The first batch of branded bags is a project: samples, artwork checks, colour discussions. The fifth batch should be routine. Yet many brands find that a repeat order arrives slightly different: a shade darker, a centimetre taller, handles in a different tone. Usually nobody made a mistake on purpose; the details were simply never written down in one place. A locked bag specification is the cure. It turns your approved bag into a reference that every future run is measured against, and it makes repeat orders faster and calmer for everyone involved.
Why repeat runs drift
Differences between batches rarely come from one big error. They come from small gaps:
- The order is placed by a different person. A new buyer describes the bag from memory or from an old invoice that lists only the size.
- Colours were approved verbally. “Like last time” is not a colour reference.
- The artwork was edited. Someone updated a website address or moved the logo, and the change was not flagged.
- Natural materials vary. Kraft paper is a natural product, and its shade can vary slightly between paper batches. Printed colours sit on that base.
The aim is not to remove every possible variation, which is impossible with paper, but to agree in advance what counts as “the same bag”.
The approved bag specification sheet
The heart of the system is a single document that both you and the manufacturer hold. It should include:
- Construction: block bottom, V-bottom, with or without window, folded top.
- Dimensions: width × depth × height in millimetres.
- Paper: type (natural or bleached kraft) and density.
- Handles: twisted or flat paper, natural or dyed, and the colour.
- Print: number of colours, Pantone reference for each, print sides, printing inside if any.
- Artwork file: file name and version number of the approved artwork.
- Packing: bags per box, labelling of boxes.
- Agreed tolerances for dimensions and colour (see below).
Give the sheet a version number and a date. When anything changes, issue a new version instead of editing the old one, so it is always clear which bag is being ordered.
Pantone references: the language of consistent colour
About 95% of our orders are printed in Pantone, and consistency between runs is one of the main reasons. Each Pantone colour is mixed to a numbered recipe, so the reference stays the same however many times the bag is reprinted. CMYK builds colours from four inks and is less stable on absorbent bag paper.
Write the Pantone number for every colour in the specification and in the artwork file. Note the paper as well: the same reference looks different on natural and on bleached kraft, so the colour is approved for one specific paper.
Keep a reference sample
A document describes the bag; a physical sample shows it. From the first approved run, set aside a few bags as the reference:
- Label them with the date, the order number and the specification version.
- Store them flat, in a closed box, away from light and heat, so the colours do not fade.
- Keep one set yourself and ask the manufacturer to keep one as well.
When a new batch arrives, compare it with the reference sample in daylight, not with a photo on a screen. Screens show colour very differently from paper.
Agree tolerances in advance
Paper bags are made from a natural material, so small deviations are normal. The question is which ones are acceptable. Agree with your manager, before the first run, what is acceptable for:
- Dimensions: a small deviation in width, depth and height.
- Colour: how close the print must be to the reference sample on the same paper.
- Print position: how far the logo may move from its place on the panel.
- Quantity: the allowed deviation between ordered and delivered numbers.
Written tolerances turn a subjective conversation (“it looks a bit different”) into a simple check.
How quality control supports consistency
On our side, the quality control department checks paper density, bag strength, dimensions and print quality while the order is being produced. Incoming paper is checked against the supplier’s certificates before it goes into production. Our quality management system is certified to ISO 9001; the documents are on the certificates page.
Your specification sheet and reference sample give these checks a clear target. The more precisely the bag is defined, the easier it is to confirm that each batch matches it.
Why repeat orders become faster
Once the specification is locked, a repeat order is mostly a matter of quantity and delivery date. If the artwork has not changed, the existing plates and approved colours can be used again, so the order skips the artwork check and colour discussions that take time on a new project. For planning purposes, a new order takes about three to four weeks from artwork approval; your manager will confirm the timing for each repeat order.
To keep that speed, tell us about any change, however small, before the order is placed. A new web address on the back panel is a new artwork version and may need a new plate.
A routine for every repeat order
- Quote the specification version number in the order.
- Confirm that the artwork file has not changed, or send the new version clearly marked.
- State quantity, delivery date and address.
- On delivery, open a few boxes and compare bags with the reference sample.
- Record any comments and add them to the next specification version.
The general ordering process is described in our step-by-step guide to ordering custom packaging.
The bottom line
Identical print runs do not happen by chance. They come from a written bag specification with a version number, Pantone references for every colour, a labelled reference sample kept by both sides, and tolerances agreed before production. With these in place, repeat orders become routine, quicker to confirm and easy to check on delivery.
Want to lock in the specification of your current bag? Get in touch with our team, and we will put the details of your order into one agreed document.