Butcher Paper Tray Liners

A sheet that makes a basket a plate

A tray liner is the paper between the food and the basket. Without it, a burger sits on bare plastic, the fries slide, and every basket goes to the dish pit greasy. With it, the basket wipes clean and the paper takes the mess.

Burger joints, BBQ counters, wing bars, fish fry nights, food trucks with a window and a stack of wire baskets: all of them go through liners by the carton.

They are the same 40 lb butcher paper as the rest of the catalog, in white or brown kraft, cut to the sizes baskets actually come in.

Which liner size drops into which basket?

The 10 x 14 in liner is the one most kitchens mean when they say basket paper. Measure the top of your basket, add 4 in each way for the walls, and you land on the size. Anything else is a custom cut; put the measurements on the quote.

How is a liner folded at the pass?

1. Pull one liner from the stack beside the pass. Do not pre-fold a pile; folded paper creases and springs back.
2. Drop it into the basket with the long side matching the long side of the basket.
3. Push the center down with the heel of your hand. The paper drapes up the walls on its own.
4. Pinch the two long edges at the rim so they stand up a little. That lip catches a sliding fry.
5. Food on, ticket on, out. Five seconds, start to finish.

A printed liner goes in print side up. If the logo is in the center it will be covered by the burger; put the logo in a corner or run a repeat so it shows at the edges.

White or brown kraft under fried food?

White liners make the food look bright and sauce colors pop. They also show grease immediately; a basket of wings turns the white paper translucent in a few minutes. Many kitchens like that look. If you do not, ask for waxed white, which holds grease on the surface and keeps the basket dry.

Brown kraft hides grease and reads as rustic. One dark ink on kraft looks like a stamp and prints cheaply. Two colors on kraft start to look muddy, so keep it simple.

Either color, uncoated, is fine for a burger and fries that will be eaten in ten minutes. Waxed white is for the heavy stuff: fried chicken, wings in sauce, anything that sits under a heat lamp.

Printing a logo or a pattern on tray liners

A liner is the cheapest piece of branding a restaurant puts in front of a customer. It is under the food in every photo they take.

The four photos on this page show sample prints: a two-color repeat in a red basket, the same style folded up a wire basket, a dark version under a burger, and a black-ink design in a wing basket. None of them is a stock design; each run prints your artwork.

One or two colors is the usual choice. A repeat pattern across the whole sheet always shows at the edges; a single logo should sit in a corner. Pantone solid-coated matches are available, and the free proof shows the liner at true size with unlimited edits. To try a logo on a liner photo first, open Design Your Butcher Paper and drop it on.

Do tray liners stop grease soaking through to the basket?

An uncoated liner slows grease; it does not stop it. Fries and a burger leave the basket dry. A pile of wings in sauce wets through a single uncoated sheet in about fifteen minutes.

Two fixes. Waxed white holds grease on the face for the whole meal. Or double up: a plain 8 x 10 in under a printed 10 x 14 in, which many wing bars do because the printed sheet stays presentable longer.

Brown kraft does not stop grease any better than white; it just hides the stain. The basket matters too: a wire basket lets air under the paper, so the liner dries out faster than it does in a solid plastic one.

Why liners instead of tearing paper off a roll?

• Every liner is the same size, so every basket looks the same on the pass.
• No tearing bar at the pass, no ragged edge sticking out of the basket.
• A carton of 1,000 stacks beside the baskets; a roll needs a dispenser and bench space.
• Printed liners put the logo in the same place every time; printed roll paper tears wherever the cook tears it.
• A roll still wins for lining a sheet pan or a catering platter at odd sizes. Both formats come from the same paper.

The butcher paper sheets range lists the other pre-cut sizes if a liner is too small for the job.

Mistakes to avoid with basket liners

Buying 12 x 12 in for an oval basket. It fits flat but will not climb the walls; 10 x 14 in does.

Putting the logo dead center. The food covers it. Corner or repeat.

Using uncoated white under saucy wings and wondering why the basket is wet. That is a waxed white job.

Storing the carton next to the fryer. Paper picks up grease from the air and the top sheets go soft.

How to order butcher paper tray liners

Choose white or brown, pick a size, and give the number of 1,000-liner cartons. Attach the artwork if they print.

A written quote lands within one business day. Printed liners get a free proof; approve it and production starts, 4 to 6 business days. Plain liners skip the proof. Delivery is free and tracked to any US address in 2 to 3 business days.

The tray liner quote form takes the size, color and quantity in under a minute, and a photo of your basket helps if the size is unusual.