Your product's sittin’ pretty, vacuum-sealed in a bag shinier than a disco ball at a retirement party, but the outside? Bare. A ghost of branding. You wanna scream your name from the rooftops — or at least from the convenience store shelf. So here’s the question: how do you get that dazzling design burned right into the belly of a custom Mylar pouch?

Three roads, all crooked, each with its own potholes and perks:
Digital, Flexographic, and Gravure.

Let’s shoot the breeze about each.

✦ Digital Printing

• Zero plates, no setup headaches — you hand them a file, they hit print. Boom.

• If you’ve got twenty flavors and only fifty bags of each? This baby won’t slap you with fees.

• Prints sharp enough to shave with, colors so vivid they punch ya in the teeth.

• Ideal for when you change designs more than your ex changed partners.

• Downsides? Cost per unit ain’t your friend if you're pushing thousands out the door.

It’s fast. Dirty fast. You blink and the job’s done — like a street artist tagging a wall and vanishing into the alleys.

✦ Flexographic Printing

• This one's old-school — a press that rolls ink like it’s rolling dough at a back-alley bakery.

• Once you got plates made, it's all speed and rhythm, baby.

• Makes sense if you’re pumping out bulk — think snack brand with a factory hum.

• Inks can be wild — metallic, matte, maybe even ones that smell like grandma’s basement (if you're into that).

• Setup ain’t cheap. You tweak your design, and boom — you need new plates. Again. And again.

Think of Flexo as your blue-collar buddy with calloused palms and a “let’s get this done” attitude. It ain’t elegant, but it shows up, does the job, and whistles while it works.

✦ Gravure Printing

• Insane detail. Like, “every leaf on a tree” kind of detail.

• Engraved cylinders, fancy inks — this one’s sipping champagne while the others drink from the hose.

• If you’re dropping a million bags, gravure’s your beast. Once it's rolling, it don’t stop.

• Cost upfront is a kick in the gut. Cylinders ain’t cheap, and neither’s your sanity when something goes wrong.

• Want your bags to whisper luxury into the hands of your customer? This’ll do it.

I once met a printer in Jakarta who swore gravure was like tattooing onto angels. He was half drunk, had an ink-stained thumb and a missing molar, but man, he wasn't wrong.

So...Which Route Do You Stumble Down?

• Digital: You’re starting out, maybe experimenting. You don’t got time or cash for commitment.

• Flexo: You’re in deep now. Same design, mass production, fewer surprises.

• Gravure: You’re playin’ with the big kids. You need consistency across oceans, and you don’t flinch at the price tag.

Read more on the best ways to print mylar bags here. 

Some Final Grunts of Wisdom

• Ink ain’t ink. Some'll fade faster than your memory of high school gym class.

• Make sure your film ain't just pretty — barrier layers matter unless you like stale cookies.

• Don’t trust anyone who says "this method fits all" — they probably also think cargo shorts are formalwear.

Wanna talk vendors, horror stories, or compare ink smudges? We are here. 

Need a quote? Get one now!