Needless to say, I was left with 96 paper bags and nothing to do with them.
I wondered if I could print on the lunch bag. Turns out, you can!!! I will share how I did it here for my fun loving friends ;)If you have your own little business, this is a great, cheap (.02 cents apiece!) and easy way to make your mark. If you want to make custom birthday party bags, memorable lunch bags, etc. this is a really fun way to do it. You can also create custom wrapping paper for smallish gifts. So rad (trying to use other adjectives than great)!
I used Microsoft publisher to make mine.
Here are the steps.
1. Create a new document
2. Under page setup, select "Custom"
3. Under measurements, put in 5.2 Wide by 10.2 Tall
4. You'll have blank page to work with.
5. Put a text box or image on the document-whatever you want!
6. Rotate the items so that they appear upside down. I'm assuming you know how to do this. If not, let me know!
7. Print-The printer doesn't automatically know that to print your document 5.2 x 10.2 so the first time, you have to set up a custom paper size.
- When you click "Print" there will be a box that says, "Properties". Click it.
- Click the "Features" tab
- Click on "Paper Type"
- Click on "Custom" and enter the dimensions (5.2x10.2). Rename the custom print, "paper bag". Hit OK and you're all set. Next time, you'll just have to go to paper size and select "paper bag".
- Place the paper bag with the flap on top going into the printer first (see my uber-professional pic below) and hit PRINT!
 |
| Cute alone... |
|
| A bow adds mucho cuteness. |
I'm going to try this....or should I say I'm going to ask my husband to try this. It is out of my league ;) especially the "upside down" part.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
That is so great, I think I am going to try it for Welcome Bags for my kindergarten students!
ReplyDeleteso cute!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! My daughter uses a lunch bag on most school days, but on field trips they are supposed to use brown paper bags. This way I can put a note right on the bag! Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteLove this. Would be great for gift bags for kids parties or showers. You are so creative.
ReplyDeleteI tried this and I found the bag got stuck in the printer half the time. Do you have a brand or specific type of bag that works better? (maybe thinner?) Thanks...
ReplyDeleteHi Nellene,
ReplyDeleteAre you putting into the printer the correct way? (flap facing printer and up).
If your printer is touchy, you can try taping the flap the other way just to see. The bags I purchased are from target...
Hope that helps?!?
No way! I never thought of printing on a bag! What a dang cute idea.
ReplyDeleteCute idea....did you use a ink jet or a lazer printer or do you think it would matter?
ReplyDeleteFantastic idea. I can't believe I didn't think of it! Thanks for sharing. I wonder what else I can print on...?
ReplyDeleteI can't figure out how to get my text rotated. I was able to rotate the picture, but just not quite sure how to do the text. Any suggestions? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAlso, my printer won't' print it. It keeps getting jammed or doesn't detect the paper bag. Any suggestions for this also?
ReplyDeleteLeighv,
ReplyDeleteWhat program are you using? In publisher, when you click the text box a green dot appears on top and that's where I rotate the box.
Smooth out the edge of the paper bag that's going in as flat as possible before inserting into printer. I know a few others have also had an issue with this.
how do u do this with microssoft word?
ReplyDeleteCould you tell me what font you used for this?? Such a cute idea!!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah!
ReplyDeleteI used "pea sarah quick" downloaded from www.kevinandamanda.com.
They have a TON of amazing free fonts.
Thank you so much!! :)
ReplyDeleteabsolutely love this! I linked to your post here: http://dollarstoremom.com/2011/11/pinterest-picks-17/
ReplyDeletePrinting the bag design can be convenient in some ways. It's easy because all you need is a computer, a printer and the design software.
ReplyDeletewholesale designer handbags
So put the bag in flap side up and flap facing the printer? I am using Microsoft Word. How do I rotate a text box using that program?
ReplyDeleteHi, I just wanted to write a little tip-I just did this on 100 paper bags after finding this idea here, and was getting really frustrated with the amount of them that were getting jammed in my printer, so i took my iron and ironed the folds really flat for about 2 seconds each on a medium heat, and they all went through perfectly.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
I ironed mine and it still was jamming. I gave up. Bummer.
ReplyDeleteI used a small piece of tape at the top and didn't have any problems with jamming.
ReplyDeleteWhat version of Publisher do you have? I can't pull up the same windows.
ReplyDeleteOMG! Awesome! I found red lunch bags at Target and printed on them for a birthday party goody bag! It took some time - printing one at a time - but it worked out great!
ReplyDeleteI tried this and it has destroyed my printer.... So sad as I was excited to use if for my son's party.
ReplyDeleteI only used on bag and it destroyed the bag and the printer- I put it in as described. Be Careful!
I'm very sorry to hear that. :(
DeleteI guess a lot of it depends on the printer and thickness of bags and I can only use my experience here on the blog...
Sorry if I missed this response somewhere in the comment string...but how do you rotate text in a text box using Word?
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I know you can rotate in Word is WordArt.
DeleteIf you create a text box with your wording in Microsoft Word, you can right-click and save the text box as a picture. Save as a picture and then insert it in and it will be rotate-able. Tada!! One more step, but easy.
DeleteWhy does the text come out fuzzy when you save it as a picture?
DeleteOh my golly, you are so creative! Thanks for sharing--love, love the idea and it worked for me!!!! Just had some lining up to do, but it will be such a fun touch to my son's Survivor Kindergarten Party for the end of year. Many, many thanks...I will use this over and over!!!
ReplyDeleteRebecca
Thank you for sharing this!! I'm giving a baby shower this summer, and I'm so going to use this idea!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is brilliant! I print out labels that I then adhere to my bags at festivals, it's a lot of work and something else to carry to the shows in a truck that's already full of tent, shelves, pots...Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteLove this! Hope I can master creating sack of my own!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this idea! It will help me out tremendously this summer at my very first craft fair as a vendor!
ReplyDeleteI only have Word so was not able to rotate, but was able to rotate using my printer, Canon MP620. On the properties page rotate image 180 degrees. It works!!! :)
ReplyDeleteYou are a genius! I love this!!! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this! I printed a bunch of bags to use at the art festival I will be selling at this weekend!!! Great idea!
ReplyDeleteWow! Thank you so much! I did this using Pages on my Mac. Every year I decorate luminary bags for my local Relay for Life (a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society) to honor the people in my life who've been affected by cancer. I think printing directly on the bags will look awesome! Plus I don't have to worry about anything falling off (glue and tape fail sometimes)!
ReplyDeleteThese are created in a simplest way. Do you have plans on selling these cute bags online? This is an awesome idea..: -)
ReplyDeletebespoke packaging
I love this tutorial and I am linking you up tomorrow to a post on some bags I made following your directions, you saved me tons of time, Thank you!
ReplyDeleteCarol
Follow the instructions for your printer - mine feeds differently
ReplyDelete100-6=94
ReplyDelete:-D
Simply awesome! Love it, and thanks so much for sharing this...the possibilities...
ReplyDeleteI love your tutorial but i've tried and it jammed my printer. i guess to print on a brown paper bag is not suitable for deskjet printer. guys, pls make sure u use suitable printer because the paper bag is thicker!
ReplyDeleteSaw the link to your tute over at MOMentity.com and had to check it out. Brilliant girl -- brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThis worked perfectly and so easy. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIs anyone else having trouble downloading the fonts on Kevin & Amanda's website?
ReplyDeleteSome help please.
Kathleen
Just printed these up with spider/pumpkin/ghost silhouettes. Add some stones or sand and a battery candle = cute lanterns for Halloween!
ReplyDeleteLove this! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete