Paper bag machines

A paper bag machine turns kraft paper, fed from a reel or as printed sheets, into finished bags: it glues and folds a tube, cuts it to length and forms the bottom, and on some lines adds handles in the same pass. Converters, printers and packaging distributors buy them to supply grocery, take-out, bakery and retail customers.

How a paper bag machine works

On a roll-fed line the paper comes off a reel, often lifted into place by a hydraulic loader, and a photocell reads print marks so each cut lands in register with the printing. Xinke lists the steps on its SOS machine in order: side gluing, print mark detection, folding and tube forming, cutting, bottom opening, bottom gluing and bottom forming. Where a handle unit is fitted, it makes the handles from its own small reels and glues them on before the tube is formed and cut, so no separate handle machine is needed.

A sheet-fed line starts from single printed sheets instead. Zenbo describes its sequence as sheet feeding, positioning, top folding with an insert pasted in, tube forming, gusset forming, bottom opening, bottom gluing, compaction and output. Working from sheets allows heavy printed stock, up to 300 g/m² on the Zenbo line.

Main types of paper bag machine

Flat paper handles are the other handle option: Oyang's SMART17-AS line makes folded flat handles inline and can turn them to the inside or the outside of the bag. A square-bottom line without handles runs a wider size range; the LSB-330-R, for example, starts at 120 mm bag width without handles but 200 mm with them.

How to choose: specs explained

• Size window. Each machine is defined by bag width, bottom (gusset) width and tube length. The XKFD-330 covers bags 120 to 330 mm wide with a 60 to 180 mm bottom. Makers usually build the same design in several sizes, so choose the model whose window has your best sellers in the middle rather than at the edge. Lilin gives finished bag length as the tube length minus half the bottom size and a further 15 to 25 mm, which helps turn a customer's bag drawing into machine settings.
• Paper weight. Light V-bottom lines run 30 to 60 gsm; roll-fed square-bottom lines run roughly 60 to 170 gsm. Handle lines need their own material too: the LSB-330-R uses 4 to 6 mm paper rope and 100 to 150 gsm patch paper.
• Rated versus real speed. Lilin states that its speeds depend on paper and adhesive quality, bag dimensions and operator knowledge. Ask each supplier for the speed on your bag size and paper, not the top figure.
• Reels. Roll widths reach 1,050 mm on the XKFD-330 and LSB-330-R and 1,100 mm on the 16-C 510, with maximum diameters of 1,200 to 1,300 mm on 76 mm cores. The reel stand, the loader and your paper supplier's slitting all have to match.
• Printing. Decide whether you print inline or buy printed reels. Xinke offers a version of its SOS machine with a two-colour flexo printer, and photocell registration keeps the cut in step with the print.

What the plant needs

Floor, weight and handling

These are long, heavy machines. The XKFD-330 measures 9.8 x 3.05 m and weighs 8,000 kg; the LSB-330-R is 12 x 5.7 m and 13,700 kg; the sheet-fed Zenbo line is 17.5 m long and 12.6 tonnes; Oyang's SMART17-AS 400 is 16 m long and 22,000 kg. Add dry reel storage, an aisle for a reel clamp truck or crane, finished-goods pallets and a packing area. Our guide to preparing your floor for machine installation covers slab and anchoring checks.

Power

Installed power runs from 12 kW on the XKFD-330 to 29 or 30 kW on the handle and sheet-fed lines and 52 kW on the two-lane 16-C 510. Several are listed at 380 V, so plan the transformer and approval work described in 600 V power for imported machines.

Glue

Bag machine maker Kete explains that kraft tube seams run on water-based glue while laminated paper needs hot melt. The LSB-330-R uses a hot melt spray system on its handle unit, and the Zenbo sheet-fed line runs water-based or hot-melt glue. Each glue type needs its own storage, pumps and cleaning routine.

Food contact

Health Canada's Food and Drug Regulations (section B.23.001) prohibit selling food in packaging that may pass harmful substances to it, and put the responsibility on the food seller. Bakery and take-out customers will ask for documentation on your paper, glue and ink, so collect it from suppliers before the first order.

Running costs and consumables

• Paper, the main material cost per bag, so paper price, weight and reel yield drive margins.
• Glue: water-based for seams and bottoms, hot melt for handles.
• Handle materials: rope paper and patch reels, or flat handle strip.
• Printing: inks, plates and make-ready if you print inline.
• Waste at start-up and after size changes, which grows as runs get shorter.
• Wear parts such as knives and glue applicators, plus power for motors and heaters.
• Labour for counting, bundling and packing at the delivery end.

Demand and who buys

As of 2026, federal regulations prohibit the manufacture, import and sale of plastic checkout bags in Canada, and they remain in force after a January 2026 Federal Court of Appeal decision. Provincial and municipal rules add to the picture, so check what applies to your customers; Canada's single-use plastics rules sets out the details.

Typical buyers are packaging converters adding a bag line, commercial printers who already print on kraft, and distributors that supply restaurants and grocers. If you are also weighing plastic or non-woven bags, see paper vs plastic vs non-woven bag machines, and for the product-to-machine overview read starting paper packaging production.