Custom Drink Coasters

Shapes, Sizes and Edges

Round and square coasters are the most common, usually between 90 and 108 mm across, which comfortably fits a pint glass base with room for the design around it. Rounded-corner squares soften the look while keeping the extra print area of a square.

Die-cut shapes are where coasters become memorable. A brewery might cut the mat in the outline of its bottle cap, a coffee shop as a bean, a sports bar as a shield. The cutter is made to your outline, and simple shapes without thin points or deep notches work best because they stay strong once the board is damp. The free proof shown at coaster size makes it obvious how much of the design a pint glass will cover.

• Round coasters for pubs and bars
• Square and rounded-square coasters for cafés and hotels
• Oval coasters for stemmed glasses
• Die-cut shapes that follow a brand outline
• Double-sided coasters with a different message on each face

Designing and Finishing a Coaster People Read

A coaster is seen from above and at an angle, usually with a glass covering the middle. Put the logo or main message towards the edge rather than dead centre, or repeat it so it reads whichever way round the mat lands. Bold colours and large type survive a drink sitting on top; fine detail does not.

Use the reverse. Single-sided coasters cost less, but double-sided printing gives you a second message for a modest extra charge. One face could carry your logo and the other a QR code for the menu, a quiz question, a cocktail recipe or a reason to come back next week. People turn coasters over without thinking, so the back gets read.

If you are designing a series, keep a common layout and change one element, such as the colour or the illustration. Four or six designs on rotation give regulars something new to pick up.

We print full colour on the top layer of the board, with Pantone spot colours where a brand colour needs a precise match. Uncoated pulpboard has a soft, matt surface with a classic beer-mat look. For brighter colours and a smoother feel, a coated top sheet can be used.

Most coasters are left unlaminated so they keep their absorbency. Where absorbency does not matter, such as display coasters or coasters for a hotel desk, a matt or gloss coating gives a cleaner finish and a wipeable surface. Each board is photographed wet and dry in our print and finish comparison.

Coasters as a Promotion Channel

It is easy to treat coasters as a running cost, but few pieces of print stay in front of a customer for the whole of their visit. Someone lingering over a drink looks down at the mat again and again, so the space is worth planning.

Give it one clear action: book the function room, try the guest ale, join the Tuesday quiz, follow us for live music dates. A single message with a QR code or short web address does more than a crowded design trying to say everything. Change the message when the promotion changes, and give each design its own code so you can see which one brings people back.

Drinks brands and local businesses sometimes share the cost of a coaster run with a venue in return for space on the reverse. For a bar, that can cover a good part of the print bill; for a brewery, it puts the name on tables it does not own. Breweries that tag a bottle on the bar pair the coaster with bottle neck tags in the same artwork.

Planning Quantities for a Venue

Coasters go faster than people expect. They get wet, they get taken home and they are swept away when tables are cleared. For a busy bar, count tables and stools, think about how often mats are replaced during a service, and order enough to last several weeks so you are not reprinting constantly.

For an event, allow a few coasters per guest, since many will leave in pockets and handbags. If you are printing several designs, split the quantity across them rather than ordering a full run of each, and keep the artwork files so a top-up is quick.

Store spare coasters flat and dry. Pulpboard is made to absorb, so a damp cellar or a carton left beside a glass washer will soften stock before it ever reaches a table. Venues that also reprint their laminated menus for the bar each season often align the two runs.

Count Tables and Weeks, Then Add a Third

The quantity on a coaster order is the part most venues underestimate. Count the tables and the bar positions, multiply by the number of coasters put out per day, multiply by the weeks until you plan to reorder, then add a third for the ones that go home in pockets. A pub with 25 tables that changes coasters daily uses several thousand a month. Decide board thickness from how long each coaster lives: thick pulpboard for a mat that sits all day, thinner event board for one evening. Then pick the shape and whether the reverse carries a second message. Cafés serving mostly hot drinks on saucers sometimes prefer the lighter paper coasters in absorbent board.

Prepare one file per side with 3 mm bleed. Email the shape, size, board, number of designs and quantity, and a custom quote comes back within one working day, followed by a free design proof. Coasters are printed in 4 to 7 working days once approved and delivered free and tracked on the UK mainland in 2 to 3 days. Coasters with a print fault reported within 10 days are reprinted or refunded.