Mylar Bag Sizes and Fill Weights: What 1 g, 3.5 g and 28 g Really Hold

A brand orders "3.5 g mylar bags" expecting to pack 3.5 g of gummies into each one. The pouches arrive, the filler runs, and the pack looks two-thirds empty on the shelf — because 3.5 g of gummies is not the same volume as 3.5 g of flower. The pouch was correct. The expectation was not.

This is the single most common sizing mistake in custom pouches, and it is cheap to avoid. What follows is how the numbers actually work.

Why a weight label is not a size

The naming convention for cannabis and hemp packaging comes from flower, where 3.5 g is an eighth of an ounce and the pouches were originally sized around that product. Flower is bulky and light. Gummies are dense and shaped. Powder settles. Pre-rolls are rigid cylinders with air between them.

So the pouch labelled 3.5 g was sized for one product family, and the industry keeps the label because buyers recognise it. The pouch itself is a volume: width, height and a gusset that opens up when filled.

Two consequences follow:

• Different products need different pouch sizes at the same fill weight.
• The only reliable answer is a fill test with your product in a sample pouch.

The standard sizes we make

These are the stock dimensions we run most often. All of them can be made as stand-up, flat or die-cut pouches, with or without a zipper, in any of the four standard finishes.

Label	Dimensions (W × H + gusset)	Typical product
1 g	7 × 9 cm	Samples, single pre-roll, small concentrate
3.5 g	9 × 13 + 6 cm	An eighth of flower, 4–6 gummies
3.5 g wide	10 × 13 + 6 cm	The same fill with a wider print panel
7 g	10 × 15 + 7 cm	Quarter ounce, larger gummy packs
14 g	12 × 17 + 6 cm	Half ounce, multi-unit gummy packs
28 g (1 oz)	15 × 21 + 8 cm	Ounce of flower, 10-pack edibles
1 lb	Custom	Bulk, dispensary back-of-house, resale

Anything outside this list is a custom size. Send the width, height and gusset you want, or send the product and desired fill weight and we will propose the dimensions — the dieline is generated from those numbers before printing, at no charge.

The fill test that settles the question

Before you commit to a size, do this:

1. Take the product exactly as it will ship — same unit size, same packaging inside, same moisture.
2. Fill a sample pouch to the level you want on the shelf. Most brands aim for 80–90% fill by volume, leaving room for the closure and for settling.
3. Seal it, and leave it 24 hours. Powder settles, gummies shift, and a pack that looked right on the bench looks different after a day in a carton.
4. Weigh it. That is your true fill weight for the pouch size — which may not be the number printed on the label.

We send sample pouches for exactly this. It costs a sample fee and a few days, and it protects a print run measured in thousands of dollars.

The gusset is where the volume lives

Two pouches with the same face dimensions can hold very different volumes, because the gusset — the folded bottom panel that expands — carries most of the depth. As a rough rule, increasing gusset depth by 2 cm adds more usable volume than adding 2 cm to the height, and it does it without changing the printed face area.

What that means in practice:

• Too full — the pouch bulges, the seal area deforms, and on a CR zipper the closure can be harder to work. Move up a gusset size before you move up a face size.
• Too empty — the pack slumps on the shelf and looks underweight. Reduce the gusset, or accept a shorter pack with a wider face.
• Pre-rolls and tubes — rigid, so they behave differently. Size for the tube plus clearance, and expect more package for less weight.

Film thickness: what the numbers mean

Pouches are quoted by total film thickness, usually in microns or mil. Thicker film adds stiffness, puncture resistance and a firmer hand feel; it also adds cost per pouch. Thinner film is more flexible, which matters if the pouch has to be packed tightly or folded.

Thickness changes the pouch's feel, not its size — but it does change how a filled pouch stands. If the stand-up base has to hold up a heavy fill, tell us the fill weight and we will match the structure to it.

For what goes into that structure — laminates, barrier layers and what "smell-proof" is really claiming — see How mylar bag film structures work.

What to send us for an exact size

• Product, and the unit inside the pack (loose flower, a jar, six gummies in a tray, a pre-roll tube)
• Target fill weight, and whether that is net product or including inner packaging
• Where it is sold and how it is displayed — pegged, shelf-standing, in a counter jar
• Whether the pack needs a child-resistant closure, a window, a hang hole or a tear notch
• Quantity for the first run, and your artwork or logo if you have one

With those five things we reply with recommended dimensions, a dieline and pricing, usually within 24 hours. If the size you asked for will not hold your product, we will tell you before you print rather than after.