A wax-coated sheet that carries your logo
The photos show the stock as it comes off the coater: a smooth white roll unwinding into a flat sheet, a natural kraft roll beside it, and a half-open roll held up to the light so you can see how much passes through. We cut that stock into sheets and print it in your colors.
Paraffin paper is the deli counter's old favorite. It is lighter than greaseproof, softer in the hand, and the wax gives it a faint sheen that reads as clean and cared for.
The buyers who order it printed are sandwich shops, cheese counters, candy makers, bakeries selling cookies and bars, and butchers wrapping cured meats for the case. Soap makers like it too, because the wax keeps a fresh bar from marking the paper.
Can paraffin paper go under a heat lamp?
No, and this is the first thing to settle before you order. Paraffin softens at about 140°F, so a wrap that sits under a lamp or around a hot burger goes tacky and may leave a film on the bun.
Cold and room-temperature food is where it earns its place. A turkey sandwich wrapped at eight in the morning is still crisp at lunch because the wax holds the mayonnaise and tomato juice inside the fold.
Cheese is the classic case. A soft cheese sweats as it warms, and plain paper goes dark and limp. Paraffin paper takes that moisture on the wax surface and the sheet stays presentable in the case.
If your menu has hot and cold items, split the order. Keep the paraffin sheets for the cold side and look at custom wax paper with a dry-wax finish for anything that meets heat.
Which sheet size fits a deli sandwich?
Measure the item, then add enough to fold under twice. A sheet wants to go around the sandwich once with a seam and still leave two end flaps to tuck.
| Typical size | What it wraps | Fold |
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| 8 × 8 in | A single cookie, a caramel cluster, a half bar of soap | Diagonal fold, one tuck |
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| 10 × 10.75 in | A half sandwich, a wedge of cheese, a brownie | Deli fold with both ends under |
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| 12 × 12 in | A full sandwich on a roll, a quarter pound of fudge | Deli fold, ends tucked and taped |
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| 12 × 16 in | A footlong, a sliced loaf, a liner for a pastry tray | Roll fold, ends twisted or taped |
|---|
Those four are the usual picks and they cover most counters. Anything else is a custom cut, and the quote works the same way once you give us the dimensions in inches.
Weight and how much wax to ask for
Base sheets run about 25 to 35 lb for this paper. The lighter end folds tighter and is what most sandwich wraps use. The heavier end feels more like a proper wrapper and suits cheese and candy boxes.
Wax can go on both sides or one. Both sides is standard and gives the slippery feel people expect. One side keeps the outside dry to the touch and lets ink sit brighter, which matters for a bakery that wants a crisp two-color logo.
- Light, waxed both sides: sandwiches, wraps, cold cuts
- Medium, waxed both sides: cheese wedges, fudge, caramels
- Medium, waxed one side: cookie sleeves, candy box liners, bread wraps
- Kraft base, either wax: anywhere a natural look suits the brand
Not sure which? Say what you wrap on the form and we will suggest one. Samples of the stock can be sent on request; ask on the quote.
Does the ink sit on top of the wax or under it?
Under it. We print the base sheet first with food-safe soy or water-based inks, then the paraffin goes over the print. The wax seals the ink so nothing rubs off onto the food or your fingers.
That order has two effects on the look. Colors come through slightly softer than the proof on screen, and solid blocks pick up the faint sheen of the wax. Line work and type stay crisp.
On white base stock, Pantone solid-coated matches hold well. On kraft, the brown shows through the ink, so a bright red turns brick and a sky blue turns slate. One color on kraft; two looks muddy.
Up to four colors are possible, though most counters settle on one or two. The step up from one to two colors is usually worth it for a bakery; from three to four it rarely is.
Step-and-repeat or one centered logo?
Step-and-repeat means your mark prints in a scattered grid across the whole sheet. One centered logo prints once, placed where it will show after the fold.
For paraffin sheets we lean toward step-and-repeat. A deli wrap gets folded fast and nobody checks where the logo lands, so a repeat pattern shows your name from any angle.
A centered logo suits candy and cheese, where the wrap is made slowly and the mark can sit on top. Tell us the fold you use and we will place it on the proof.
If you want to see both before deciding, lay out a version of each in Design Your Custom Paraffin Paper and attach both to the quote.
Artwork notes before you upload
Send vector files where you can: PDF, AI, EPS or SVG. A logo pulled from a website at 72 dpi prints soft, and on paraffin the wax softens it a little further.
Keep small type above 8 pt and avoid hairlines under half a point. The sheet is thin and the ink spreads a touch more than it does on a coated carton.
Give us the Pantone number if you have one. If you only have a hex code from your website we pick the nearest solid-coated match and show it on the proof for you to sign off.
Keep a quarter inch clear at every edge. The sheets are guillotined from the printed roll and a logo set tight to the edge can lose a sliver.
Mistakes to avoid with paraffin wrap
Most problems with this paper come from using it where a different coating belongs. A few come from the artwork.
- Wrapping fries or hot sandwiches in it; the wax goes soft and tacky above about 140°F
- Ordering 8 × 8 in for a full sandwich and ending up with no end flaps to tuck
- Printing a four-color photo on kraft and expecting the on-screen colors
- Setting white text as the only mark on a one-color job on white stock, where it vanishes
- Leaving the logo on the fold line, where the crease cuts it in half
Every one of those shows up on the proof before anything prints, which is the point of the proof. Check it on a phone as well as a monitor; a logo that looks large on screen can be small on a 10 in sheet.
How to order printed paraffin paper
- Pick a typical size from the table or give us a custom cut in inches.
- Choose the base, bleached white or natural kraft, and say if one side or both should be waxed.
- Upload your artwork, or describe the logo and colors and we will set it for you.
- We send a written quote within one business day with the paper, ink colors and quantity priced.
- Approve the quote and a free design proof follows; edits are unlimited until you are happy with it.
- Production takes 4 to 6 business days after proof approval, then free tracked delivery to US addresses in 2 to 3 business days.
Minimum order is 1,000 sheets. If a case arrives damaged or the print is wrong, send photos within 10 days and we reprint or refund it. Start on the written quote request form; it takes about two minutes.
