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Bags, tubs and sleeves · Grease-resistant
Custom Popcorn Sleeves
Printed holders for popcorn in every format a counter needs: flat bags for volume, open tubs for sharing, and board sleeves for a premium sweet range. Cut to your portion, printed to your artwork.
- 500 piece minimum
- Bags, tubs or sleeves
- Grease-resistant board
- Free digital proof
500
Minimum per design
Volume pricing from 1,000
6–7 days
Standard production
After you approve the proof
Free
Dieline and proof
Built around your item
Worldwide
Tracked shipping
Quoted with the job
In short
Popcorn sleeves are printed paper and board holders — flat bags, open tubs or wrap sleeves — that carry a portion of popcorn and keep butter off the hand. The Cone Sleeves prints them to your portion size from 500 pieces per design, with a free dieline and digital proof and 6–7 business day production.
Why shops order popcorn sleeves from us
Butter stays inside
Grease-resistant stock stops the dark patch that appears within a minute on ordinary paper once buttered popcorn goes in.
Bags for volume
A flat bag is the cheapest way to serve a large portion and takes almost no storage, which is why cinemas still use them.
Tubs for sharing
An open tub sits between two people on a seat or a table, and holds its shape when it is passed around.
Sleeve over plain stock
A printed sleeve slid over a plain tub lets you change artwork for a film or a season without reprinting the tub itself.
Made for a fill line
Sized so a correct portion reaches the top rather than sitting halfway down an oversized carton.
Event-ready runs
Five hundred pieces covers a single event, so a dated or themed design does not leave a year of surplus stock.
Printed work
Popcorn Sleeves we have printed
Every run below started as somebody's artwork on plain board. Yours is quoted the same way, whatever the shape.
Specifications
Everything this order includes
These are the options we quote against. If you need something outside them, ask — most custom sizes and finishes are possible, and the quote will say so plainly.
| Formats | Flat bag, open tub, squared carton or wrap sleeve over a plain tub |
|---|---|
| Stock | Grease-resistant paper for bags; 280–350 gsm board for tubs and cartons |
| Portions | Small, regular, large and sharing; cut to your own fill volume |
| Printing | Full-color CMYK, single-color logo or Pantone spot colors |
| Finish | Uncoated as standard; matte or gloss varnish for photographic artwork |
| Minimum order | 500 pieces per design; volume pricing from 1,000 pieces |
| Turnaround | 6–7 business days after proof approval; 3–4 day rush on request |
| Packing | Bags ship flat in counts of 500; tubs nest inside one another |
Bag, tub or printed sleeve
A flat bag is the cheapest format by a clear margin and stores in almost no space. It suits high-volume service where the popcorn is eaten immediately and nobody needs to put it down.
An open tub costs more but behaves better: it stands on a seat arm, survives being passed along a row, and looks like part of an experience rather than a snack handed over in a bag.
The third option is a printed sleeve over a plain tub, which is how a lot of cinemas handle film tie-ins. The tub stays the same all year and only the sleeve changes, so artwork is cheap to refresh.
Sweet and salty behave differently
Salted and buttered popcorn is an oil problem. Caramel and toffee popcorn is a sugar problem: it sticks, and a thin uncoated board will tear when the last pieces are pulled away from the wall.
For a sweet range we specify a slightly heavier board with a smoother inner face, so the coating releases instead of bonding to the fiber. It costs a little more per piece and it is the difference between a clean finish and a mess.
If you sell both, say so. We will usually recommend one board that copes with each rather than making you hold two lines of stock in a small back room.
Sizing a portion people believe in
Popcorn is bought with the eyes. A regular that fills its holder to the brim feels generous; the same volume rattling around in a large carton feels mean, even though the customer receives exactly the same amount.
Tell us the volume you actually serve, in liters or in cups, and we cut the holder so a proper portion reaches the rim. That single decision does more for perceived value than any amount of printing on the outside.
Sites that also serve drinks alongside usually order these with matching printed sleeves for cold drink cups, so a combo on a tray looks like one product.
Where these are used
- Cinemas and screening rooms
- Fairs, carnivals and fun days
- Sports grounds and arenas
- Wedding and party favors
- Gourmet popcorn retail brands
- Theatre and event intervals
Not sure on size?
Send a sample or a photo with a ruler beside it and we cut the dieline to fit. There is no charge for the dieline or the digital proof.
Ask a questionHow the order runs
- You send sizes, quantity and artwork, or just a photo of the item.
- We build the dieline and come back with a written price.
- You approve a digital proof with your artwork laid on it.
- We print, cut and ship, with tracking on the carton.
Materials and printing
Board and print, side by side
Three boards and three ways to print on them. Every combination below is quoted the same way, so the choice is about how you want the packaging to feel in the hand.
Choose the board
Natural kraft
Unbleached brown board. Ink sits into the surface rather than on top of it, which mutes bright colors and reads as craft and small-batch.
Recycled board
Post-consumer fiber with a slight fleck through it. It takes a one or two color mark well and tells the customer what it is without a claim printed on it.
Choose how it prints
Full-color CMYK
Four process inks. The right choice when the artwork is a photograph, an illustration or anything with a gradient in it.
Single-color logo
One ink on plain board. It is the least expensive way to print a run and, on kraft, it is often the better looking one.
Pantone spot colors
A mixed ink matched to a Pantone reference. Use it when a brand color has to be exact across every reprint.
Quote configurator
Configure your popcorn sleeves
Five short steps. Answer what you know, skip what you do not, and we come back with a written price and a free dieline.
Questions
Popcorn Sleeves: common questions
Which format is cheapest for a busy cinema?
A flat printed bag, by a clear margin. It costs less per piece than a tub and takes a fraction of the storage. The trade-off is that a bag cannot be set down, which is why premium screens tend to use tubs even though they cost more.
Will butter soak through the bag?
Not on the grease-resistant stock we use. Ordinary kraft will show a dark patch within a minute of a buttered portion going in. If you are comparing quotes, this is the specification worth checking, because it is where cheap popcorn packaging fails.
Can I change artwork for a film release without a new tub?
Yes, and it is the reason printed sleeves exist. Keep one plain tub in stock all year and print a sleeve for each release at 500 pieces per design. It is far cheaper than reprinting the tub and the changeover takes no staff training.
Do you print for caramel or toffee popcorn?
We do, and we specify a different inner surface for it. Sugar coatings bond to a rough board and tear it when the popcorn is pulled away. A smoother inner face releases cleanly, which is worth the small extra cost on a sweet range.
How much popcorn does a standard tub hold?
That depends entirely on the size you order, which is why we ask for a fill volume rather than a size name. Send the volume in liters or cups and we cut the tub so a correct portion reaches the rim rather than sitting halfway down.
Are printed popcorn bags recyclable?
An uncoated grease-resistant paper bag goes into the paper stream in most systems. A gloss laminated tub does not. If recycling is a priority, ask for a matte varnish rather than a lamination and we will keep the specification clean.
Related products
Often ordered alongside
Free quote · No obligation
Tell us your cone, we will price the sleeve
Send your size, quantity and artwork. You get a written quote and a free digital proof before anything goes to press.