Custom Food Packaging

Cone Sleeves

Made-to-order cone Sleeves in uncoated kraft board, printed to your artwork and cut to your dimensions.

Minimum order
100 units
Production
3–5 business days
Construction
sleeve
Delivery
US, UK, Canada, Australia

No obligation

Ask for a quote

Name, email, phone and what you are packing and the volumes you run. Attach artwork if you have it. We reply with a specification and a written price, usually within one business day.

The more detail you give, the more accurate the quote.

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PDF, AI, EPS, SVG, PNG, JPG, WEBP or ZIP. Up to 5 files, 10 MB each.

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    What cone sleeves have to cope with

    Cone Sleeves hold a filled cone of fries, churros or crepes, gripped around the middle while eaten. That is the starting point for the specification, because seam placement and adhesive matter more than board weight. Put the seam away from the natural grip point.

    In service they are used for street food and festival service, eaten standing up within minutes of being filled.

    Where cone sleeves are actually used

    Cone Sleeves are specified for street food and festival service, eaten standing up within minutes of being filled. Seam placement and adhesive matter more than board weight. Put the seam away from the natural grip point.

    • Street food and festival service, eaten standing up within minutes of being filled
    • Food service branding
    • Retail product banding
    • Gift presentation

    The substrate for cone sleeves

    A greaseproof-lined board — the whole inner surface is in contact with hot, oily food.

    The options we would consider for this format are below; seam placement and adhesive matter more than board weight. Put the seam away from the natural grip point.

    • Uncoated kraft board
    • C1S paperboard
    • Corrugated E-flute
    • Greaseproof paper
    • Recycled board

    Printing cone sleeves

    The seam overlap needs an ink-free strip so the adhesive keys to board rather than to print.

    Offset lithography, Flexography, Digital press are all available for this format. Run length usually decides which is cheapest: digital removes the plate cost on short quantities, offset and flexo overtake it at volume.

    Finishing cone sleeves

    The seam overlap needs an ink-free strip so the adhesive keys to board rather than to print.

    Each finish below is a separate pass on the press or the finishing line, which is why they are quoted individually rather than bundled.

    • Matte lamination
    • Uncoated natural
    • Spot UV
    • Foil stamping
    • Emboss

    Sizing cone sleeves

    Specified by cone diameter and depth rather than a box footprint — commonly 4 to 6 in across the mouth.

    Send the contents rather than a box size. The sleeve is often ordered to match a graphic rather than a grip, and the seam ends up where the hand goes.

    Holding cone sleeves before service

    The seam opens under a warm, greasy grip and the cone unwraps in the customer’s hand.

    Paperboard also absorbs moisture from the air until it equalises with its surroundings. If stock sits more than about six weeks in unconditioned space, a moisture-resistant coating is worth its small premium.

    Getting artwork press-ready

    Measure the circumference of the filled product, not the empty one, and add 10 mm for the glue lap.

    Supply a print-ready PDF or vector file with fonts outlined and images at 300 dpi. Our prepress team checks every file before a proof is issued. The check that catches most files is type sitting too close to a crease, which is easier to move at layout than at proof.

    What we need from you

    Tell us what goes inside, how many you need and when. Those three answers are enough for us to specify and price the job properly.

    You approve the quote, we send the dieline, prepress proofs it, and production follows. The proof stage is where changes are still free.

    What buyers get wrong with cone sleeves

    The sleeve is often ordered to match a graphic rather than a grip, and the seam ends up where the hand goes.

    The rest of these come up often enough across the format to be worth stating plainly.

    • Specifying board weight without saying how hot or greasy the contents are.
    • Forgetting that a pack carried at an angle in a courier bag behaves differently to one on a counter.
    • Choosing a vented lid for a dish that needs to stay hot, or a sealed one for a dish that needs to stay crisp.
    • Ordering a year of stock that then sits through a humid summer.

    Sampling before you order

    We can produce a plain unprinted sample so you can check the fit and structure of cone sleeves before committing.

    Sample costs are normally credited against the production order.

    Reference

    Cone Sleeves at a specification level

    ProductCone Sleeves
    CategoryCustom Food Packaging
    ConstructionWrapped band, glued or flat-supplied
    FitSized to filled product circumference
    Ships asFlat, banded bundles
    MaterialsUncoated kraft board, C1S paperboard, Corrugated E-flute, Greaseproof paper
    PrintingOffset lithography, Flexography, Digital press
    FinishesMatte lamination, Uncoated natural, Spot UV, Foil stamping, Emboss
    Minimum orderMinimum order is 100 units on any format, and unit cost falls sharply as the quantity rises.
    Lead time3 to 5 business days after artwork approval
    ShippingAcross the US, UK, Canada and Australia

    Specification builder

    Specify Cone Sleeves in under a minute

    Set what you know, leave the rest. Everything here travels with your request, so nothing gets retyped.

    • 100-unit minimum
    • 3–5 day production
    • Free dieline
    • No obligation
    Approximation only — proportions, colour family and finish character. Not a colour proof, and the panel shown is a placeholder, not your artwork.
    Packaging type
    Box style
    Quantity
    Colour
    Material
    Printing
    Finish

    Drop files or browse

    Up to 5 files, 10 MB each.

      Prices start from $0.30 per piece for large-volume orders. Final pricing depends on size, material, printing, finishes, and quantity.

      What you get

      Where this holds up on a line

      Sized to the contents

      Specified by cone diameter and depth rather than a box footprint — commonly 4 to 6 in across the mouth.

      The failure worth avoiding

      The seam opens under a warm, greasy grip and the cone unwraps in the customer’s hand.

      Where it is used

      Specified for street food and festival service, eaten standing up within minutes of being filled.

      The detail that matters

      Seam placement and adhesive matter more than board weight. Put the seam away from the natural grip point.

      This format sits in our custom food packaging range, alongside 33 other made-to-order formats.

      Answers

      Running cone sleeves: common questions

      Specification, minimums and lead times for cone sleeves.

      How exactly can you match our brand colour?

      On offset and flexo we hold the ink formulation, which gives a tight match run to run. Digital has a wider tolerance. If exact consistency across repeat runs matters more than short-run economics, we will quote the litho route.

      Are these food-contact compliant?

      We specify food-contact compliant boards and inks where the pack touches food directly. Tell us whether contact is direct or through a liner for cone sleeves, because it changes which stocks are available to you.

      How do you stop grease showing through?

      A grease-resistant coating or a greaseproof liner. Untreated board will always strike through eventually with hot, oily food — that is a property of the material rather than a quality fault, and it is inexpensive to design out.

      Can you hold the specification for repeat orders?

      Yes. Once a first run is approved we hold the board, structure, dimensions, print method and finishes against your account, so a reorder references the same specification exactly rather than being re-derived. That includes the ink formulation, which is what keeps a brand colour consistent between runs rather than drifting a shade each time.

      Do you offer recycled or recyclable options?

      Recycled grades are available across most of the substrates we run for sleeves. Recycled content, kerbside recyclability and certified compostability are three different claims though, so tell us which one you intend to print.

      What file format should I send artwork in?

      A print-ready PDF or a vector file, with fonts outlined and any raster images at 300 dpi at final size. We supply the dieline to design onto, and prepress checks bleed, safe area and crease clearance before issuing a proof. The dieline we supply carries the crease positions, so keeping type clear of a crease is easier to solve at layout than at proof.

      What is the minimum order for cone sleeves?

      A flat 100 units on any format. Most sleeves in this range are quoted from 100 units upward because unit cost falls sharply above that, but the minimum exists so you can validate a structure first.

      How long do cone sleeves take to produce?

      3 to 5 business days after artwork approval, plus freight. Sleeve runs with applied finishes can take longer because each finish is a separate pass, and we confirm a firm date in writing with the quote.

      What do cone sleeves cost?

      Prices start from $0.30 per piece for large-volume orders. For this format the biggest levers are quantity, print route, board grade and how many finishing passes are involved. We quote each element separately so you can see where the money is going. Finishing passes are the lever buyers most often underestimate: each one is a separate run through the line.

      Can I see a sample first?

      Yes. We can send a plain unprinted sample so you can check the fit and structure, or a printed prototype for colour and finish. Sample costs are normally credited against the production order. Worth running a few through your actual line rather than checking them by hand: fill speed and hot contents find fit problems that a desk check does not.

      Can you match packaging we already use?

      Send the current specification or a physical sample and we will quote to match it rather than proposing an alternative you would then have to re-approve internally. Tell us the coating on the pack you are matching too. Grease and moisture resistance are not visible in a sample and they change which stocks we can quote.

      Where do you deliver?

      All 50 US states, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, on the same timeline everywhere: 3 to 5 business days of production after artwork approval, then 5 to 7 business days in transit. Every run is made to order and shipped directly to your address rather than pulled from stock, so you receive current production rather than whatever has been sitting in a warehouse. Freight is costed separately by weight, volume and destination. If stock is going into a kitchen or a service counter rather than a warehouse, tell us — case sizes that a single person can lift and store matter more there than pallet efficiency.

      Next step

      Get a price for Cone Sleeves

      Send the fill size and the volumes you run. We reply with a full specification and a written price, usually within one business day.