

Interleaved packs are worth asking about if you portion items in advance. Sheets come separated so a single one lifts away cleanly, which speeds up lunchtime assembly when every second at the counter counts. For food that is wrapped and then held in a warming cabinet, choose a slightly heavier greaseproof so the sheet keeps its shape until it reaches the customer. The free proof shown as a folded wrap settles which way the print should face before the first shift.

Who Orders Printed Food Wrapping Paper

Independent cafés and sandwich bars order it to give takeaway lunches a branded finish. Bakeries use it to wrap brownies, sausage rolls and slices of cake. Street food traders use it under burgers, wraps and loaded fries, where a printed sheet looks far better on social media than a plain one. Farm shops and delis use it to wrap cheese, cooked meats and pies, and caterers use it to line platters at events.

Brands that sell food at markets and festivals also like printed paper because it packs flat, weighs little and takes up almost no space in the van. A box of sheets lasts a long time, and you can reorder the same design without new setup work. Chip shops add the matching fish and chip paper in the same print for wrapped suppers.

Wrap Your Biggest Item in a Plain Sheet and Measure What You Used

Sheet size is the decision that matters, and the fastest way to get it right is to wrap your largest regular item, a loaded panini or a wedge of cake, in a plain sheet, fold it the way your counter staff will, and measure the paper you needed plus 20 mm. Order that size for the heavy items and one size smaller for the rest; two sizes almost always beat one large sheet that bunches around a brownie. Pick the grade from the oiliest item on the menu, not the average one, and choose kraft or white by whether the print or the food is the star. Counter baskets lined with the same print use the deli paper for baskets and trays in a lighter weight.

Send the artwork as a repeat pattern or a one or two colour logo. Email the sheet sizes, grade, print and quantity per size and a custom quote comes back within one working day, followed by a free design proof of the repeat. Sheets print in 4 to 7 working days once approved and arrive flat, free and tracked, on the UK mainland in 2 to 3 days. Misprinted or damaged packs reported within 10 days are reprinted or refunded.