Printed Plastic Bags Your Complete Guide

Plastic carrier bags have been for a long time treated as a luxury – the ability to freely grab a carrier bag, use it to take home shopping, then dispose of it after one use was taken for granted. Without considerations in place for limiting the amount of bags used, improving bag quality to incentivise reuse, or for improving the post-disposal process for these carrier bags, there was only environmental negatives for plastic as a material for carrier bags.

With the introduction of the plastic carrier bag charge in 2015, plastic bag usage has fallen significantly. With consumers less likely to pay for a low-quality carrier bag, and more likely to opt for a strong and reusable option, higher-quality plastic carrier bags have surged in popularity against thin, vest-style bags. However, one of the main impacts of the plastic carrier bag charge was the move away from plastic to alternatives such as paper. Despite the environmental issues with plastic carrier bags, the transition to alternatives has been just as, if not more damaging. Paper’s production is a heavy contributor to deforestation and consists of high wastage of water and energy. The impact of this is much higher than that of plastic. Fabric bags require thousands of reuses before they become environmentally viable as an alternative to plastic.

What’s clear is that, though plastic has issues, it also has benefits. Plastic is made from ethylene, a waste product of fossil fuel production, meaning that as long as these fuels are produced, plastic production is waste-efficient. Further, plastic bags are much lighter and thinner than other alternatives, reducing the environmental impact of their transport. A primary issue with plastic – its recyclability - is also fixable. Currently, plastic carrier bags cannot be recycled at home. However, these can be taken to recycling centres such as supermarkets, where the loop can be closed and the environmental performance is improved. With further improvements to the UK recycling system to allow plastic carrier bags to be disposed of in home recycling bins, this could provide even further environmental performance improvement.

Defining what quality means to you is important – sometimes the fanciest tool isn’t the one that will do the job the most efficiently. When it comes to a printed plastic bag, there’s no compromise made on the build quality – in fact, these bags are one of the nicest printed bags you can buy. The glossy print finish on top of your choice of colour (or clear bag) is effective and represents the versatility of a plastic carrier bag

Plastic carrier bags are also some of the strongest types of bags, with multiple handle options to give flexibility over the bag and its design and use. The versatility of plastic as a material means ensuring bags are made to a certain standard is a simple process, and extending carry weight capacity is as easy as increasing the gauge of the plastic.

The primary issue that plagues plastic is its reputation for cheapness, and rightly so, polythene is a cost-effective material choice. When something is cheap, it instantly gets given a bad name, even if it's made to a high standard. We often associate weight & heft with quality, and though plastic’s lightweight nature makes it a more efficient material to use and transport, it will always feel lower calibre than heavier, bulkier materials.

Plastic carrier bags have long been the preferred, cost-effective carrier bag. Made from polythene, these bags are strong, light, versatile, but also incredibly cheap to produce. As far as raw material costs go, plastic is the least expensive option available for a carrier bag, and when printing is included, it becomes an incredibly viable option for any brand, big or small.

The introduction of the plastic carrier bag charge of 2015 changed the dynamics of plastic bags and how retailers approached carrier bags when it came to costs. Their production was so cost-effective, and their utility so valuable for retailers, the printed plastic bag was often given away for free to encourage increased consumption. It was simply more valuable for retailers to take a loss on the bags and grant customers the convenience to be able to buy more items in their shop. With the introduction of the plastic carrier bag charge, total sales of plastic bags declined significantly as consumers became less willing to pay for their bags (among other reasons, such as transitioning to paper and reusable alternatives). With retailers forced to move to paper - a costlier alternative - or miss out on potential sales, cost became a more prevalent factor in the choice of a brand’s carrier bags.

Plastic remains the most cost-effective option, but it’s no longer so simple. Brands are more wary of the changes in the retail space, and it can also be more beneficial to encourage consumers to purchase more reusable bags, which can have a higher mark-up. Whereas bags were previously a loss-leading afterthought that served a different purpose, the landscape has changed. Yes, plastic bags are the most cost-effective option, but brands need to consider whether the cost of bags is their most important consideration.

When it comes to the handle, we’ve already discussed the options. The most important decision when it comes to the handle is understanding how this affects the print. Punched-out and patch handle plastic bags need to take into account where the design may overlap with the handle cut-out, either avoiding it or embracing it within the bag’s design. Flexiloop handle bags avoid this completely, meaning the bag’s print area is uninterrupted. These bags can also have coloured handles, either matching or contrasting with the bag’s colour.

The main event of customising your printed plastic bag is, of course, the print. Some brands like to go crazy with a bespoke full-bag, multi-colour design, though these types of customisations are typically more challenging to print and require a larger budget. Some brands want prints using their exact brand colours, which is achievable with the right colour combinations. Unfortunately, some colours just don’t print so well onto other colours – for instance, trying to print white text on a coloured bag. In these instances, we may get creative by running a reverse flood-print, whereby the contrasting print (a white design, for instance) comes from the original bag colour, with the bag’s background colour (black, for instance) flood-printed everywhere except the design area. Again, these jobs are much trickier, but we have the capability to achieve what other suppliers just can’t.

The most popular print customisations tend to be single or multi-colour design prints on more simplistic bags where the design colours contrast well against the bag’s colour (black on white, or black on yellow for instance). We’ve got years of experience in printing plastic bags, so we’ll always advise when a desired print just won’t look right or turn out how you expect. The most important thing is making sure your brand stands out, so we’ll work around any limitations to ensure you end up with the perfect printed plastic bag.

Posing the question to the marketing team: How much would you pay to expose your brand to millions of people? If you’re talking about renting out Picadilly circus for a week, it will cost you upwards of £250,000 to get eyes on your brand. When it comes to printed plastic bags, the cost is significantly lower and the impact is arguably better. A printed plastic bag turns your customer into a walking billboard, showcasing your brand to potential buyers up and down the high street.

The perfect printed plastic bag extends the value proposition of your products & services past the point at which consumers purchase. Creating a branded bag that is consistent with your product packaging synthesises the pre & post-purchase experience.

It’s worth noting that the perception around plastic as a material is, on the whole, negative. The narrative is that plastic is bad for the environment, and single-use plastic bags are at the forefront of this perception. Breaking these barriers is all about using promotion and messaging to educate users on the reason for plastic carrier bag use versus potentially more damaging alternatives. It’s about pushing for change in recycling policy and helping showcase the value of plastic as a material versus paper & fabric. Alternatively, opting for a plastic-free bag material such as a sugar-cane bag or potato-starch bag helps champion the quality benefits of plastic while addressing some of the core issues with it’s production and disposal.