About the paper bags: history, inventors and today’s forms.
The large earth-colored Kraft paper bags have a long, fascinating history. Earth-colored paper bags have become an integral part of our everyday lives. We use them to transport staple foods home, carry our retail purchases, and pack snacks for our children. Retailers use them as a refresher for bundling their labeled items. Imaginative kids even wear them as disguises for Halloween. It’s easy to forget that someone had the need to develop them a long time ago!
Much like the best innovations, paper packaging filled a need that people didn’t even know they had. Before paper packaging, boxes, bowls, and other containers were the primary storage option in every home and business. So you can imagine that making a beneficial, dispensable tray was progressive at the time. Entrepreneurs could stock stacks of such bags in their stores, and their low cost and convenience made them widely available to customers of modest means.
So how did this seemingly standard creation come to take a place in the heart (and hands) of the common shopper? A brief review of the experience and development of the paper bags provides some insight.
The innovators who gave us the paper sack
For a long time, sacks made of jute, cloth, and burlap were the main strategy for storing and transporting goods throughout the British Empire. The main advantage of these materials was their strong, solid nature, but they proved tedious and costly to manufacture.
History About Paper Bags
Since its introduction in the 1800s, paper packaging has undergone several transformations thanks to some astute trendsetters. In 1852, Francis Wolle developed the most important machine for efficiently producing paper packaging. Although Wolle’s paper sack more closely resembled a giant envelope than the supermarket backbone.
The next significant step in the evolution of paper packaging came from Margaret Knight. A prolific innovator who was working for the Columbia Paper Bag Company at the time. There she realized that square lined bags would be more down-to-earth and effective to use instead of the Wolles envelope configuration. She built her paper bag-making machine in a modern workshop, preparing for widespread business use of paper packaging. Her machine proved so useful that she started her own business, the Eastern Paper Bag Company. Today, when you take groceries home from the store or buy another item of clothing from the retail chain, you’re partaking in the products of Knight’s work.
Know More About Paper Bags
However, these square-lined packages lacked an exemplary part of the paper bag we know and love today: the folded sides. We can thank Charles Stillwell for this addition, which made the packs foldable.
But there is more! In 1918, two St. Paul merchants named Lydia and Walter Deubener had an idea for another improvement on the first plan. By poking holes in the sides of the paper sacks and attaching a string that served as a handle and base, the Deubeners found that customers could carry nearly 20 pounds of food in each sack. At the time, when money and transportation of staples were supplanting home transportation, this represented urgent progress.
What does it depend on how much a paper bag can hold?
When choosing the ideal paper bag, of course, it is not only the material that matters. Especially if you want to transport really big or bulky things, you need to take into account some features when choosing the item that best suits your needs:
Paper basis weight
Paper basis weight, also called grammage, is a measurement of the thickness of the paper in pounds, which is indicated by 500 giants. The higher the number, the denser and heavier the paper.
Gusset
A gusset is a reinforced area where material has been added to strengthen the bag. Paper bags with gussets can hold heavier items and are more resistant to breakage.
Square bottom versus envelope style
The Wolles sack with envelope, while developed later, is still exceptionally helpful for certain businesses and is generally used in our postal system. In the event you need to mail larger items, the Knights square paper sack might be a better solution for your needs.
A style for every need: the many types of paper sacks.
The concept of the paper sack has made amazing strides since Francis Wool, evolving to meet buyers’ needs for a smoother, easier-to-use item. Here is an example of the wide range of paper sacks available for business or personal use:
Squeeze Bottom Design Bags
Paper bags with squeeze bottoms remain open similar to S.O.S. bags, but their bottoms feature a sharp seal like an envelope. These bags are generally used for prepared goods and other food products.
Product Bags
Product bags are generally paper bags with a squeeze bottom and can be used for everything from craft supplies to prepared goods and candy. Product bags are available in regular kraft paper, faded white, and a variety of shades.
Euro Tote
The Euro Tote (or its cousin, the wine backpack) features imprinted designs, glittery embellishments, drawstring handles, and lined interiors to add complexity.
Bread Kitchen Bags
Like squeeze bottom bags, bread kitchen bags are great for food. They protect the surface and flavor of heated goods, like treats and pretzels, for longer periods of time.
Party bag
Praise a birthday or extraordinary event with an appealing, fun party bag filled with candy, coupons or small toys.
Mailing Bags
Francis Woolen’s unique envelope-like bag is still used today to secure mailed reports or other small items.
Reused bags
For the ecologically disapproved, the Kraft sack is an eye-catching decision. These sacks are for the most part made from 40% to 100% recycled materials.
The paper sack continues to gain ground
Since its inception, the paper bag has evolved from one pioneer to the next, continually improving to simplify its use and make it more cost-effective to deliver. For some savvy retailers, the paper package is not only an offering to customers, but has also become an exceptionally eye-catching (and extremely rewarding) promotional tool.
Bloomingdales, for example, breathed new life into the specimen by calling it the Big Brown Bag. Marvin S. Traub’s curve on the Kraft bag was simple, appealing and remarkable, and his creation made the retail chain the behemoth it is today. Meanwhile, Apple opted for a sleek, white adaptation with the company’s famous logo (the plan was so remarkable that it earned its own patent).
Six things you need to consider when choosing a paper bag
1. Is the paper packaging food safe?
At a time when wellness and cleanliness are more important than ever, make sure all your packaging is food safe, including the packaging used for storing or shipping food.
Our paper bags are a clean and food-safe choice for a variety of needs and meet excellent guidelines.
2. Does the bag have the right strength profile for your needs?
With more strength than you can handle, paper packaging is regularly more grounded than its plastic counterparts when made from high-quality, durable raw material. Find out the strength profile of the packaging you’re considering, or even test it yourself!
Sufficient for a large store of staples to transport food for the whole family, our paper packaging provides unmatched strength for a range of needs We use high quality, ethically sourced kraft paper to make our bags, with our largest package capable of carrying 18 kg.
3. Are paper bags refrigerator friendly?
Not all paper bags are created equal and the material is generally not suitable for cold or humid conditions. If you want to use paper bags for refrigerated goods, you should make sure that they are not short for your customers.
4. Can your packaging keep the food upright?
The porosity of a paper package allows steam to escape, which is not the case with a plastic bag. This is the reason why French fries or singed food transported in a plastic bag generally becomes spongy.
In a plastic bag, the water vapor cannot escape as well and therefore collects in the packaging. This traps water atoms that soften the surface of the fries or burnt food, and because water retains heat energy, the food also cools faster.
Paper packaging increases the trustworthiness of food, especially when it needs to be transported or removed.
Your small activities make a huge difference – opt-out of disposable plastic bags and opt for a handy paper option
5. Do you realize who makes your paper bag?
As a manufacturer, at Bagitan Packaging, invest heavily in providing high-quality paper packaging for the FMCG and foodservice industries. We produce top-notch items, work with productivity, and provide you with the quality you can rely on.
