The bag size behind every Bay Area order. Measured for hills, stairs and fog.

Why size matters more on Bay Area streets

A bag in a flat suburb only has to get from the counter to a car seat. A bag in San Francisco might go up the Filbert Street steps, down into a BART station, across a platform and up again in Berkeley. Every set of stairs is a chance for a weak bag to tear or tip.

That's why we care about the boring numbers. The bag is 12″ wide, 7″ deep when open and 14″ tall. That shape keeps the weight low and centered, so the bag swings less when someone takes the stairs two at a time.

If you run printed kraft takeout bags in the Bay Area for your restaurant, these are the specs your customers feel in their hands, even if they never read them.

The gusset is where your containers live

The gusset is the folded side of the bag. When you pop the bag open, each side panel unfolds 3.5″, and together they make the 7″ depth. The bottom folds out flat and square.

A flat bottom matters for family style food. A quart of wonton soup, a tray of chow mein, two boxes of rice and a container of garlic noodles all need to sit level. On a bag with a pinched bottom they lean into the fold and start to leak. On ours they stand on a real floor.

Level containers don't leak. A square bottom is the cheapest spill insurance you can buy.

22 lb for the big family order

Bay Area families order big. A Saturday banquet from a Cantonese kitchen in the Richmond District, a party tray of burritos from the Mission, a whole Peking duck with buns and sides. That food is heavy, and it often all goes home in one trip.

Our bag carries 22 lb by the handles. The flat paper handles are glued and taped inside the top panel, so the pull spreads across the whole width instead of one weak spot. Pack the heaviest boxes flat on the bottom and the bag carries them up the hill without drama.

Bike couriers and the swing test

A lot of downtown and SoMa orders ride on a bike or scooter. A courier hangs the bag off the handlebars or stacks it in an insulated pack. Either way, the bag gets bumped, tilted and swung.

A 110 GSM sheet is stiff enough to hold its shape when it's squeezed in a delivery pack, so the top stays closed and the food stays upright. Fold the top over once and seal it with one of the 100 food tamper-evident stickers that come free in every box. The courier gets a neat package and your customer gets proof nobody opened it.

Fog, mist and damp doorsteps

Karl the Fog rolls in most summer evenings in the Sunset and the Richmond. Paper doesn't love wet air, but a thick sheet holds up far better than a thin one. Our 110 GSM paper keeps its stiffness through a foggy walk from the curb to the door.

A few habits help too: wipe the bottoms of soup containers before they go in, keep ice drinks in a separate carrier, and don't leave bags on a wet counter. The paper stays dry and the bottom stays strong.

Where your logo goes

We print your logo on the front of the bag, with up to 12 × 14 in to work with. That's a lot of room. A bold name and one simple mark reads from across a BART car or a crowded sidewalk on Valencia.

Pick brown kraft and bright white. Dark logos look rich on brown. Light or bright logos pop on white. The setup fee is $0, where other printers charge $150+. Want to see the cost per order? Read what printed bags cost, or start small with a low minimum order.