Custom Heat Seal Paper

Matching the Paper to Your Sealer

Before ordering, check the equipment you will seal with. Impulse sealers and handheld crimpers used by small brands work well with most coated papers at modest temperatures. Automatic form-fill-seal machines need paper on a roll of the right width, core size and wind direction, and they are sensitive to sealing temperature and dwell time. Ask your machine supplier for the recommended range and share it with us.

Seal strength depends on the coating weight, the jaw temperature and the pressure. Too cold and the seal peels open; too hot and the paper browns or the coating squeezes out. We suggest running a short trial on plain paper first, adjusting the settings, then committing to a printed run once you have a seal you are happy with.

If you hand-seal sachets at a bench, ask for cut sheets or narrow rolls rather than a full machine roll. They are easier to manage and store. You receive a free proof with seal zones marked once the test confirms them.

Printing Without Spoiling the Seal

Ink and sealant do not mix well. Printing over the area that needs to seal can weaken or block the bond, so artwork is planned with clear seal zones along the edges where the jaws close. On roll stock for automatic machines, print is repeated at a fixed pitch with a registration mark so the machine cuts each sachet in the same place.

Most branding is printed on the uncoated face, which becomes the outside of the sachet. One or two colours are common and keep costs down; full colour is possible on coated grades. Keep text above about 6 pt for legibility on small sachets, and allow space for a batch code or best before date if you add those at the packing stage.

Food-contact grade paper is available on request for tea, spices and other food uses, and we will confirm which inks are used on the food grades. Our finish guide covers ink and seal compatibility so print never sits on a seal.

Rolls, Sheets and Widths

Rolls are slit to the width your machine takes, wound on the core size it accepts, and labelled with the wind direction. Common widths run from narrow rolls for small tea envelope machines to wider rolls for sachet lines. Sheets suit hand packers and are cut to a size that makes one or several sachets after folding.

When you send dimensions, give the finished sachet size and the seal width you plan to use. From there we can work out the repeat length, the roll width and how many sachets a roll will produce, which helps you plan reorders.

Roll length matters as much as width. Longer rolls mean fewer changeovers on an automatic line, but they are heavier and need a machine that can take the outer diameter. Shorter rolls are easier for small teams to lift and load. If you share the maximum roll diameter your machine accepts, we will wind each roll as long as it will fit.

For sheets, think about how many sachets you can cut from one. A sheet that folds into one sachet is quick to use; a larger sheet that cuts into four can be more economical if you have a guillotine at the bench. Finished tea bags are usually boxed in tea boxes sized to the sachet from the same order.

Looking After the Paper Before Use

Store rolls and sheets flat or on their ends in a cool, dry place. Heat and humidity can soften the sealant slightly, which leads to layers sticking or poor seals on the machine. Keep rolls in their wrapping until needed and let them sit in the packing room for a few hours before running, so the paper reaches room temperature.

Handle the coated face as little as possible. Oil from fingers can leave marks where seals later fail, so most packers wear gloves when loading rolls.

Label opened rolls with the date they were started, and use older stock first. Paper that has sat partly unwrapped for months can pick up moisture at the edges, which shows up as weak seals on the first few metres. Rolls, tissue and tape all sit in our box extras range if you want to order bench supplies together.

Run a Short Test on Plain Stock Before You Print

Heat seal paper behaves differently on every sealer, so the most useful first step is a test. Tell us your machine or handheld sealer, the finished sachet size and whether the product is wet, dry or infused, and ask for a small amount of plain stock in the grade we suggest. Seal a few sachets, adjust temperature and dwell until the seal holds, and only then order the printed roll, because the print must keep clear of the seal zones that you have now confirmed. Give us your core size and wind direction so rolls are slit to run straight on the machine, and mark a blank panel for batch codes. Tea blenders usually order the paper with printed tea boxes for the finished bags.

Send the product, paper type, sealing method, sachet size and quantity, and a custom quote comes by email within one working day. Printed paper gets a free proof showing the repeat, seal zones and registration marks. Production takes 4 to 7 working days after approval, rolls arrive by tracked courier to UK mainland addresses, and misprinted or damaged stock reported within 10 days is reprinted or refunded.