Your Brand, Your Bag: Custom Printed Paper Packaging

The bag is the first thing a customer handles when an order arrives, before the garment itself. It’s an opportunity to make an impression through a logo, a brand message or a QR code that extends the experience beyond the unboxing.

Vela™ brings custom printing to paper garment bags, with one-colour designs on one or both sides and a choice of papers ranging from translucent to fully opaque. This guide explores the creative possibilities, how paper selection influences the final result and what to expect from artwork to printed samples.

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Why the bag is worth designing

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In January 2026, Quad and Seaman Paper ran a behavioural study with 91 consumers, using eye tracking to record where people looked as they unboxed a garment. Participants spent an average of 16.1 seconds looking at a Vela™ Plus bag, against 10.1 seconds for a plastic polybag. That's about 60% longer.

79% of participants preferred paper packaging to plastic. Two weeks later, 70% of those who had opened a Vela™ Plus bag still recalled the bag's sustainability messaging.

For a brand, that's time and attention on a surface it can print.

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What brands print

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Vela™ custom printing is available in one colour, on one or both sides of the bag. Brands including U.S. Polo Assn., Under Armour, Mango, Faherty and Everlane ship in custom-printed Vela™ bags, and most use the space in one of four ways.

A logo. The simplest option and usually the first. On the front of the bag, it makes the order recognisable as soon as the box is open.

A brand message. A line from the brand's story, a thank-you note or something tied to the season.

A QR code. It can link to a product page, a care guide, a discount code or the next collection. With print on both sides, the logo can sit on the front and the QR code on the back.

Recycling instructions. Vela™ bags are recyclable with paper, and in the US they're curbside recyclable. A short line on the bag tells customers where it goes. In some European markets this information is required: France asks for the Triman logo with sorting instructions on household packaging, and Italy has required a material code and disposal instructions since January 2023.

More of the bag is yours

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Thin plastic polybags often carry a printed suffocation warning, sometimes repeated in two or three languages. In the US, state laws in California, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia require these warnings on thin plastic bags (under 1 mil thick), and some set the wording, placement and minimum type size.

Those rules are written for plastic film, so they don't apply to Vela™ paper bags. The space goes to the brand instead. Labelling rules vary by market, so the Vela team confirms what applies before you print.

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Choosing the paper

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The paper decides how much of the garment shows through, and so how the print sits against it. Vela™ bags are made from FSC™-certified paper.

Vela™ Classic has medium transparency. It's the standard most brands start with: the garment shows through softly behind the print.

Vela™ Plus is the clearest paper in the range. Brands choose it when barcodes need to scan through the bag or the garment should stay visible. U.S. Polo Assn. uses Vela™ Plus.

Vela™ Natural is fully opaque, with a raw paper finish. With the garment hidden, the printed design becomes the main visual element.

Vela™ Hybrid puts a different paper on each side, for example Plus on the front for scanning and Natural on the back.

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How custom print works

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Custom print follows the same onboarding as any switch to Vela™ bags, with one extra step for your artwork. Most of the work happens before production, so nothing changes on your packing line until you've approved a printed sample.

1. Get your proposal. Share your products, volumes and sourcing countries. We recommend a paper and size for each, with print options.

2. Send your artwork. One colour, on the front, the back or both. We check the layout against the paper you chose.

3. Test printed samples. Printed samples go to you, your factory or your warehouse before you commit, so you can check fit, barcode scanning and packing.

4. Roll out and reorder. We handle reorders, new sizes and artwork updates from season to season.

Starting with a first run

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The bag is the one piece of packaging every customer touches, and a first run doesn't need to do everything. A logo on the front and a recycling line on the back is enough to start.

From there, the message and the QR code can change with each collection, while the bag, the size and your packing process stay the same. If you're moving from plastic polybags, the onboarding page walks through the switch in more detail.

Order printed samples. Tell us about your products and we’ll help you get started.