Custom Laminated Menus

Gloss or Matt Lamination

Gloss laminate makes colours vivid and photographs of dishes look appetising. It is the brighter, more eye-catching option, popular with fast food, cafés and family restaurants. The downside is glare: under strong lights, a gloss menu can reflect and become hard to read at certain angles.

Matt laminate has a softer, more refined look and does not reflect light. It suits restaurants with a calm, upmarket style and venues with bright overhead lighting. Text is easy to read from any angle. Soft-touch laminate, a velvety matt finish, adds a premium feel for fine dining. Outdoor seating is worth a mention here: menus used on terraces and in beer gardens face sunlight and damp air, so a heavier laminate and rounded corners help them survive, and matt is easier to read in bright daylight.

Both gloss and matt laminates are wipe-clean and durable. Choose the one that suits your interior and lighting, and if you are unsure, ask for a sample of each to hold up at your own tables. You can see gloss and matt lamination compared in our finish guide.

Laying Out a Readable Menu

A good menu guides the eye. Group dishes into clear sections with headings, keep descriptions short and give prices a consistent position, usually at the end of each line or description. Leave plenty of space between sections, and avoid fitting so many dishes onto one page that the menu becomes a wall of text.

Font size matters, especially in dim restaurants. Dish names should be at least 11 or 12 pt and descriptions at least 9 pt. A clean sans serif or a classic serif works well; decorative script fonts are best used sparingly for headings only.

Allergen information is important for UK food businesses. Many venues include a short note on the menu directing customers to ask staff, and some mark common allergens with symbols beside each dish. Make sure your allergen information is accurate; it is your responsibility to provide it. You receive a free proof of every page so dish names and prices can be checked at size.

Card Weight and Durability

The card inside the laminate gives the menu its stiffness. A heavier card produces a menu that feels substantial and stands up to daily handling. Lighter card is fine for single-sheet takeaway menus and specials that change often, where a menu only needs to last a few weeks.

Rounded corners are a small detail that makes a big difference to durability. Square corners are where laminate tends to lift and peel first; rounding them helps the menu last longer. For heavily used menus, a thicker laminate gives extra protection, though it makes the menu a little stiffer. If your menus sit in holders or clip boards, check the holder size before ordering, because a menu cut a few millimetres too large will not slot in once it has been laminated. Our board guide has card weights explained for menus that are handled all day.

When to Reprint

Laminated menus last a long time, but your menu will change. Prices rise, dishes come and go and specials rotate. Many restaurants keep their core menu laminated and use a separate card or a board for weekly specials, so they do not need to reprint the main menu every time something changes.

When you do reprint, keeping the same layout means you only need to update the text, which is quick to proof. Ordering a few spare menus at the same time saves you running short when menus go missing or get damaged. Menus do walk out of the door, especially in takeaways and cafés where customers like to keep one at home, so a small stock of spares is sensible. Some venues print a separate, cheaper takeaway leaflet for exactly this reason, keeping the laminated menus for the tables. A short run of A6 flyers for seasonal specials bridges the gap between reprints.

Separate the Specials From the Menu Before You Laminate Anything

The biggest saving on laminated menus comes before printing: take anything that changes often, such as specials, seasonal dishes and prices that move with suppliers, off the main menu and onto a separate card or board. The laminated menu then lasts until the next real redesign. Choose matt lamination if your lighting is bright or the room is used for photos, gloss if the menu leans on food photography, and add rounded corners so the laminate does not lift. Keep dish names at 11 or 12 pt and descriptions at 9 pt or larger, and send allergen information you have checked yourself. Cafés usually pair the menu with table tents for the specials so the two work together.

Send the menu text, logo, photos and the size and format, and a custom quote comes by email within one working day. The free proof shows every page before printing. Printing, laminating and trimming take 4 to 7 working days after approval, menus arrive by tracked courier to UK mainland addresses, and damaged or misprinted menus reported within 10 days are reprinted or refunded.