We’ve all purchased them, at a hardware store for Dad, at a video game store for a young cousin, at a spa for our overworked mother. Gift cards make perfect gifts for the holidays, a nice end-of-year incentive offering for top employees, and great sales boosters for retailers of all sizes. And for added value, it pays to present the gift card in stylish boxes, pouches, or envelopes. Attractive gift card boxes can transform the simple cards into gifts to remember.

Years of marketing experience have shown that offering gift cards and gift certificates are sure-fire revenue boosting tools. They provide a guaranteed sale, a sort of no interest loan from a future customer. They create added value for your company brand, because it is seen as valuable enough to give as gift. Gift cards encourage larger sales, because the recipient feels encouraged to spend more than the value of the card. They also help generate new customers, as one fan of a store will pass on a card to a like-minded friend who will also appreciate it.

With the holidays right around the corner, now is the time to bring the benefits of a gift card program to your business. S. Walter Packaging is your one-stop shop for all your gift card needs. We offer custom printed gift cards, and supply numerous styles of boxes and accessories to dress them.

Printed plastic gift cards are popular with merchants and customers. Cards ordered through S. Walter come with barcodes, sequential numbers and/or encoded magnetic strips. Prices start as low as .24 cents each (for large orders) and can be ordered in quantities as small as 500 cards (there is a one-time setup fee of $90 for first time orders). Standard 2.125″ x 3.375″ 30mil white PVC plastic cards can be printed with your design or company logo (standard four color front, one color back), or our Art Department can design for you. Ships in 7-10 days from time of art approvals. Talk to one of our experienced sales representatives today to take advantage of this proven sales enhancer!

If you already have a gift card program, why not kick it up a notch with gift card boxes or holders. Our gift card holders come in three styles, hold standard 2.125″ x 3.375″ cards, and include lines for To, From, and Amount, as well as “A Gift For You” design (call our sales department for details).

For a classier look, choose our large one-piece gift card boxes. Available in four stylish colors — White, Red, Black, and Gold — these sturdy boxes come with a recessed well that is just perfect to fit a gift card. Measures 6″ x 4″ with a flap lid. Can be Hot Stamped for added brand value.We also offer 4.5″ x 3.25″ x .5″ one-piece gift card boxes and 3.5″ x 2.25″ x .75″ two-piece gift card boxes.

The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold

Summer has wound down and autumn is just around the corner. Soon the leaves will change colors and blanket the ground, the air will chill, and pumpkins will appear on porches. With the arrival of Fall comes a change in fashions, autumnal holidays, and a change in shopping habits. It is only natural for your retail packaging program to reflect the new season with fall-themed packaging.

Natural colors like golds and browns and subdued oranges and reds add a seasonal touch to your store or event. Combine fall-themed bags with autumn-hued boxes, tissue, and other retail packaging accessories for a full fall packaging look. If your packaging reflects the season and your seasonal product line, customers will associate your company with the timely product you sell. Seasonal packaging is a great way to stand out from your competitors and be remembered by your customers. It’s true, packaging carries your brand.

S. Walter Packaging Corp. has made it easier than ever to put together a seasonal packaging look. We’ve selected appropriate items from our extensive catalog of retail packaging into our Fall Collection. The items are arranged into six categories: paper bags in fall colors; autumn-themed plastic bags; seasonal reusable bags; natural-hued boxes; fall accessories; and a special section of low-price closeout-sale items for fall.

Fall paper bags includes over fifty bags, such as brick red shadow stripe varnish bags – attractive autumnal paper twist handled shopping bags in several sizes – and classic natural kraft eurostyle shopping bags. Our plastic bags for fall include bright frosty colorlucent bags, soft-loop shoppers in tasty tangerine colors. Our top reusable bag this autumn is the 12x8x13 PPNW Market tote, a great giveaway or sale item to encourage environmentally conscious shopping. We stock a full range of autumn-hued boxes: jewelry boxes, gable boxes, and gift boxes suitable for any store. Matching tissue is essential for any fall packaging program, and our Fall Collection includes a selection of autumnal tissue and ribbon.

The best deals of our Fall Collection are found in the closeout section: 15 great products at unbeatable prices, all while supplied last.

Plus, for a limited time only, take 10% off any items from our Fall Collection. Use the coupon code EA91 to get 10% off purchases of $150 or more from September 13, 2010, to September 30, 2010. (Offer applies to in-stock selected Fall Collection items only, while supplies last. The coupon code must be redeemed at checkout and may not be combined with any other offer.) Go to SWalter.com now to make use of this offer and Fall into your new look today!

Sing with me:

Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I’ll hear old winter’s song
But I miss you most of all, my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall
– “Autumn Leaves” (Les feuilles mortes), original lyrics Jacques Prévert

Paper shopping bags are a mainstay of many retailers, used to advertise a store and develop brand image. They are also used for individual gift packaging, promotional pieces, or events. This installment in our series of packaging guides considers paper shopping bags and their many uses and forms.

Shopping bags come in many varieties. They are most often made from paper, but may be constructed from low-density polyethylene or other plastic (plastic shopping bags will be considered in a subsequent packaging guide). Even for paper shopping bags there is much choice of materials and finishes, from simple natural kraft paper to high gloss laminated colors. The choices range in price, but choosing the right look for your store can be about style as much as economics.

Paper shopping bags are available in a range of sizes. Their sizes are measured in three dimensions: width x side x height, so a standard 16x6x12 bag (known as Vogue-size), is 16 inches wide by 6 inches at the bottom and 13 inches high. A smaller size, perhaps 8x4x10 shopping bag, is known as Cub-size. Larger, squarer bags (such as 18x7x19 shoppers) are known as Queen-size bags. Most stores will do well to order their chosen style(s) in several sizes to package varied items.

The standard paper shopping bag has a flat bottom (often with a cardboard reinforcement), side gussets (a fold of paper which allows the bag to store flat and expand for use), and comes with two handles attached to the edges of the bag. Some paper shoppers, known as trapezoid shopping bags, taper from the top to bottom, so the top width is greater than the bottom width. Measurements for these bags are given as top width – bottom width x side x height, as in a 20-16x6x12 trapezoid shopper, where the top is 20 inches and the bottom width is 16 inches. (A less-used variety, known as the inverted trapezoid, has a longer bottom than top.)

As a standard, paper shopping bags come with twisted paper handles in white, natural tan, or matching the color of the shopper. Other handles are also available, the most popular alternative being macrame or braided handles. Usually found in combination with laminated paper folded over at the top, a cardboard reinforced bottom, and metal grommets (rings which strengthen the paper at the handle), rope handles are the defining characteristic of Euro-style paper shopping bags. Also known as eurototes, Euro-shoppers signify a more refined packaging look and are common in high-end retailers or for use as gift bags.

More expensive than grocery sacks or T-shirt bags, paper shopping bags were traditionally limited to stores marketing expensive merchandise who wanted to promote their store and brand. Today, clothing and giftware retailers use paper shopping bags as functional packaging and a sure-fire way to establish an upscale image. Fine jewelry and cosmetic retailers use small sizes of paper shoppers as part of their packaging program. Even supermarkets, especially ones in areas that have a large walking trade, choose paper shopping bags over traditional, less expensive SOS grocery bags.

This bag style also offers a wide variety of end uses that far exceed the traditional retailer’s need to package purchased goods. Paper shopping bags, especially in smaller sizes, can be used as stand-alone gift bags, replacing a gift box. When constructed of colorful paper, or printed with unique designs, the bag is a quick and creative way to wrap a gift. Retail paper shopping bags can also popular with non-retail businesses to use as a promotional piece, or as a give-away when introducing new products, or when exhibiting at trade shows or industry conventions.

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If you enjoyed this guide to paper shopping bags, you’ll love:
Packaging Guide to Merchandise Bags
Packaging Guide to Grocery Bags (SOS Bags)

We will be adding more packaging guides to different varieties of retail packaging available in at SWalter.com. Bookmark this blog or subscribe to our feed to catch the latest articles.

What can retail packaging do for your store? How do I coordinate the look of my bags, boxes, and other retail packaging accessories? What have other retailers or companies done with their packaging program?

The Look Book on swalter.com provides a peak at over 40 retail packaging programs constructed using the products in our catalog or assembled with the aid of our Creative Department and packaging specialists.

Browsing through the interactive look book allows viewers to see how other companies solved their packaging problems. Businesses that have used S. Walter Packaging Corp. include luxury car dealers, high-end retailers, restaurants, sports leagues, universities, hotels, tourist attractions, spas, and fortune 500 companies. There are a selection of retailers, but also many examples of promotional packaging.

Some common trends for retail packaging featured in the Look Book include the use of large, tastefully designed logos, often repeated. Many different kings of bags and boxes can be used. White bags can be dressed up with colorful printings; colored bags can be emblazoned with small or large designs. Companies generally choose several different sizes of bags and boxes, sometimes of different but matching colors. Accompanying boxes do not have to be the same hue as the bags, they can coordinate without matching. Or some bags and boxes can have a Color A printed on a Color B background, while others have Color B printed on a Color A background. Many retailers use tissue paper to further spruce up the packaging look.

The Look Book provides a photo gallery of exceptional packaging, all of it used in real world stores. The companies featured in the S. Walter Look Book have made a decision to use retail packaging not just as functional carriers (though the sturdy bags and boxes featured in the photo gallery certainly fit this requirement). Instead they use their packaging program to create and enhance a brand identity, encourage customer loyalty, and utilize a readily available advertising space.

Browse through this gallery of images (there is a easy-to-use slideshow option), to get ideas for your own retail packaging program (there are some examples to the right of this article). Or for more help, contact one of our packaging specialists today and see how we at S. Walter Packaging can put our experience to work for you, designing retail or promotional bags and boxes that will truly “carry your brand further.”

There are a wide variety of paper and plastic bags available for retail use, with an option to fit any business, from high-end clothing store to neighborhood hardware shop. This was not always the case. When Simon Walter founded his packaging supply company in Philadelphia in 1904 – the company that would become S. Walter Packaging Corp. – choices for retailers were severely limited. Remarkably, the sturdy grocery bag, or SOS bag, is a packaging option from that time that remains as durable in its popularity as in its carrying strength. In this, the second installment of our guide to packaging choices, we examine the uses and options that grocery bags provide.

S.Walter’s original business centered around supplying retailers with kraft paper products. Generally, purchases would be wrapped in this paper and tied up with string (The word kraft is derived from the German for “strong,” kraft paper’s defining characteristic was and remains it’s strength.) To allow customers to carry home more items, and therefore  make larger purchases, inventive retailers developed sturdy SOS bags.

Today SOS bags are still most often constructed of white or natural kraft paper, but may also be made of high density plastic. (SOS is alternatively said to abbreviate “self opening style,” “self opening sacks,” and even “self opening square-bottomed.”) When folded, grocery bags are flat. Folded out, they remain flat on the bottom, with side gussets (a “gusset” is a fold of paper that allows for side expansion), and will remain open and in an upright position without assistance. This provides the end user with an easy-to-load bag capable of holding heavy and/or bulky products.

The bag size will usually determine the possible end-uses of this extremely versatile bag style. In larger sizes, these sturdy SOS bags are used by grocery and hardware stores, discount stores, lumber yards, craft stores, shoe, toy, and sporting goods stores, and potentially any retailer selling bulky or heavy products. In small sizes, the SOS bag may be a carry-out food bag, a lunch bag, and even a gift bag.

The dimensions of SOS and grocery bags are given using width x side gusset x height, so a 7×4½x14 SOS bag has a bottom 7 inches by 4½ inches and is 14-inches tall. This can also be given as 7×4½x14x4½ (the two 4½ measurements referring to the side and the bottom gusset dimensions, usually the same).

More image conscious retailers generally stay away from SOS bags or grocery sacks, choosing stylish options like eurototes or high-gloss shoppers. Grocery bags are considered to be primarily functional packaging, and are rarely used by upscale retailers selling high-end merchandise. That said, small add-ons can make SOS bags an attractive packaging option for a variety of retailers. Using custom labels with store logo or information to close the SOS bag, especially a white kraft paper bag, can transform it into an elegant gift bag. Likewise, printing company logos or info onto the bag adds an element of class to the bag and utilizes an easy advertising opportunity.

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If you enjoyed this packaging guide to grocery bags, check out our packaging guide to merchandise bags. Bookmark this blog or subscribe to our feed as we provide more packaging guides to popular retail products in the weeks to come.

The value of a custom packaging is well known. Leading fashion stores use custom bags to create brand identity, gain an outlet for out-of-store advertising, and ultimately increase revenue. Custom bags can publicize a logo and engender customer loyalty. And an attractive, quality shopping bag is more likely to be reused, making for an enduring advertising platform.

It is not only national retail chains who can create a custom packaging program, the new Bag Builder from S. Walter makes it easier than ever to create custom bags for your store.  Imprint your company logo or slogan on bags of a various styles and colors. It’s an easy way to carry your brand further!

S. Walter Packaging proudly introduces our new SWalter.com exclusive. Customize your bag now in just a few easy steps:

1. Choose a bag style (options include all our most popular paper and plastic shopping bags, including frosted colorlucent plastic bags, high-gloss colored paper-twist handled shoppers, and simple natural kraft paper merchandise bags, plus many more).
2. Choose the bag size (anything from small postcard-sized carriers to large Fifth Avenue-style shoppers).
3. Select the bag color (use your company’s special color scheme and find matching boxes, tissue, ribbons, and bows in our collection for a full coordinated packaging program).
4. Pick the ink or hot stamp color (both printing styles available in a variety of attractive colors).
5. Upload your existing logo (easy as putting a photo on Facebook or adding an attachment to an email).
6. Add text (a variety of fonts, including stylish Helvetica, allow you to put a slogan for a special event or sale).
7. Specify front or back printing and quantity (best of all, this great feature is available on short-runs of as little as a few hundred bags).
8. Fill out Customer Information for a quote (our friendly sales team will get back to you promptly with a competitive price).

It’s as easy as 1-2-3 (well, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8)! Visit the Bag Builder today to explore the possibilities and get started now. Click here to start.

The Bag Builder is the perfect spot to explore, visualize, and create the ideal packaging. If you like this article, you’ll like our blog post on Custom Bags.

The King of Prussia Mall is one of the largest shopping centers in the world, the largest mall on the East Coast, and arguably the largest mall in the United States. Begun in the 1960s and dramatically expanded and improved in subsequent decades, the mall is now home to over 400 stores, many of them upscale retailers. The mall is situated in the Philadelphia suburbs (about 25 miles from the headquarters of S.Walter Packaging), but it attracts visitors from all over the region and beyond (up to 25% of mall visitors are out-of-town tourists). To communicate with its customers and potential visitors, King of Prussia Mall sends regular direct mail pieces. The latest piece featured a cover photo of an arrangement of branded apparel, gift, and specialty boxes, many of which were created and supplied by S.Walter Packaging.

King of Prussia Mall is home to many leading retail stores. With two large structures joined by a pedestrian walkway, it features several anchoring department stores, including Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, and Neiman Marcus. Many high-end retailers have their only area store in the mall. Cartier, DKNY, Lois Vuitton, and Hermes all have an outpost. Top name designers Gucci, Michael Kors, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Tory Burch have a space. Until one opened on Philadelphia’s tony Walnut Street shopping corridor, the area’s only Apple Store was in K-O-P (as it is known to locals). Of course, the mall is also home to outlets for such popular clothiers as Abercrombie & Firch, Gap, and H&M.

What all these stores share is a focus on appearance and brand identity. They understand that customers are not just attracted to the products they sell, but to the brand which those products represent. The statement ” I shop at Hugo Boss” says something about the person saying it, it places them in a identifiable comradery of Hugo Boss shoppers. Building a brand identity builds customer loyalty, attracts new customers, and most importantly, increases sales.

A solid brand identity depends in part on the products, and all these retailers sell quality merchandise. But it is about more than that. It is about the look of the store, its location and signage, the appearance of its salespeople, and the packaging it uses; what’s outside the box matters almost as much as what’s inside it. Wrapping products in color-coordinated tissue and placing them in custom printed gift boxes, like those on the King of Prussia mailer, tells customers that the store values its merchandise as much as they will. The packaging can then become something of value, so the necklace is returned to its Tiffany’s box and the shoes go back into their Cole Haan box. Attractive packaging will be carried proudly and reused, so it creates a natural advertising platform for a retail brand.

S. Walter Packaging is proud to see so many of our clients featured on the correspondence of one of the country’s largest and most upscale shopping complexes. We are firm believers in the power of custom and coordination packaging to carry the brand further. These retailers provide firm evidence that the finest stores share this belief.

Visit swalter.com to see our selection of coordinated packaging or contact us today so we can put our experience to work planning your custom packaging program.

It’s that time again! The new S.Walter Packaging Resource Guide will be showing up in your mailbox in the next 7-10 days. This year’s redesigned catalog is loaded with information to help you customize your packaging using our coordinated styles. There are thousands of products, value priced and ready to be custom printed, with information on print capabilities and imprint areas listed for each product.

Whether you need paper shoppers, plastic soft-loop bags, kraft gift boxes, splendorette ribbon or custom labels, this catalog has got you covered. Now with more eco packaging options, more “green” info, more themed product collections, more coordinating ideas and tips, and many new products and food service choices. Also make sure to check out the great deals in the new inventory reduction section, where hundreds of everyday products are available at closeout prices.

Can’t wait for the mail to arrive? Don’t despair. See the new packaging product catalog online today (follow link) or browse our website to see all our product choices at the same competitive prices.

Also available now: check out our new online Bag Builder, which allows you to customize your bag in 8 easy steps from the comfort of your own office.

To request your own copy (or more copies) of the S.Walter Packaging 2010/2011 Packaging Resource Guide or for more information on any of the products or features we offer, contact S.Walter today in one of three ways:

1. Email swalter@swalter.com with your name and address

2. Call 1.800.523.8888

3. Visit www.swalter.com

Whether they are made from paper or plastic, merchandise bags are a great packaging option for retailers small or large.

A mainstay at card shops, news stands, and book stores, merchandise bags are suitable for any retailer selling small items — beauty products, souvenirs, or jewelry, for example. They also make a great add-on for a larger packaging program, with customized plastic merchandise bags and matching larger plastic shoppers. Customized plastic merchandise bags are also popularly used as promotional giveaways, stocked with knick-knacks, postcards, and other small promotions.

The classic paper merchandise bag is constructed of tan-colored natural kraft paper. Usually made at least in part of recycled post-consumer fibers, natural kraft paper merchandise bags provide an earth-friendly and inexpensive way to package light retail purchases. For a classier look, go with the simple elegance of white merchandise bags, suitable for more upscale stores and more suited to custom printing or labels. Boutiques and art stores may consider using random print merchandise bags, which come in delightful and colorful printed designs on recycled paper. Each case of random print merchandise bags will contain slightly different paper prints, perfect and affordable idiosyncratic packaging for a unique independent retailer.

Choosing plastic merchandise bags yields many advantages too. Kraft paper bags may look the most earth-friendly choice, but recently manufacturers have been praising the environmental benefits of their plastic counterparts. They are reused more often (also a plus if the bags feature a business logo or name), weigh less so use less energy to transport and take up less landfill space; they are also often made of post-consumer recycled material, using little water and generating little pollution in their manufacture. More than that, plastic merchandise bags come in an array of bright, attractive colors, look great with custom printing, and are surprisingly close in price to paper.  They provide an inexpensive way to boost your brand and attract attention to your store. For added pizazz, look to super gloss merchandise bags, made of shiny and eye-catching low-density plastic.

One benefit of using merchandise bags as part of your retail packaging program is the range of sizes in which they come. Small merchandise bags may measure just 5×7^1/2“, ideal for postcards or mini-books, whereas large merchandise bags could easily hold vinyl records or large art supplies.

Merchandise bag dimensions are measured width by height, so a 12×15 merchandise bag is twelve inches wide (measured along bottom), fifteen inches long (measured along side from bottom to opening). On paper merchandise bags, the top of the bag, where the front and the back come together, often has zig-zagged, or “serrated” edges. These merchandise bags are sometimes called S.E. bags (serrated-edge bags). To ease opening, the front and back are often slightly different lengths. In this case, the height is measured along the shorter front side.

Usually flat, a merchandise bag may have an extra fold of paper or plastic on the side for easy expansion. This fold is known as a gusset. Bags sold as merchandise bags will not have a gusset on the bottom; a bag with gussets on the sides and bottom is commonly known as a “grocery bag,” “shopping bag,” or “SOS bag” (self-opening style bag). Dimensions for merchandise bags with side gussets are given as width x gusset x height, as in a14x3x21 random print merchandise bag. The gusset dimension is the maximum expansion size, so a 12x3x15 bag is holds roughly the same as a 15×18 bag.

S.Walter offers a large selection of plastic and paper merchandise bags, in multiple sizes and colors, all at competitive wholesale prices. Plus, our easy-to-use Bag Builder makes it simple to customize your bags, making an affordable and convenient packaging option even better.

Standing out from your competitors is more important than ever in these tough economic times. With shrinking budgets and outlets for advertising, customized bags provide an important means of communicating with customers.

Personalizing your packaging with a logo or company name publicizes that logo and name as customers carry and reuse their shopping bags. It’s an easy way to engender customer loyalty and create a positive brand image. A custom bag becomes more than post-sale packaging, it is sale-generating advertising.

We’ve all seen iconic images of chic shoppers carrying armfuls of bags from designer stores. but you don’t have to be Fifth Avenue store to reap the benefits of customized bags. With modern printing methods, its easy to print clearly and boldly on a variety of bag types, from bright frosted plastic shopping bags to simple natural kraft paper merchandise bags. You can use the logo you made for your storefront or website and place it on the bag or bags of your choosing, with an order of as little as a few hundred bags. Don’t have a logo? Use a contemporary font to personalize bags with your company name.

The ability to print just a few customized bags provides an opportunity to accent your special event, promotion, or private occasion. Customized bags make great give-away carriers for trade show booths, containers for conference info packages, or even keepsakes for weddings or parties.

S.Walter Packaging now makes it easier than ever to embark upon your own custom bag program with a new online Bag Builder. In a couple simple steps you can explore, visualize, and create the ideal customized packaging. Choose from our top bag styles, sizes, and colors; select ink or hot stamp printing; and quickly upload text or images to get a fast low-price quote for your custom bags. Check out the Bag Builder today and watch as custom bags carry your brand further.