Packaging soaps to sell

[Soapsense]

What about shrinkwrap sleeves like they sell at Brambleberry that leave a hole on either end open?

 

[Relle]

That would make the soap breathe, but still lets the sides get dirty.

 

[Shannon_m]

Has anyone tried to use a hole punch on shrink wrap? Like maybe punch a few holes near the top, this way it can breathe and you can still smell the soap but it won't get dirty.

 

[SpiralTouch]

Has anyone tried to use a hole punch on shrink wrap? Like maybe punch a few holes near the top, this way it can breathe and you can still smell the soap but it won't get dirty.

I am curious about this too. I have a bunch if shrink wrap bags that I haven't used yet, wonder if I should punch a few holes in it before shrinking

 

[Scentapy]

How about pages from a book? I used to wrap my soap in that. People loved it and it is super cheap. Think about how many pages are in a book AND you can get them at a used book store or salvation army. I only wrapped the bottom half of the soap.

I used scrapbooking archival bags - HATED it. The soap would sweat and leave residue on the inside of the bag. Looked awful. I also tried Saran Wrap and hated that too.

Now I use cigar bands and LOVE the look and my customers do too! I use natural colored coffee filters for my round soaps and I like that too. You can smell (but not see ) the soap through the packaging.

 

[Lindy]

I used to put my soaps in organza and overall they worked good enough. I made a tag out of cardstock about the size of a business card that had the name of the soap, ingredients and my contact info on it that I slid into the bag with the soap. The problem with hang tags is they get ratty looking really, really fast. Organza bags look fantastic on a display because it is just so colourful.

Now for the cons - if the soap is getting handled a lot, they rub on the bag and it does get dirty looking. However I was able to make it work for over 3 years although there were times I would shrink wrap using shrink bags from U-Line and I left the edges open to let them breath.

I have now moved into shrink wrapping using National Shrinkwrap's Polyolefin Film that is perforated. I love this stuff! It lets the soap breath, keeps it tidy and I can wrap over a hundred an hour! It's a little pricey to start, you need the wand, the roller, the underlay, the heat gun and the shrink. If you buy the kit you get a free roll of shrink. I recommend the 75 gauge film and 18" system. You can look at it HERE. Tell him Lindalu from Malaspina Soap sent you.

Art is fantastic to deal with, and they have a video on the website showing how you wrap soap. It will blow your mind. When they send the system out to you you get a CD that shows you how to wrap baskets even and I'll tell you I learned how to make some nice looking gift baskets that were a hit over Christmas.

With this system you can smell the soap through the wrap and if you want to you can go with a Bio-Degradable Shrink in the Polyolefin too.

Here is the Organza Bags in a Christmas Display. If you go this way go to the 4x6 size of bag. You want a snug fit.

 

[Mommysoaper]

Wow! Never heard of perforated shrink wrap but sounds like an awesome product. May have to look into that if I ever get enough sales going!

 

[dianne70]

Thanks Lindy.....I'still don't really know what to do!!! Maybe muslin bags.... Will have to look into the perforated shrink wrap, and see if anyone sells it in Australia.....odds are they don't! It's hard sometimes to get stuff here Thank you all for your ideas though...it has given me a lot to think about

 

[msidahocgirl]

continuing thought

ok so I'm still working on my company name and logo...but once I've completed that, where do you get the cigar bands or muslin from? I'm looking for reliable retailers vs google random site lol

 

[lizflowers42]

I am curious about this too. I have a bunch if shrink wrap bags that I haven't used yet, wonder if I should punch a few holes in it before shrinking

For the 2013 EO swap I used cello bags that I punched a hole on both sides...we will see what the other swappies think of it after shipping in March!

 

[DeeAnna]

...where do you get the cigar bands or muslin from?...

Well, cigar bands are something I think most people make on their own. The bands need to be sized to fit your soap bars and designed with your logo and such. Too many variables for a generic product.

If you want someone to make the bands for you, I would recommend creating a design and taking it to a printing company in your area. A full-service printing service should be able to print your design on paper and cut straight-edged bands with a simple "guillotine" cutter.

Muslin bags ... just do a google search! Lots of good companies pop up. I used the keywords "muslin drawstring bags" and "cloth bags". Uline and Papermart are large companies I have used, and they both carry fabric bags. MuslinBag.com looks like another good source.

--DeeAnna

 

[siobhan1011]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/260964361...eName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Here are the best value organza bags I found on ebay 3000 for £109
I have been using wallpaper to wrap my soap bars in basically I use a strip about 8 cm long and then cut it in half. I then use a border stamp to make the top bit pretty then wrap and glue with a glue gun.
I also used this printer to do my labels with
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271025405570?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[Aponi]

I like the look of organza bags. But I'm concerned the soap might rub inside it and make the bag look "dirty". Does anyone have any experience with using bags?

I package every soap we sell in organza bags which are then packed in display boxes my husband made - these display boxes are great as they have a "lid/top" that clips on/off. When we get to the markets all we have to do is unclip the lid off the boxes as the soaps are already displayed in variety etc. We have 19 of these boxes we take to markets. Lots of hands each time picking up/putting down the soaps but honestly, we've never had any problems with the organza rubbing with the soap showing on the bags, I replaced 5 Patchouli 'n' Vanilla bags yesterday only because I had to fill an order, was short and had to take from my stock so I wanted the bags for this order to be "new" for our customer. In saying that, remember I do get my bags made to size for our soaps so there's no room for slipping around and because I buy in 5000 lots they are cheap so I can replace if needed, that's why I didn't hesitate yesterday to replace.

I did shrink wrap at first but the soaps sweated and I ended up throwing several away, I still have the shrink wrap roll which I sure won't use again - the worst soap for sweating was Goatmilk 'n' Oatmeal!!!! But "touch wood", I've never had any problems with sweating in the organza bags.

The shrink wrap I used was the one which had thousands of tiny holes in it - supposed to let whatever inside breathe!!!!!! Hope this helps.

 

[Relle]

Aponi, do you have the link for the organza bags please ?

 

[Aponi]

Aponi, do you have the link for the organza bags please ?

Hi Relle9,

Link for the "company" that I first contacted is :

http://colorfulpackaging.en.alibaba.com/​

BUT...........
I've just sent an email to the girl I deal with asking if I can post her email address here on the forum.​

I'm currently trying to buy from her 500 each of light green, light pink, light blue, light mauve and light lemon in the same size as I get the white organza bags made but because I want only 500 of each and their not a "stock size" I'm finding this very difficult.​

BUT AGAIN...................
Relle9, I noticed your in Australia, which state are you in (?) and what size organza bag are you after (?) the white organza bags I use are 10cm x 12cm and this is the size I'm wanting in the coloured bags also.

Here are some pic's of the box we display the soaps in, sorry I didn't have one of the lid but if anyone would like to see the whole thing I'll take another pic, this one I already had in my photo file - the cardboard displays are what I put in shops, these are for the Australia National Parks & Wildlife shop that have a lot of people walking through each day and because I'm not there daily to check on how the soaps look, I go to the shop each month to top up and check on how the soaps look - fingers x'd I haven't had to replace an organza bag yet - but the charms do go missing now and them!!!!!​

 

[Trxflyer]

Thanks for the link!!

 

[Aponi]

Hi Relle9,

Link for the "company" that I first contacted is :

http://colorfulpackaging.en.alibaba.com/​

BUT...........
I've just sent an email to the girl I deal with asking if I can post her email address here on the forum.​

I'm currently trying to buy from her 500 each of light green, light pink, light blue, light mauve and light lemon in the same size as I get the white organza bags made but because I want only 500 of each and their not a "stock size" I'm finding this very difficult.​

BUT AGAIN...................
Relle9, I noticed your in Australia, which state are you in (?) and what size organza bag are you after (?) the white organza bags I use are 10cm x 12cm and this is the size I'm wanting in the coloured bags also.​

Here are some pic's of the box we display the soaps in, sorry I didn't have one of the lid but if anyone would like to see the whole thing I'll take another pic, this one I already had in my photo file - the cardboard displays are what I put in shops, these are for the Australia National Parks & Wildlife shop that have a lot of people walking through each day and because I'm not there daily to check on how the soaps look, I go to the shop each month to top up and check on how the soaps look - fingers x'd I haven't had to replace an organza bag yet - but the charms do go missing now and them!!!!!​

Here's the contact email address for the organza bags - contact name is Yoyo [email protected]

 

[Hazel]

Aponi -

Thanks for telling us about your experience! I appreciate the information. :grin: