Shopping, gift and other bags provide an excellent opportunity to create greater awareness of your brand, products and services. While there are many varieties of bags that can accommodate a logo, the most popular style among our clients is shopping bags. Our typical clients for branded bags are private clubs, medical spas and retail stores.
Eurotote Bags: Currently, the most popular style of shopping bags is matte Eurotote bags. They have a dull protective coating on top to keep out moisture and prevent scratches. One of the distinguishing features of a Eurotote bag is a rope handle. They are considered a premium bag.
Here is an example of a white Eurotote bag with black foil:
Because of the protective coating applied to Eurototes, logos and messages cannot be printed on them. They use a foil-stamping process. Foil-stamping requires that we create a metal die, with die costs rising with size and complexity of the logo or other content. As a result, the size of a logo may impact the cost of a project.
While printing offers a virtually unlimited gamut of colors, we are limited to about 20 foil-stamping color options. To help manage their marketing budget, we recommended our clients use a single foil color.
The most popular foil colors on bags are silver, gold, black and white. White foil is particularly stunning on dark bags, as you can see here:
Because of the protective coating applied to Eurototes, logos and messages cannot be printed on them. They use a foil-stamping process. Foil-stamping requires that we create a metal die, with die costs rising with size and complexity of the logo or other content. As a result, the size of a logo may impact the cost of a project.
While printing offers a virtually unlimited gamut of colors, we are limited to about 20 foil-stamping color options. To help manage their marketing budget, we recommended our clients use a single foil color.
The most popular foil colors on bags are silver, gold, black and white. White foil is particularly stunning on dark bags, as you view here.
Metallic color foils generally come in shiny or dull versions. We believe an understated dull foil color appears more sophisticated than the more common shiny foil.
A consideration with dark bags is that they are more prone to show cracks and creases. Eurotote bags are produced only with white paper and the color is printed on the bag. This means a blue bag is actually white, with a solid blue layer printed on top. As a result, on dark bags the white will sometimes show through at the creases and folds.
Another important consideration with branded shopping bags is that the logo is generally applied to only one side of the bag. There is an extra charge to have a logo applied to the second side of the bag as it involves an additional pass through the printing or foil-stamping machine. If different artwork is selected for the reverse side of a foil-stamped bag, the project will become even more expensive as it requires the production of a second metal foil die.
Eurototes come in about a dozen different standard sizes, including these small bags which are perfect for jewelry or cosmetics:
Kraft Bags: Kraft bags are another style of shopping bags that are considered medium quality and value priced. The most common colors for kraft bags are kraft, white and black. Think of the style of shopping bag that you would receive at a typical grocery store. The “kraft” color is simply the most common brownish variation.
Kraft bags have a stiff handle, and do not have a protective coating. Here’s an example of a white kraft bag with a silver foil logo:
Kraft bags can accommodate both printing and foil-stamping. We recommend clients opt for foil-stamping unless they select a white kraft bag. If you try to print on a colored bag, the ink color is likely become distorted.
Minimum Quantities: The typical minimum quantity for a shopping bag order is 250 identical pieces. Keep in mind that if you order two different sizes of foil-stamped bags, they will require two different foil dies, so it may be in the best interest of your marketing budget to limit the number of sizes ordered.
Branded Boxes: If a bag is not the right option for you, another great packaging option is a branded box—which are becoming increasingly popular with our clients. You can learn more in our previous blog post here.
Let us know how we can help you with your bag, box or other special branding project. If you have a full marketing campaign, a branding initiative, a gala invitation package, or a sales folder that could use a little creativity, we want to be your partner. This is especially important today as technology and tools continue to evolve quickly in the printing industry. We stay on top of the trends and can share with you the new techniques, tools and skills to elevate your marketing materials. Contact us today for a consultation.
Like what you’re reading? Signed up today for our marketing tips enews.