✅ Updated 1/13/21

While bags aren’t absolutely necessary to press rosin, there are several reasons why rosin bags will bolster your success. Packing your source material into rosin bags before it goes onto the press makes it easier to handle the material and control its placement between the plates, enhances the purity of your final product, and can even increase your yields. 

Workability and Control 

Packing source material into rosin bags allows you to easily move the material from your tabletop onto the plates, and it will prevent your material from spreading out inconsistently across the plates. Containing the material in a bag makes it easier to handle and reposition between the plates as needed. 

And using a funnel to load the bags will save you time and hassle. Always be mindful of any efficiencies you can gain in your process. 

By using a rosin bag, you’re optimizing for workability and control of the source material. Bags help prevent misplacement between the plates and potential spills while handling the material in preparation for pressing. 

Don’t settle for subpar quality. Use rosin bags that are specifically designed for the heat and pressure used in rosin production. 

Quality  

Rosin bags act as filters and allow only the desired ingredients in rosin to pass from the source material onto the parchment paper. Bags keep the undesirable fats, lipids, waxes, and plant particles from mixing with the rosin, so that what gets squeezed out from between the plates is only pure, high-quality rosin. 

If you’re not using bags, you can pick our plant material from your rosin, but this is a tedious and time-consuming task. In addition to the difficulty in carefully picking out particles from the rosin, there will still be some plant contaminants that you can’t see with the naked eye that will remain in your final product. Even though you can make clear rosin that has a pure appearance without a bag, chances are it still contains residuals from the source material that will impact flavor.    

Rosin bags will ensure that you get a pure product and ultimately enhance the quality of your rosin. Also, be sure that you’re using the right micron size for your material. You can read more about finding the right size bags here. 

Without a bag, the source material will have a tendency to “pancake out”, which increases the surface area of the material and reduces pressure. Without a bag, source material doesn't hold consistent pressure and this will reduce the amount of rosin extracted. 

The key is limiting the surface area so that the maximum amount of rosin can be effectively squeezed out, and bags will accomplish this. The greater the surface area of material between the plates, the more rosin will re-absorb into the source material and fail to be extracted onto the parchment paper. 

As pressure increases, instead of spreading out further and further between the plates, material that’s held within a rosin bag will maintain even, consistent pressure and allow the maximum amount of rosin to escape. 

If you want to increase yields, experiment with rosin bags and see the difference. And one easy way to make sure you’re collecting every last bit of your yield is to use a rosin stamp, making collection easy and efficient.

Conclusion 

Although you can get away with pressing good rosin without bags, you’ll be spending more time carefully handling your source material, missing out on quality control, and potentially leaving additional yield stuck inside the material without bags.   

Try pressing the same material with and without bags and let us know about your results in the comments below.  

Happy squishing! 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What happens if I don't use a rosin bag?
The consequences of pressing rosin without the use of a rosin filter bag depend on the type of cannabis source material being used. Regardless of the type of material being pressed, both extraction pressure accuracy and purity of rosin will suffer as a result of pressing without a filter. Pressing cannabis flowers without a rosin filter bag, for example, leads to a higher percentage of plant lipids in the final product, sometimes accompanied by visible plant particles.

What is a rosin bag made of?
The best rosin bags are made of food grade nylon that can withstand the high heat and pressure during rosin extraction. Strong stitching is also necessary for a quality rosin bag. The Press Club Rosin bags are handmade with a proprietary stitching using food grade nylon.

What is a rosin bag blowout?
A rosin bag blowout occurs when the seams of the filter bag burst during extraction, allowing cannabis material to leak out and potentially contaminate the rosin. Blowouts can occur if too much pressure is applied too early in the extraction. The best approach to applying pressure is low and slow. The Press Club Premium Rosin bags come with a Zero Blowout Guarantee.

Can you use metal rosin filter bags?
While steel screen mesh can be used to press rosin (specifically when creating THC-A crystals), food-grade nylon is the best material for rosin bags. It provides the right amount of flex and strength, in addition to its heat-resistant qualities.

Can I use a coffee filter as a rosin bag?
This is not a great option, but it is possible. If you're in a pinch, you can use a coffee filter as a rosin filter bag. However, these are not reliable, they're prone to tearing, and they're less effective in filtering the rosin as The Press Club Rosin Filter Bags.