Custom Printed Greaseproof Basket Liners

What a greaseproof basket liner does

A basket liner is the sheet between the chips and the basket. Without it the basket goes greasy, the salt falls through the mesh and the washing-up pile doubles.

The first photo shows a white liner with a teal one-colour logo repeated across it, folded once. The second shows a plain cream square with one corner turned up, which is how a liner sits once it is pushed into a basket.

Chip shops with seating use them in wire baskets. Burger bars use them in red plastic baskets for a burger and chips. Cafés lay one in a wooden board with a lip. Street food traders use them in cardboard trays when the paper is cheaper than a lined tray.

Why do chips sweat in a basket without a liner?

Hot chips give off steam, and a bare basket lets the steam fall straight through onto the table. The bottom layer of chips then sits in its own moisture and goes limp within minutes.

A greaseproof liner changes the airflow. It catches the drips, holds a little warmth under the chips and still lets steam rise off the top. The result is a basket that stays crisper for longer.

The liner also protects the customer from the basket. Nobody wants to pick a chip off bare mesh that has been through a dishwasher fifty times.

A liner also makes clearing tables quicker. Lift the corners, the whole lot comes out in one, and the basket goes back on the pass dry.

Which liner size fits a standard chip basket?

Most wire chip baskets are around 200 to 230 mm across and 60 mm deep. A 300 mm square liner covers the base and climbs the sides with a few centimetres to spare.

If your baskets are an unusual shape, push a plain sheet in, mark where it meets the rim and measure that. Odd sizes are a custom cut and the size chart for sheets and rolls shows how to note it on the quote.

How a liner goes into a basket

There is no folding to learn. The sheet is pushed in and the corners do the rest.

1. Hold the sheet by two opposite corners with the print facing up.
2. Lower the centre into the basket and press it onto the base.
3. Let the four corners rise up the sides; they will stand on their own in a wire basket.
4. Fill with chips, then add the burger or the fish on top of the chips.
5. For a takeaway, bring the corners together over the food and drop the whole liner into a bag.

That last step is why a square liner beats a round one. The corners become handles.

Weight and finish for a liner that gets wet

Liners run lighter than wraps because they do not get folded hard or carried far. The risk is going too light, when the sheet tears as a wet chip is dragged across it.

• About 30 gsm: dry snacks, bread rolls, baskets that are eaten at the table straight away.
• About 35 gsm: the usual pick for chip and burger baskets with vinegar and sauce.
• About 38–40 gsm: baskets that double as a takeaway wrap, or very wet fillings like curry sauce on chips.

White liners show the logo more clearly and show a grease mark more clearly too. Kraft hides the mark and gives the chips a warmer look under the lights.

Printing a logo that shows above the chips

Most of a liner is hidden under food. The part that shows is the corners climbing the sides of the basket, so a repeat pattern is the sensible layout. Whichever corner rises, some of the mark rises with it.

A single logo in the centre disappears under the first scoop of chips. If you want a single mark, put one in each corner, about 30 mm in from the edge.

One colour on white is the cheapest print and looks clean under a heat lamp. The teal repeat in the first photo is a good example: a mid-tone ink on white reads well without looking heavy. We match solids to Pantone solid-coated swatches.

Keep the artwork simple. A liner lives for twenty minutes under a pile of chips, so a clean mark at a readable size beats a detailed crest every time.

Can basket liners double as tray liners and wraps?

They can for a short sitting. A 300 mm liner lines a cardboard chip tray as well as it lines a basket, and the 300 × 400 mm cut lines a fish and chip box.

As a wrap, a liner is on the thin side. It will carry a bag of chips home but it will not hold a dripping burger the way a heavier sheet does. For that job, pick a heavier printed burger wrap sheet and keep the liner for the basket.

If you serve in an oven-to-table dish rather than a basket, the liner is not the right paper. It is for serving, not baking.

Mistakes with printed basket liners

Ordering the liner too small is the common one. A 250 mm square in a 230 mm basket barely covers the base, so the corners never rise and the logo stays hidden.

Printing the full menu on the liner is the second. It goes under the food and nobody reads it. Keep to the logo and a handle.

The third is dark ink across the whole sheet. Solid-flood prints cost more, show every scratch from the basket mesh and can look dirty under vinegar. Keep plenty of bare paper in the design.

Last, do not store the cartons next to the fryer. Greaseproof that lives in a warm, steamy spot goes soft before it reaches the basket.

How do I order greaseproof basket liners?

Give us the basket size or the liner size in mm, kraft or white, and the number of colours in your artwork. If you only have the basket, say so and we work out the cut from it.

A written quote comes back within one working day. The free proof follows once you accept it, and you can change it as many times as you like before print.

Production is 4–6 working days from proof approval. Tracked delivery to a UK mainland address is free and takes 2–3 working days. The minimum is 1,000 liners, and you can start on the basket liner quote form any time.