Printed Luxury Bags Your Complete Guide

Luxury bags are the pinnacle of carrier bags, typically because of the freedom of choice they provide brands. Control over print, lamination, size, handles and print features enables brands to create something truly bespoke. What this does mean, however, is more complexity, something that does not lend well to recyclability.

A laminated luxury bag looks the part and feels extremely high-quality. When it comes to eco-friendliness, however, these bags cannot be made recyclable. The process of lamination introduces a thin layer of plastic to the bag material, essentially altering the makeup of the bag. This not only makes the bag unable to be recycled at home, but it also increases the complexity of recycling the bag in any capacity.

If you’re dead set on a luxury bag but you want to avoid the lamination avenue to improve the eco-friendliness of your bag, we recommend opting for a kraft luxury gift bag. These bags are fully unlaminated but retain the quality of a luxury bag through their robust paper material. You need to consider, however, that the use of materials such as certain handle choices can make these bags unrecyclable. Though the paper material may be eco-friendly, it’s all about the recyclability of the end product. Additional print features such as hot foil can also have the same effect.

If you’re looking to create a recyclable luxury bag, there are avenues you can go down and retain the quality, look and feel you’re looking for. A kraft luxury bag can be created with no print features and robust paper rope or ribbon handles. These bags have the style and function of a normal luxury bag and are 100% recyclable. Though this does limit the freedom of customisability that you can achieve, it opens the option of a bag that ticks both your high-end quality box and meets your eco-friendly agenda. If this is something you’re looking to achieve, get in touch and let our team know.

All of the paper we use in our luxury bags is FSC certified, meaning you can rest assured that you’re purchasing from a supplier committed to sustainable & ethical paper material sourcing.

Luxury gift bags are made from a high-quality, thick American Bristol paper, meaning they are much more robust than a standard paper bag. Not all suppliers use such high-quality materials for their gift bags; some use lower-quality paper, which means they’re more flimsy and lower quality when laminated. The kraft paper we use for our luxury bags is thick like card and FSC-certified, an earmark that we don’t cut corners on the sourcing of our paper material, both in terms of quality and sustainability.

The option for lamination levels up your bag quality. Lamination, whether you opt for glossy or matt, adds a protective layer to your bag’s exterior that not only looks and feels premium, but also protects the bag from tears & liquid damage. A bag with the natural elegance of paper, the robustness of thick card and the additional reinforcement of lamination exudes quality and is the most luxury option available for a carrier bag.

There’s no other bag type with the level of customisation of a luxury bag. All other bags have standardised sizes, whereas you have full control, down to the millimetre, over the size of your luxury bag. All other bags can only be printed, whereas you can emboss or add hot foil to a luxury bag. All other bag materials are made as standard, but a luxury bag can be laminated for extra reinforcement of quality. All other bags have standard handles, but with a luxury gift bag, you choose the handles you want, as well as the colour. There are no compromises on a luxury bag, and this means that the outcome is truly unique. Quality isn’t just about look and feel, it’s about adding value, and the level of customisation available for a luxury bag means that your customers get the most premium bag possible.

Luxury bags are fully bespoke, meaning you have full control over every decision about the bag’s material, size, look, feel and features. This does mean, however, that their production can become very complex. Creating your bags to a bespoke specification means that manufacturing can be very manual, and depending on the complexity of your specification, this can become costly. Finding a balance between uniqueness and quality is the best way to achieve both your cost and quality objectives.

As with every bag we produce, cost is heavily influenced by the quantity of bags you order. Materials become cheaper with scale, so if you’re ordering in bulk, we can provide quantity discounts that can slash unit costs. When it comes to luxury shopping bags, brands can take advantage of our stock holding service, meaning you can order bespoke bags in bulk, taking advantage of quantity savings, without the headache of storing your bag stock.

The more unique bag you create, the more cost you’ll incur. Sometimes these costs can be negligible per unit, but may stack up with the more bags you order. Higher-quality handle choices can incur additional cost, as well as print features like embossing, debossing and hot-foil finishes. Internal bag printing will also incur additional costs. When you get a quote from us, you’ll be able to see a breakdown of the costs, and we can work with you to ensure your bag is unique, but stays within the budget.

A low-cost option is our rapid printed luxury bags. These bags are overprinted on standardised sizes, meaning they’re lightning-quick to produce, simple in nature, but retain the quality of a printed luxury bag. As these bags are not bespoke, they’re more cost-effective, and if you’re in a rush they can also be made and delivered within just 3 days.

Luxury bags are all about creating the bag for the purpose, not the other way around. That’s why having millimetre control over your bag’s size is important. Whether you’re creating a bag to hold event merchandise or building a gift bag for your product, you can ensure it’s tailor-made for its purpose. It’s not just about accommodating for unique sizes and shapes; it’s about making sure your carrier bags feel purposeful and intentional. It’s about creating a bag that’s so well thought-out that it feels more like an extension of your packaging than a simple carrier bag.

Building on this, a printed luxury bag gives you full control over your printing. With standardised bags, you may have certain limitations on printing with regard to colour and print area. With a luxury bag, there are no limitations on colour (print in any, and as many colours as you’d like). There’s certainly no limitation on print area, as because these bags are made bespoke, we print onto the material first and then construct the bag, rather than printing on the finished product. We’ve created a range of designs, from fully chrome finishes to bespoke designs that cover the whole bag. Look at our luxury bag gallery to get an idea of the printing freedom you get with a luxury bag.

One of the biggest appeals of a luxury bag over other bag types is the ability to make your bag truly unique. This is achieved through the wide selection of handles and features available for your bag. When it comes to handles, you can choose from a range of different materials and options. You’ll be choosing from rope, ribbon or die-cut style with the option to choose from different materials. There are standard colour choices, but we can also make handles to your exact brand colours if you desire.

Print features make your bags one-of-a-kind, allowing you to customise your bag beyond what is standard. Options available include internal bag printing, ribbon closure, custom eyelets for the bag handles and bespoke printed ribbon. If you’re looking to add a new dimension to your bag’s print and introduce a level of tactility, options such as gloss UV, embossing, debossing and hot foil finish are ideal. For brands looking to create a bag that’s truly luxurious, these additional features add the finishing touch.

Because luxury bags can be made totally bespoke, we’re able to accommodate requests and requirements that most suppliers cannot. Unique requests such as oversized bags, uniquely shaped bags or non-standard finishes are accommodations we regularly fulfil for brands.

The quality of your printed luxury bag is unique, and stands strong against brands who opt for cheaper, lower-quality options. On the high street, your brand on a luxury bag is like buying the most expensive screen on Piccadilly Circus. Consciously or unconsciously, consumers associate your brand with the quality and uniqueness of your bag, which helps you convey its non-tangible value.

Event marketing, whether attending or hosting, is a critical awareness and demand generator for businesses. A luxury bag rides the line between a freebie and merchandise, giving your brand the best opportunity to shine and stand out.

Luxury bags can be made bespoke and unique, enabling you to build something different to your competitors. We’ve made a range of one-of-a-kind bags for some of the world’s biggest brands, including oversized bags, chrome-finishes, unique shapes or even wacky cutouts. Unique bags are ideal for brands that like to do things differently, or marketing campaigns looking to drum up some PR. Generating brand awareness is easier when your bag is tailor-made for a purpose – whether it’s a unique print or a QR code, there’s no limit to the possibilities available.