By the team at The Greaseproof Paper ·
Chip shops, delis and bakeries all ask the same question at some point: greaseproof or wax? This guide weighs the two sheets on heat, grease, moisture and print so you can match each item on the counter to the paper that suits it.
Greaseproof paper is plain paper with nothing added. The fibres are beaten until they lie so close together that oil cannot find a route through, and the sheet gets its slightly glassy look from that density alone.
Wax paper starts as a lighter base sheet and then takes a coating. Dry wax is pressed into the fibres; paraffin sits as a visible layer on the surface. Both give a soft sheen and a slippery feel that uncoated greaseproof never has.
The quickest test is a fingernail. Scratch a wax sheet and you lift a faint line of coating. Scratch greaseproof and nothing comes away.
Keep one more pair apart in your head: greaseproof and baking parchment. Parchment carries a silicone release layer for the oven. Greaseproof holds grease back and copes with oven heat, but it has no non-stick release of its own.
Both sheets are sold by the thousand and both take print, so the choice is never about what we can supply. It is about what the food does to the paper in the first ten minutes after it is wrapped.
A chip shop pass runs hot for the whole of service. Oven-safe greaseproof grades go to about 200°C (typical), so a portion of chips or a pie can sit under the lamps without the paper changing. Dry wax softens at about 80°C and paraffin at about 60°C. Put either under a lamp and the coating goes tacky, then transfers to the bun or the chip.
That is the one rule most buyers need. Food that is held hot takes greaseproof. Wax belongs where the food is already cool, or is handed over and eaten within minutes.
A burger wrapped at the grill and eaten in the car is a middle case. The sheet sees heat for five minutes, not an hour. Most burger bars still pick greaseproof because the ink and the sheet stay exactly as printed, and a printed burger wrap for the grill folds tighter than a coated sheet.
Both sheets stop oil, but they do it in different ways. Greaseproof slows it with density; a heavy portion of chips will show a faint shadow at the fold after twenty minutes, and that is normal. Wax blocks oil with the coating, so a cold sausage roll on wax paper leaves no mark at all.
The catch is temperature again. Hot fat is thinner and moves faster, and it softens a wax coating from the inside. Fried chicken straight from the fryer on paraffin paper gives you a greasy, limp sheet in minutes.
For hot fried food, the weight of the greaseproof does the work. Go up a grade for chicken and pasties and down a grade for a lighter sandwich; the guide to which gsm suits fried food covers the grades.
Pasties are the odd one out. The pastry holds most of the fat inside, so a 40 gsm greaseproof sheet copes with a warm pasty for an hour, and a cold pasty is happy on either paper.
Yes, for a cold sandwich in a chilled cabinet. The coating slows moisture leaving the bread, so a wrapped bloomer is still soft at lunchtime. Greaseproof lets water vapour pass more freely, which is exactly what hot food wants: steam gets out and chips do not go limp.
Deli counters use this both ways. Cheese is cut and wrapped in wax paper so the wedge does not dry out, and the sheet does not grip a soft rind. A hot pork bap goes in greaseproof so the crackling stays crisp on the walk back to the office.
If your menu is mostly cold and chilled, wax paper earns its place. If it is mostly hot, greaseproof does. Many shops run both, and the wax and paraffin paper range covers the cold side.
Bakers often ask for greaseproof when they mean parchment, and the other way round. Parchment is silicone-coated so a bake releases. Greaseproof is uncoated and grease-resistant. A Victoria sponge lifts cleanly off parchment; it may grip plain greaseproof at the edges.
For a liner that goes in the oven or an air fryer basket, ask for an oven-safe greaseproof grade and say what you cook on it. Roast potatoes, chips and wings are fine. A sticky sugar glaze or a cheese-topped bake wants a release layer, so tell us and we will say so on the quote.
The same logic applies to a loaf tin. Bread with a dry crust lifts out of a greaseproof liner. A malt loaf or a treacle-heavy tea bread is a stickier customer, and a pre-cut tray and air fryer liner is only the right pick when the food lets go.
The table below puts the usual trade figures next to each other. Treat them as typical rather than promises, because the base sheet, the weight and the coating all move the numbers a little.
| Property | Greaseproof | Dry wax | Paraffin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coating | None | Wax pressed into the fibre | Wax layer on the surface |
| Heat ceiling | About 200°C on oven-safe grades | About 80°C | About 60°C |
| Grease hold-out when hot | Good, improves with weight | Fails as the wax softens | Fails quickly |
| Moisture barrier | Low, lets steam out | Moderate | Good |
| Feel | Dry, slightly crisp | Soft sheen | Slippery, visible shine |
| Ink dries into the fibre | Printed before coating | Printed before coating | |
| Typical weight | 30 to 60 gsm | 30 to 45 gsm plus wax | 30 to 40 gsm plus wax |
Notice that the hot column is almost entirely greaseproof. Moisture is the only line where a coated sheet wins outright.
Here is how the choice tends to fall across the trades that order from us most. Your menu may break the pattern, and that is fine; the point is to see the logic.
If a counter sells both hot pasties and cold pork pies, the honest answer is two papers, and a single quote can cover both.
On greaseproof the ink goes into the fibre and dries matte. On wax paper the sheet is printed before the coating goes on, so the colour sits under a thin sheen. Both take food-safe soy and water-based inks in one to four colours with Pantone solid-coated matches.
Kraft greaseproof shifts colour: a bright blue goes a shade darker and a pale yellow all but disappears. White stock shows the Pantone as you expect. Wax paper is nearly always white or natural, so the colour question is simpler there.
One honest note on wax: a heavy flood of ink can get in the way of the coating. A small repeated logo prints better than a solid block. The page on how printed greaseproof is made goes into inks and artwork in detail.
Work through these in order and the choice usually makes itself.
Answer those five and the quote form almost fills itself. Send your sizes and the item each sheet will wrap through the greaseproof paper quote form and you will have a written price within one working day.
Custom Printed Greaseproof SheetsFrom £0.25 a sheet250 × 375 mm · 300 × 300 mm · 350 × 450 mmLogo wraps for hot foodSee this paper
Custom Wax PaperFrom £0.25 a sheet150 × 270 mm · 250 × 270 mm · 300 × 300 mmDeli, sandwich and bakery sheetsSee this paper
Printed Paraffin PaperFrom £0.25 a sheet200 × 200 mm · 250 × 270 mm · 300 × 300 mmBranded cheese, fudge and sweet wrapsSee this paper
Tray and Air Fryer LinersFrom £0.25 a liner160 × 160 mm · 200 × 200 mm · 265 × 325 mmBaking trays, gastronorm pans and air fryersSee this paperThe questions UK buyers ask before a first order. Type a word to filter the cards, or open one for the full answer.
Yes, within a few minutes. Paraffin softens at about 60°C (typical) and a lamp runs well above that, so the coating melts into the chips.
Yes, within a few minutes. Paraffin softens at about 60°C (typical) and a lamp runs well above that, so the coating melts into the chips. Use an oven-safe greaseproof grade for anything held hot on the pass.
No. Parchment has a silicone release layer so a sponge lifts out; greaseproof is uncoated and may grip a sticky bake.
No. Parchment has a silicone release layer so a sponge lifts out; greaseproof is uncoated and may grip a sticky bake. For bread, roast vegetables and chips, greaseproof is fine in the oven.
Greaseproof. A hot bap gives off steam, and greaseproof lets that steam escape instead of trapping it against the bread.
Greaseproof. A hot bap gives off steam, and greaseproof lets that steam escape instead of trapping it against the bread. Wax paper would hold the moisture in and soften the roll.
Greaseproof is a poor moisture barrier by design. The wax coating slows water leaving the cheese, which is why delis cut and wrap in wax paper for the cabinet.
Oven-safe greaseproof grades are rated to about 200°C (typical), so yes, as long as the liner sits flat under the food and is not loose in the airflow.
Oven-safe greaseproof grades are rated to about 200°C (typical), so yes, as long as the liner sits flat under the food and is not loose in the airflow. Never use a wax sheet in an air fryer.
Hot chicken on wax paper softens the coating and soaks through faster.
Hot chicken on wax paper softens the coating and soaks through faster. On greaseproof the fat moves slowly through the dense fibre, and a 45 gsm sheet will show only a faint shadow at the fold.
Usually yes if it is a solid Pantone design. Expect the colour to look a touch more matte on greaseproof, and on kraft stock expect it to darken.
Usually yes if it is a solid Pantone design. Expect the colour to look a touch more matte on greaseproof, and on kraft stock expect it to darken. A fresh proof shows you the difference before anything prints.
Not straight from the oven. Let it cool below about 60°C first or the paraffin goes soft against the pastry.
Not straight from the oven. Let it cool below about 60°C first or the paraffin goes soft against the pastry. If sausage rolls leave your counter warm, wrap them in greaseproof instead.
Both are quoted the same way, by size, weight, colours and quantity, and the difference is usually small.
Both are quoted the same way, by size, weight, colours and quantity, and the difference is usually small. Ask for both on one quote and compare them side by side before you decide.
Yes. We proof the same artwork on each stock, and both sheets are made to order with a minimum of 1,000 sheets per paper.
Yes. We proof the same artwork on each stock, and both sheets are made to order with a minimum of 1,000 sheets per paper. Order them together and they arrive in one delivery.
No match. Ask us on WhatsApp or call +44 7578 382054.
Name the paper, a size and a quantity, and attach a logo if you have one. A written price and a free design proof come back within one working day. Rather talk it through? Call +44 7578 382054 or message us on WhatsApp.