Many often wonder “How Do I Make Custom Mylar Bags?” The answer is:
If you’ve ever grabbed a premium pouch off of a store shelf and questioned how it got there, you’re well on your way toward comprehending the creation of your own custom Mylar bags. Making Mylar bags involves equal parts material science and printing craftsmanship, with a dash of branding psychology thrown in for good measure. When produced correctly, they protect the product and gently persuade consumers to make a purchase.
This page provides an easy-to-follow, sequential overview of how custom Mylar bags are produced, along with the most important aspects of every step in the process.
What Mylar Bags Are Made From
Mylar is often used informally, but Mylar is branded polyester film by DuPont. Most modern Mylar packaging, or bags, are laminated structures made from several layers of material.
Typically, custom Mylar bags will contain 3 layers:
- A polyester outer layer for durability and to allow printing clarity
- An aluminum foil layer used to help keep oxygen, moisture and light out
- An inner layer (food-grade) made from plastic (typically Polyethylene) for food safety.
Each layer is critical to the structure of a Mylar bag. If you were to remove one layer, then the bag would not be as durable or effective during storage.
Step 1: Choosing the Right Bag Style
The first thing you would want to decide on before displaying your finished print project is the physical size of the printed piece itself. The choices you will make about what type of layout will affect the overall cost as well as ease-of-use to the end-user and where it will go on a shelf.
Some options that you could consider when selecting a layout include:
- Pouches with bottom gussets that can stand up
- Pouches that lay flat for sample sizes or one-time use packaging
- Pouches that can be resealed via a zipper
- Child resistant or tear notch packaging.
Beyond just being referenced to as a size (e.g., a volume measurement), there is a concept/idea behind the size’s ability for a design to be read clearly from at least 3 feet away.
Step 2: Selecting Thickness and Barrier Level
Mylar bags’ thickness is expressed in microns or mils, and thus thicker is not typically better. Overbuilding results in higher prices and may result in each Mylar bag feeling stiffer or cheaper.
The majority of retail oriented custom Mylar bags fall between 3.5 and 5 mil total thickness. Products that react quickly to exposure to light, air, or humidity will benefit from using stronger foil barriers, while products that are indestructible, supplements, or accessories can have lighter structures than those used for products that are sensitive to air or humidity.
Step 3: Designing the Artwork
Either companies draw people in or lose them to background chatter in this space.
Good designs for mylar bags focus on:
– The use of varying color contrasts that help you identify designs quickly
– Differentiation of sizes between your primary name, your product name and all of the other information on the product
– Use of white space so that all of the branded items fit well on your bag
– A variety of finishes (matte, glossy, soft touch and/or spot UV) to choose from
Mylar bag designs will be created in CMYK mode and designed using a die line that includes the following elements – seal areas, fold areas and zipper areas. One of the quickest ways to ruin a design is to neglect bleed areas in your design.
Step 4: Printing the Bags
Custom Mylar bags are produced via commercial print production processes, instead of via personal printers or desktop publishing.
The two most frequently utilized methods are:
- Rotogravure printing for high-volume, consistent runs with large quantities.
- Digital printing for lower quantities and quicker engine production.
Once the film is printed, the two films are laminated together and the ink is placed between the films; thus safeguarding the surface area and eliminating through wear and tear. The ink is then protected against abrasion, fading and ink transfer.
Step 5: Forming, Cutting, and Sealing
The bags that are created from the flat material after being laminated must be manufactured by machines that will cut each bag to its size as well as apply zippers or a notch for tearing off the bag and heat sealing the edges.
It is also at this point that quality checks are conducted. If these final products are not sealed correctly or cut precisely, they will leak, causing items to be returned and creating waste of inventory.
Step 6: Compliance and Testing
When working with food, supplements or regulated products; there are many additional steps that can be followed.
- Documentation for Food Contact Safety
- Thickness and Seal Strength Testing
- Drop Testing & Shelf Life Evaluations
While going through this process takes additional time and costs more to manufacture up front; these costs can greatly outweigh the additional cost when they are skipped altogether.
Seeing real world examples of how different finishes, thicknesses, and bag styles come together can make these decisions easier, especially when looking at finished custom Mylar bag packaging used by active brands.
Why Custom Mylar Bags Matter More Than People Think
A Mylar bag goes beyond being a container. It serves as the first tangible interaction with your brand. The soft texture of the Mylar, the sound produced through the use of the zipper (or other type of closure), and the way in which the Mylar reflects light will all add to the development of trust with the customer, even though the consumer does not consciously acknowledge these elements.
Many companies use this opportunity to subconsciously align their packaging with future business growth by choosing formats that will not require redesign in order to scale.
If you would like to better understand how these concepts work together in the real world, it may be helpful for you to examine examples of finished, custom-printed Mylar bags and how your various packaging decisions have an effect on the finished product.
Takeaway
Creating personalized mylar bags is easy but must be exact. To achieve this you should approach the design, materials and print with one holistic system vs each part separately.
When each element of the process is considered as an intent, they produce a quality bag that can do more than just protect; it will also help you sell time and time again quietly and consistently.
