Custom 90mm Paper Cups

Printing on Custom 90mm Paper Cups

A cup is a curved, tapered surface, and artwork has to be drawn on a curved template called an arc so it looks straight when the cup is formed. We supply the template and place your design on it in the free proof, so the logo sits level and nothing is lost in the side seam.

Think about how the cup is held. Most people grip it with their right hand, so the side facing them and the side facing the café counter are seen most. A logo repeated twice around the cup ensures it shows in every photo and from every angle. Simple, bold artwork works better than fine detail, especially on ripple cups.

Full colour wraps suit brands with patterned or illustrated identities. One or two colour designs on white or kraft cups look clean and can keep the price down on large runs. Leave space for a write-on area if your baristas mark drinks by hand.

If your specials board changes often, avoid putting drink names on the cup itself; a sticker or the barista pen does that job and the cup design stays useful all year. p3 If you want to see how other cafés have placed logos and write-on panels, the main printed paper cups page has examples at every size.

Who Uses 12oz Printed Cups

Independent coffee shops are the obvious users, but they are far from the only ones. Coffee vans and kiosks rely on printed cups as their main branding, since they may have little signage. Offices and co-working spaces use branded cups at their coffee bars. Vending operators use 90mm cups in machines set for that size, and event caterers use them for hot drinks at conferences and sports grounds.

Bakeries, farm shops and garden centres with cafés often print one cup design for all their hot drinks to give the café a consistent look alongside their other packaging.

Hotels and venues sometimes use them for grab-and-go breakfast drinks, where a branded cup leaving the building does a little marketing for the venue.

Universities and hospitals with on-site cafés also order them, often printing a simple one-colour design for staff and visitor drinks. p3 Cafés with a cold menu often add printed cups for juices and smoothies in the same design so the counter looks consistent.

Lids, Sleeves and Carriers to Match

A 90mm cup works with flat lids, domed lids for foamy drinks and sip lids for travel. Black and white lids are standard; matching the lid colour to your brand is a small touch that makes the whole drink look considered.

If you use single wall cups for very hot drinks, add a printed sleeve, which doubles as another branding surface. Two- and four-cup carriers designed for 12oz cups fit 90mm cups securely, which helps with orders for groups.

Order lids at the same time as cups and test them together. A lid that clicks firmly onto the rim avoids leaks and complaints.

Sip lids with a recessed drinking area work best for coffee on the move, as they reduce splashing when people walk. p3 A printed sleeve for single wall cups can be ordered in the same run so the colours match.

Choosing Quantities

Cups are used quickly, so work out how many hot drinks you serve in an average week and multiply by the number of weeks you want a run to cover. Storage space is often the deciding factor: cups nest in sleeves of a set number, then pack into cartons, and a few months of stock can take up a surprising amount of room.

If you serve several sizes, consider printing the 12oz cup first, since it is usually the best seller, and adding 8oz and 16oz cups in the same design once the first run proves popular.

Track usage for a month before your second order. Real figures from the till are far more reliable than estimates and help you avoid both empty shelves and a stock room full of cups. p2 Groups and office orders go out more tidily in cardboard carriers for two or four cups, which nest flat and take little storage space.

Match the Lid Before You Print the Cup

Before you send artwork, put your current lid on one of our 90mm blanks, or send us the lid maker's name and part number. Rim curl differs by a fraction of a millimetre between cup factories and a lid that is slightly loose will leak on the walk back to the office. We check the fit on a physical sample before the run, which is far cheaper than discovering a mismatch after 5,000 cups arrive.

Then decide wall type from your till data: if more than half of hot drinks leave the shop, double wall pays for itself in sleeves you no longer buy. Send the arc template back with your logo placed twice, opposite each other, so it shows whichever hand holds the cup.

Quotes go out by email within a working day and start at £0.25 per cup. The free proof shows a mock-up of the formed cup, production takes 4 to 7 working days once approved and the cartons travel free and tracked to UK mainland addresses. If you later add an espresso size, our smaller cups for flat whites can carry the same artwork scaled to a shorter arc.