Printing your bags and boxes with your company information is always a very smart advertising tool. We want you to love your final product; as such we have put together a basic guideline that will help you make the best decisions when choosing a printed plastic bag. With over 40 years of experience we can guide you to the exact printed bag that will fit your application. We have seen beautiful artworks misrepresented or ruined by poor planning, which is why you should only deal with a company who specializes in only plastic bags. 
Read carefully and plan ahead, so your brand will look its best when handed out to your customer:
• Borders on a logo often do not print or hot stamp well. If your logo has outlines or borders, consider making a solid version of it.
• PMS stands for Pantone Matching System and it’s the standard by which you choose the ink color to be use to print your artwork. Be aware that these colors display different on each computer monitor, depending on the resolution, so expect some changes and variations compared to the actual art work you will see on the plastic bag film.
• Heavy coverage combined with fine lines will not always print or hot stamp well.
• On two color jobs, registration can move from 1/8” to ½” depending on logo and the type of bag. For this reason, no two bags will look exactly the same, since there may be some slight difference in position from one to the other.
• Printed plastic bags have eye spots (small solid rectangular box printed at the bottom corner of the bag) which are necessary for print registration.
• All 100% bleed jobs need plates 1” larger than the bag. The best results when printing 100% bleed is obtained when using solid colors on the border, consider encasing your artwork for better results.
• Have a high resolution pdf of the art work ready. Our art department will tell you about any discrepancies or possible problems that may be encounter when printing on your bags.
Archive for the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ Category
Guidelines for printing bags and boxes
Friday, November 20th, 2009What makes a bag “degradable”?
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009“Degradable Plastic: a plastic designed to undergo a significant change in its chemical structure under specific environmental conditions resulting in a loss of some properties that may vary as measured by standard test methods appropriate to the plastic and the application in a period of time that determines its classification.” [ASTM D883-99] – American Society for Testing and Materials. www.astm.org
Degradable bags are regular plastic bags that contain a unique agent which helps break down the plastic and reduces the strength of the bag when exposed to heat or light. As the bag breaks into smaller pieces it becomes a nutrient for microbes and then biomass. There are two main technologies in the market today, which utilize two distinctive methods for breaking down the plastic molecules. These methods are Photo degradation (UV) and Oxidation (Oxo). The additive will start breaking down the plastic in anywhere from 6 to 24 months or longer.
If we consider that it takes a normal plastic bag over a thousand years to degrade in a landfill, this additive is a big help to reduce the amount of plastic and the time it takes to get back into nature’s cycle. Furthermore, degradable bags can also be recycled.
Degradable bags are made with polymers (fossil fuel sub products) and are NOT “biodegradable” until a later stage, when they are broken into smaller particles and can serve as nutrients for micro organisms. More information about biodegradable bags is coming soon.
What is the difference between 80 GSM non-woven bags and 100 GSM non-woven bags?
Thursday, October 15th, 2009At Adart we have two incredible programs for the latest trend of reusable non-woven bags. Our reusable non-woven bags are designed to be applied in many diverse shopping situations. We carry light weight 80 GSM (grams per square meter) bags that are perfect for use as hand-outs for small stores; and heavy duty 100 GSM non-woven bags that feature strong handles and cardboard bottoms, excellent for grocery stores or hardware stores. These light reusable non-woven bags are designed to be reused plenty of times and can be easily custom printed. They are the preferred choice for boutique’s, gift shops, and candy stores. This heavy duty, strong reusable non-woven bags can also be custom printed and are favorites among supermarket chains, bookstores, and greenhouse nurseries.
