viable printers for kraft bags

[HRC]

Hi everyone, new roaster in the Chicago area. Does anyone have suggestions for reliable printers (like inkjet) for #1 kraft bags? Right now we are considering using stamps but the color palettes and sizing are obviously better with printers. We will not be moving enough volume to warrant large runs at printing facilities (we'll do 100's of bags vs 1000's). Thanks!

 

[sae]

most people use stickers for a nicer look

 

[HRC]

Hi SAE, thanks for your reply. "Nicer" is subjective. We're branding now so we're considering all options. Has anyone tried to print onto kraft bags and had any success? Or didn't like the quality and went another route?

 

[trueandbrave]

imo, kraft bags are not flat enough to go through inkjet printers. even if you had a printer that could accommodate the thickness of the bag itself, the print would always be flawed from the seams and folds in the bags.

 

[PinkRose]

There are inkjet printers that accommodate thicker paper, but the Kraft bags probably would be too thick and bumpy. I doubt that it's worth the expense of getting a special printer to do it yourself.

Do you have a local printer who does business cards, t-shirts etc? Maybe you can work out a deal where you buy the bags and he does the printing for you.

Self adhesive labels may be a good option. If you design them tastefully, and print them nicely, they'll look professionally done. The trick is to place the labels on the bags straight so they look uniform and nice.

Most of the places where I buy my roasted beans (in-store and on-line) use adhesive labels. If I like the coffee, I cut the label off of the bag and save it for future reference.

Rose

 

[HRC]

The local printer idea seems worth investigating. Thanks for the tip.

 

[topher]

Labels can look nice. The company I work for is HUGE on branding....here is our retail bags. The last company I worked for had bags pre-printed in China. We had to keep so much stock it was ridiculous! Good luck and let us see what you come up with.

 

[HRC]

Hi Topher,

We are putting a ton of emphasis on our branding. Would you mind sharing the name of your company so I could dig a little bit? I can't quite make out the name from the photo.

Y'know, somewhere in the future it would be awesome to get pre-printed bags but that's a long way off. The visual quality obviously can't be argued, however the stocking situation definitely crossed my mind (I have a background in visual design and also supply chain management, go figure).

What we're stumbling on now is finding the appropriate trade-off between visual quality, branding and product variation. We spent some good coin on the logo and we're now evaluating different labeling/stamping/printing methods to carry the idea throughout the packaging and overall ethos of the company.

Also how do I separate paragraphs like PinkRose? My "enter" key doesn't seem to be working!

 

[Mr Shave]

Couple companies that do a great job with branding and stamping a Kraft bag
CURRENT COFFEE OFFERINGS ? Kuma Coffee

For starting out these options have minimal cost, provide an artisan feel, and is very clean.

 

[HRC]

Mr. Shave, those are both great looking bags. Thanks for sharing. Looking at the Kuma coffee page, they have several colors that I didn't know were available for stamping inks. I'll have to ask the local guy about that.

 

[topher]

I am the roaster for The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. - Quality New York Style Bagels . If you walked into one of our stores you would see what I mean when I said we like to promote our brand! Check out the gallery section...some great shots from our stores.

 

[chast]

I did these and then had them photo copied on a digital copy machine using label stock. A thousand cost me .24 each Quick Label in Rhode Island has a great printer but for 10K I will do it way for a while. Changing the name of the bean is just a matter of opening the file and doing an edit

 

[expat]

Whatever you do at this point, don't invest in a ton of preprinted bags. We've been at it a year and a half and continue to tweak our labels. In fact as I write this I've got some new label proofs on my desk. Nothing that takes away from our branding, in fact I think it enhances it, but it is still a change. So one of these days, when we've finally got the label done and it is static for several months without us thinking we need to change this or that and customers stop suggesting enhancements, then we might be ready to invest in a big print run.

Also, as you can see from the labels above -- color code and keep it real simple, whether you use a rubber stamp, printed labels, or whatever.

 

[HRC]

Topher, I just had to find out what the hell a water bagel was. Pretty neat concept they got there. Is the water "really" that different? Thanks everyone for the tips. (PinkRose - double tapping the enter key doesn't work, weird)

 

[topher]

Yes...water does make a difference. We break the water down to nothing...then add minerals to match the water in Brooklyn. The water is exactly the same at each of our stores...meaning that the coffee which is 98 % water will taste the same at every store...as will the bagels.