How to make printable candy bar wrappers at home!
It is easy to learn how to make printable candy bar wrappers at home for the standard Hershey chocolate bars. Candy Bar Wrappers make great party favors for birthdays, graduations, retirement parties, engagement parties, baby showers, etc. When you order personalized printable wrappers through Baer Design Studio, all the editing is done for you. All you have to do is download, print, trim and wrap around the Hershey bar.
- DOWNLOAD YOUR PRINTABLES -The labels come in both jpeg and pdf. Open the PDF into the PDF viewer (this comes on most computers). If not, you can download Adobe reader for free here: http://get.adobe.com/reader/ or open the jpeg into a software program of your choice.
2. ALWAYS PRINT ONTO WHITE PAPER: Here is the Epson Matte Premium Printer Paper I recommend. It prints beautifully, and it folds well over the candy bar. This is a non-glare matte photo paper, so if you are planning on photographing your candy bars, this one photographs beautifully. Using a photo paper is especially important if your candy wrapper has a photo because photos will not appear sharp on non-photo paper. I personally use Epson 4 or 5 star photo paper because it seems to hold up the best with temperature change, the colors are bold and the label does not wrinkle when wrapped around the candy bar.
I do not recommend printing on cover or heavyweight craft paper for candy bar wrappers. The number one printing problem comes from customers who are trying to print onto CRAFT STORE card stock. I do not recommend this type of card stock as it is porous and can have a coating. These papers are commonly found in the scrapbooking sections of stores such as Michael’s and Hobby Lobby.
The most overlooked component of printing at home tends to come with the printer settings. Make sure to adjust the printer settings on your printer. This will vary based on the printer manufacturer.
The majority of the time I use “BORDERLESS PRINTING” and make sure “SHRINK TO FIT” is NOT checked because I do not want the printer to shrink my image. I always choose “BEST PHOTO”, even if I am not printing a photo (I find is best to treat the printable image as a photo). These settings are generally found under the advanced settings option. Make sure to choose the correct “PAPER TYPE” setting.
When you are working with specialty papers, from Epson, Avery, etc., they enclose printer instructions which tell you which paper settings to use.
3. FOR A PROFESSIONAL LOOK – USE A METALLIC WRAPPER- I recommend purchasing a foil paper that is durable. I purchased these wrappers on Amazon because they fit the 1.55 ounce standard Hershey bar and the 30# paper backing prevents easy tiring from the corners of the candy bar. I purchased gold, however they have 15 different foil color options to choose from. Please take note of the sample photos by Foilman. They demonstrate how to fold the wrappers over the candy bar to achieve the most polished outcome.
If you prefer to send out your wrappers to be printed at Staples, Office Max, Kinkos, etc., they have a variety of paper finishes and paper weights to choose from. Should they ask, you have my permission to have Baer Design Studio tags printed by a professional printer.
4. TRIM YOUR PRINTABLE WRAPPERS – Once the wrappers are printed, I like to trim the wrappers using a paper cutter rather than handheld scissors.
5. ADD ADHESIVE TO CLOSE THE WRAPPER – To attach the wrappers, I recommend using double sided tape or ZOTS large glue dots. Make sure to place the ZOTS on the center of the backside of your label and in the corners of the label. I use 6-8 dots per label. Hold in place for a few seconds to make certain that the label properly adheres to the candy bar.
6. SLIP THE CANDY BAR INTO A CLEAR PLASTIC ENVELOPE – These cellophane sleeves are a great way to protect your party favor candy bars and to add a “top coat”. If your guests are traveling or if there is inclement weather, these envelopes will also provide extra protection.
If you have any questions, and would like to test sample printing a wrapper before purchasing, please contact me at bdhbaer@sbcglobal.net.
Thank you, Brigitte Baer of Baer Design Studio