Printing Information for
Paper Carrier Bags
Our paper carrier bags can be printed using standard CMYK colours or with up to four specific Pantone colours! Simply set up your artwork with the corresponding values. Please note that the Pantone colours used must be of the "Uncoated" variety.
To ensure that your graphics (images, texts, etc.) do not appear blurry or pixelated, we recommend working with a resolution of at least 300 dpi.
Whenever possible, work with vector graphics. These have an infinitely high resolution, ensuring that your print is never blurry or pixelated. Especially texts, logos, and symbols should never be incorporated as raster images. Raster images are only suitable for photographs.
Our printing machines require the print file exactly as we have set it up, to prevent any misalignment or other deviations in the print.
- Do not alter the artboard (dimensions, format, etc.)
- Do not export the PDF; simply press "Save" (Windows: "CTRL+S", Apple: "CMD+S")
- Do not add bleed or anything similar
- Do not modify anything that is part of the "Template" layer
In our printing process for paper carrier bags, only half of the total surface can be printed. This means you can print on 50% of the surface of the entire bag (excluding the handles) – including the bottom of the bag!
If your design requires more coverage, feel free to submit a special request. Simply contact our Support.
Printing machines work by layering different colours that, when combined, produce all the colours you want to see on your paper carrier bag. These layers consist of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (commonly referred to as "CMYK", from the English term). If too much of each colour is applied, the print becomes too wet and smudges, resulting in a poor finish.
Therefore, it is crucial that the total ink coverage does not exceed 300%. It’s best to check the ink coverage of your final print file using Adobe Acrobat Pro ("All Tools" → "Print Production" → "Output Preview") or another tool of your choice.
To avoid issues with your fonts, please convert all texts to outlines before the final export (In Adobe Illustrator, for example, you can do this by selecting all texts and pressing "CTRL+SHIFT+O" (Apple: "CMD+SHIFT+O")).
► Note: Texts converted to outlines cannot be edited, so only convert the fonts once you have finished designing.
Our printing machines use the PDF format, a standard in the printing industry, which ensures consistent appearance regardless of the programme or operating system.
► Please do not add crop marks or other print-related marks, as our print template already includes them.
In our print template, you’ll find various layers, named according to their intended purpose. Please place your graphics, texts, and images only on the "Artlayer" – only parts of this layer will be printed in the end!
The ISO 12647-2 colour standard should be present and selected by default in all current programmes. If you have selected a different colour profile, please change it for the export of your final file to ensure the colours are correctly represented in print.
As our eco-friendly paper carrier bags have a brown base colour, there will be slight colour deviations in the print. The darker your chosen colour, the less it will be affected.
The "Template" layer in our print template contains our print marks, which are meant to assist you during the design process. Once you’ve finished designing, please remember to hide or delete this layer so that your final print file contains only the "Artlayer" with your design elements.
Our print templates are intended to help you create your design optimally so that your paper carrier bag looks exactly as you envision it. The following should be noted:
- The carrier bag will be folded along the dashed lines.
- Apart from the handles, the entire surface can be printed. We particularly recommend using the front and back, as these areas will be most visible to your customers.
We are happy to print paper carrier bags in various designs and sizes.
Your logo on the shopping bag as advertising space or a QR code for a discount campaign – the possibilities are only limited by your creativity!
Are you active on social media? Feel free to tag us in pictures of your finished paper carrier bags: @greenbox_packaging.
We look forward to your posts! 😊
Or without handles: the simple versions of the carrier bags!
Here too, we offer various industry-standard sizes. Just choose the appropriate paper carrier bag, download the print template, and start designing!
Whether simply with your logo, colourful designs for children, or informative texts... The sky is the limit, as they say in English.
Frequently Asked Questions & Problems
A common source of errors is altering the print die or the data format. Please be careful when opening the print die to ensure that the dimensions are not changed. It is best to open the file in an illustration programme such as Adobe Illustrator.
When saving, make sure that no additional bleed is added. This would change the size of the artboard again, so the paper carrier bag cannot be printed.
For our paper carrier bags, the maximum ink coverage is 300%. You can check the ink coverage of your PDF print file in Adobe Acrobat Pro under: "All Tools" → "Print Production" → "Output Preview". Here, you simply set the percentage to 300 under "Total Area Coverage", and all areas in the document that exceed this value will be highlighted in bright green (if you use a lot of green in your graphic and it’s not clear, you can also change the colour next to "Total Area Coverage" that marks areas with excessive ink coverage).
This often happens when graphics and images are converted from RGB to CMYK colour space, particularly black areas often exceed the guideline value.
No. While we would love to, unfortunately, our capacity is limited. For this reason, we currently do not offer design services or assistance.
