By the team at The Greaseproof Paper ·
A printed chip wrap looks simple on the counter, but between your logo file and the finished carton there are plates, ink mixes, a proof and a press run. This guide walks through each stage so you know what to send, what to expect and where a design can go wrong.
Greaseproof is printed with food-safe soy and water-based inks. They soak into the top of the fibre rather than drying as a skin on the surface, which is why a printed sheet folds around a hot bap without the colour cracking at the crease.
Each colour on the sheet is one ink, mixed to a Pantone solid-coated reference. There is no four-colour process build, so a deep green stays the same green from the first sheet of the run to the last. Runs go from one colour up to four.
Once dry the ink has almost no smell. Open a fresh carton and you get paper, not solvent, which matters when the sheet is pressed against a warm bun or a slice of cake for an hour.
The route from artwork to carton is the same for a chip shop and a cake maker. Only the sizes and colours change.
Nothing prints before you have signed off a proof. If the sheet that arrives does not match the approved proof, report it within 10 days with photos and it is reprinted or refunded.
Greaseproof comes as a bright white stock or a natural brown kraft. On white, the ink shows the Pantone you picked. On kraft, every colour is laid over brown, and the brown shows through.
The effect is strongest on light and bright colours. A pale yellow sinks almost out of sight, a sky blue turns teal, a bright red goes brick. Black, dark navy, deep green and burgundy sit comfortably on kraft and look like they were meant to be there.
Our opinion, for what it is worth: print one colour on kraft. Two colours on kraft tend to look muddy unless both are dark. Save the three and four colour designs for white stock, where each colour has room to be itself.
Pantone solid-coated references are specified on a smooth white coated card. Greaseproof is neither smooth nor coated, and kraft is not white, so some shift is unavoidable. On white greaseproof the match is close; on kraft the stock does the shifting.
There is also a small gain. The paper absorbs a little ink, so each stroke spreads by a fraction and a fine line ends up a touch heavier than on screen. Designers call it dot gain, and it is why hairline rules and tiny text are best avoided.
If an exact brand colour matters, say so on the quote. We can advise which Pantone on kraft lands closest to the colour you want on white, and the proof lets you compare the two stocks before anything is plated. The printed greaseproof sheets on kraft or white page shows both stocks.
A single logo is placed once, usually centred or set to one corner so it shows after the wrap is folded. It suits a liner or a tray sheet where the whole face is on view. On a wrap, a single logo can end up on the underside and never be seen.
A step-and-repeat pattern tiles the logo across the sheet at a set spacing. However the wrap is folded, part of the pattern faces up. It also hides small print flaws, disguises show-through on light stock and makes the counter look busy in a good way.
Repeats are measured in millimetres between logos. Around 60 to 90 mm suits a 300 × 300 mm burger wrap; a 450 × 700 mm chip shop sheet can take a larger logo on a wider spacing. For a fancier counter a textured greaseproof stock with print gives the pattern a bit of grain behind it.
Most proof rounds are spent fixing files that were never built for a press. These settings save a round or two.
If you only have a logo as a flat image, say so. A simple mark can often be redrawn as a vector for you before the proof, and that is covered by the free design proof.
Every extra colour means another plate, another ink mix and another pass on the press, and the quote reflects that. The table shows what each count buys you on the counter.
| Colours | What it looks like | Best stock | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| One | A single solid mark, strong and clear | Kraft or white | Chip shop sheets, burger wraps, bakery liners |
| Two | Logo plus an accent line or background tint | White, or two dark inks on kraft | Deli counters, cafés, sandwich shops |
| Three | Full brand palette with room for a tagline | White | Street food brands, burger chains with a set palette |
| Four | Everything the brand guide allows | White | Promotional wraps, seasonal runs, Valentine's and Easter specials |
Most of the sheets leaving us are one colour on kraft or two colours on white. Three and four colour runs look great, but they are the exception, not the rule.
The proof is a PDF of the sheet at scale, with the logo placed, the repeat spacing shown and the stock colour simulated behind it. It also lists the Pantone references, the sheet size in millimetres and the gsm, so everything you are approving is on one page.
Check three things in particular: that the logo is the right way up relative to how you fold, that the repeat does not cut a logo awkwardly at the edge, and that the Pantone numbers match your brand guide. Zoom to 100% and look at the thinnest line.
Edits are unlimited and no plate is made until you approve. If you are in a hurry, the fastest route through is to send a clean vector file first time, because the 4 to 6 working day production clock only starts at approval.
A few errors come up on nearly every first order, and all of them are easy to avoid once you know to look.
The first is a logo built for a website: full colour, gradients, a glow effect, white text on a dark rectangle. On paper that becomes a four-colour job with a solid block of ink that fights the fold. Ask your designer for the one-colour version of the mark; most brands have one.
The second is a logo too small for the sheet. At 40 mm wide a mark is a stamp, not a brand. On a 300 mm wrap a logo of 70 to 90 mm reads from across the counter.
The third is approving the proof on a phone screen. The simulated kraft looks lighter on a bright screen than the real stock does under shop lights. Open it on a laptop, or ask for a stock sample with the quote. The Design Your Greaseproof Paper studio lets you place the logo on a sheet and see the spacing before you send anything.
Once the proof is approved the job is plated, printed, cut and packed in 4 to 6 working days. Cartons are tracked to any UK mainland address in 2 to 3 working days at no charge, so a first order is usually on the shelf inside a fortnight.
The minimum run is 1,000 sheets or one roll, which is a sensible first order for a single counter. Reorders use the same plates, so there is no proof round to repeat unless you change the artwork.
Payment is by invoice after the quote and the proof are both approved. The exact price depends on size, weight, stock, colours and quantity, and it comes back in writing within one working day of your request for a printed paper quote.
Custom Printed Greaseproof SheetsFrom £0.25 a sheet250 × 375 mm · 300 × 300 mm · 350 × 450 mmLogo wraps for hot foodSee this paper
Textured Greaseproof PaperFrom £0.25 a sheet200 × 200 mm · 300 × 300 mm · 300 × 400 mmNatural-look wraps and linersSee this paper
Printed Paraffin PaperFrom £0.25 a sheet200 × 200 mm · 250 × 270 mm · 300 × 300 mmBranded cheese, fudge and sweet wrapsSee this paper
Burger Wrap PaperFrom £0.25 a sheet250 × 250 mm · 300 × 300 mm · 350 × 350 mmBurgers, chicken burgers and wrapsSee this paperThe questions UK buyers ask before a first order. Type a word to filter the cards, or open one for the full answer.
Greaseproof absorbs a little ink, so every line spreads a fraction as it dries.
Greaseproof absorbs a little ink, so every line spreads a fraction as it dries. Thin the strokes slightly in the file, keep lines above 0.25 mm, or accept the slightly heavier look.
No. Greaseproof is printed in solid spot colours, one plate per ink, up to four.
No. Greaseproof is printed in solid spot colours, one plate per ink, up to four. A photograph needs process printing on a coated stock, which is not what food paper is.
A vector PDF, AI, EPS or SVG with text converted to outlines and colours set as Pantone spots.
A vector PDF, AI, EPS or SVG with text converted to outlines and colours set as Pantone spots. If you only have a flat image, send it anyway and ask whether it can be redrawn.
No. White is the paper itself, not an ink, so on kraft any white element shows as brown.
No. White is the paper itself, not an ink, so on kraft any white element shows as brown. Use a dark ink on kraft or move the design to white stock.
Close, because the stock is bright and the ink is mixed to the solid-coated reference.
Close, because the stock is bright and the ink is mixed to the solid-coated reference. Expect a slightly more matte look than on coated card, since the ink sinks into the fibre.
Around 60 to 90 mm between logos works well on a 300 × 300 mm sheet.
Around 60 to 90 mm between logos works well on a 300 × 300 mm sheet. Closer looks busy and wastes ink; wider leaves blank patches that show after folding.
Printing is on one side as standard. Because the sheet is thin, a second side rarely adds anything a repeat pattern does not already give you, and it adds a pass to the quote.
Not once it is dry. The soy and water-based inks lose their smell in curing, so a fresh carton smells of paper, which is what you want against a warm bun.
As many as you need. Edits are free and unlimited, and nothing is plated until you approve.
As many as you need. Edits are free and unlimited, and nothing is plated until you approve. Most orders are approved on the first or second proof when a clean vector file is sent.
Yes. A reorder with the same artwork, stock and size uses the existing plates and skips the proof round.
Yes. A reorder with the same artwork, stock and size uses the existing plates and skips the proof round. If anything in the design changes, a fresh proof is sent for approval.
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.