Kraft vs Coated Paper Bags: Which Is Right for Your Brand?

Kraft and coated paper are the two dominant substrates for paper bags globally, and each carries a specific brand signal. Choosing between them shapes how your bag looks, feels, prints, and how sustainable it reads to a customer.

What is kraft paper?

Kraft is made from long virgin softwood fibers, produced by the kraft (sulfate) pulping process. Left unbleached it's the familiar warm brown; bleached it becomes white kraft. Kraft is strong, fibrous, absorbs ink into the surface, and reads as natural, honest and sustainable.

What is coated paper?

Coated art paper is a wood-pulp base with a mineral (usually kaolin clay) coating that gives a smooth, closed surface. Ink sits on top of the coating, which reproduces color sharply and vividly. It's the standard for magazine printing and for retail bags that need photographic imagery.

Print reproduction

Coated wins on sharpness. Photos, gradients and vivid brand colors look richer on coated stock because ink doesn't sink into the fibers. Kraft absorbs ink, which mutes color — beautiful when you want an earthy aesthetic, limiting when you need to reproduce a fluorescent yellow.

Feel and premium signal

Kraft feels honest and craft-forward. Coated feels retail-clean. For luxury, uncoated specialty stocks (Colorplan, Fedrigoni) or soft-touch-laminated coated give the most premium hand.

Sustainability

Kraft — especially FSC-certified natural kraft — is the more sustainable default. It's recyclable, biodegradable and often uses recycled fibers. Coated stocks are recyclable but the coating slows biodegradation.

Cost

Roughly equal per gsm. Kraft is often marginally cheaper because it doesn't need the coating step; coated needs a smoother base and more finishing.

When to choose each

Choose kraft for: coffee shops, sustainable fashion, artisan food, wellness, honest DTC brands. Choose coated for: fashion boutiques with photographic imagery, cosmetics with vivid brand colors, luxury when combined with lamination and foil.

The hybrid move

Some of our clients use white kraft as a compromise: it takes color well but retains the fibrous, natural texture. Others use kraft for their standard bag and coated only for their limited-edition seasonal drop.