Vacuum Sealed Mylar Bags

Thickness, Barrier and Puncture Resistance

Bag thickness is measured in microns. Thinner bags are fine for soft products like sliced cheese, while thicker bags are needed for bone-in meat, hard cheese with sharp edges and products with crumbs or seeds that might pierce the film; the board and card types guide explains how film is measured. We will suggest a thickness based on the food you pack.

For products that will be frozen, ask for a bag rated for freezer use, as some films become brittle at low temperatures. For products that will be cooked in the bag, such as sous vide, tell us the cooking temperature so we can specify a suitable film. Food-contact grade films are available on request.

Puncture is the most common failure. If you pack bone-in cuts, consider bone guards, small pieces of film placed over sharp edges inside the bag. They cost little and greatly reduce rejected packs.

For dry products such as coffee or nuts, a softer vacuum is often used so the product is not crushed, and a thinner bag may be enough.

Printing on Vacuum Bags

Vacuum bags shrink tightly around the product, so the print should be designed with that in mind. Large solid areas and bold logos work best; very fine text may distort slightly when the bag is pulled around an uneven shape, as the print and finish options compared page shows for film. Keep key information, such as product name, weight, use-by area and storage advice, on the flatter parts of the bag.

A clear window area within an opaque printed bag lets customers see the product while keeping your brand prominent. Leave space for a weight and price label if you sell by weight.

Many producers print one design across several products and add a product label on the front. That keeps print runs larger and cheaper while still allowing different cuts or cheeses to be clearly named.

If you sell into retail, include a barcode area and space for a use-by date that can be printed or labelled at packing.

Sizing Bags for Your Products

Measure the product's length, width and thickness, then allow extra length for the seal area and for the bag to wrap around the product's depth. As a rough guide, add the thickness of the product to both the width and length, plus around 30 to 50 mm at the open end for sealing. Testing a few plain bags of different sizes on your sealer is the quickest way to find the right fit.

If you pack several products, two or three standard bag sizes usually cover most of them.

Bag length also needs to leave enough room to grip the bag in the sealer. Chamber sealers usually need less spare length than suction sealers.

Write down the bag size that works for each product once you have tested it, so staff always reach for the right size and waste fewer bags.

Who Uses Printed Vacuum Bags

Butchers use them for steaks, joints and sausages sold in chillers. Cheesemakers vacuum pack wedges for shops and online sales, often with a sheet of printed cheese paper for the counter. Charcuterie producers use them for cured meats and sliced salami. Smokehouses pack smoked fish and meats. Coffee roasters sometimes vacuum pack beans for wholesale. Home-food businesses use them for prepared meals and sous vide dishes.

Pet food producers also use vacuum bags for raw food portions, where freshness matters as much as it does for human food.

Farm shops that pack their own produce often use a mix of sizes, so a small starting run of each size, with matching print, helps them see which sizes move fastest before reordering.

Tell Us Which Sealer You Own Before Anything Else

The sealer decides the bag. A chamber machine needs smooth film and a suction sealer needs a textured inner face, and a bag of the wrong type will not pull a vacuum at all, so name the machine first. Then say what goes in: bone-in cuts, hard cheese and anything with seeds or crumbs want a thicker film that resists puncture, while sliced products can use a thinner one. Add the product size plus 30 to 50 mm at the open end for the seal, and say if the bags go into the freezer or a sous vide bath, since each needs a particular film.

Send the product, the sealer type, the bag size, the thickness and your artwork, and a custom quote comes by email within one working day, minimums kept low and quoted job by job. A free design proof shows the print on the bag. Production takes 4 to 7 working days after approval and free tracked delivery reaches UK mainland addresses in 2 to 3 working days. Food-contact grade film is available on request. Butchers who wrap at the counter usually add printed butcher paper in the same colours.