Min. 100 units · 3–5 days
Coffee Cups
Custom Printed Cups
Specify thisCustom Sleeves
Cup Sleeves built to your specification — your dimensions, your board, your print.
No obligation
Name, email, phone and what you are packing. Attach artwork if you have it. We reply with a specification and a written price, usually within one business day.
Cup Sleeves hold a single-wall hot cup that is too hot to hold without it. That is the starting point for the specification, because fit against the cup taper is what stops migration. A sleeve sized to the widest point slides; one matched to the taper grips.
In service they are used for coffee counters where the sleeve is applied in the second between pouring and handing over.
Cup Sleeves are specified for coffee counters where the sleeve is applied in the second between pouring and handing over. Fit against the cup taper is what stops migration. A sleeve sized to the widest point slides; one matched to the taper grips.
E-flute corrugated for insulation, or a heavy smooth board where print quality matters more than heat protection.
The options we would consider for this format are below; fit against the cup taper is what stops migration. A sleeve sized to the widest point slides; one matched to the taper grips.
The sleeve is the only branded surface on a plain white cup, and it is at eye level in a customer's hand.
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.
The sleeve is the only branded surface on a plain white cup, and it is at eye level in a customer's hand.
The finishes below are quoted line by line. Each is an additional pass, so dropping one is a real saving rather than a rounding difference.
Sized by cup rim diameter and taper, not by volume — a 12oz and a 16oz cup often share a sleeve.
Send the contents rather than a box size. Sleeves are ordered by cup volume rather than by rim diameter, and a loose sleeve migrates immediately.
Four things drive a quote more than anything else: the quantity, the print route, the board grade and the number of finishing passes. Dimensions matter too, but usually through how efficiently the shape nests on the press sheet.
Prices start from $0.30 per piece for large-volume orders. If a cheaper route exists we say so at quoting rather than after the invoice.
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.
The useful starting point is the product, not the pack. Give us its measurements and the quantity, and we work the sleeve outward from there.
A dieline template follows, sized to your product. Prepress checks your artwork against it and issues a proof; nothing runs until you sign that off.
We can produce a plain unprinted sample so you can check the fit and structure of cup sleeves before committing.
Sample costs are normally credited against the production order.
Reference
| Product | Cup Sleeves |
|---|---|
| Category | Custom Sleeves |
| Construction | Wrapped band, glued or flat-supplied |
| Fit | Sized to filled product circumference |
| Ships as | Flat, banded bundles |
| Materials | Uncoated kraft board, C1S paperboard, Corrugated E-flute, Greaseproof paper |
| Printing | Offset lithography, Flexography, Digital press |
| Finishes | Matte lamination, Uncoated natural, Spot UV, Foil stamping, Emboss |
| Minimum order | Minimum order is 100 units on any format, and unit cost falls sharply as the quantity rises. |
| Lead time | 3 to 5 business days after artwork approval |
| Shipping | Across the US, UK, Canada and Australia |
Specification builder
Set what you know, leave the rest. Everything here travels with your request, so nothing gets retyped.
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In practice
Sized by cup rim diameter and taper, not by volume — a 12oz and a 16oz cup often share a sleeve.
The sleeve slides down the cup as it is carried, ending up round the base where it insulates nothing.
Specified for coffee counters where the sleeve is applied in the second between pouring and handing over.
Fit against the cup taper is what stops migration. A sleeve sized to the widest point slides; one matched to the taper grips.
This format sits in our custom sleeves range, alongside 23 other made-to-order formats.
Answers
Specification, minimums and lead times for cup sleeves.
They are sized to the cup at its widest point rather than matched to the taper. A sleeve has to grip partway down the cone — send us the cup, or its rim and base diameters, rather than the volume.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. A plain sample answers fit and structure; a printed one answers colour. On cup sleeves it is usually fit that is worth checking first.
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. A physical sample tells us more than a specification sheet — board caliper and coating are usually described loosely and measured exactly.
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. Tell us at quoting if the delivery point cannot take a pallet, and we will break the consignment into cartons instead.
Every run is cut to your dimensions — there are no stock sizes here. Send the product measurements rather than a box size and we will build the sleeve around them, then send a dieline template you can design onto.
We issue a dieline template sized to your product, prepress checks your artwork against it, and a proof comes back for sign-off. Nothing runs until you approve that proof, and sleeves then take 3 to 5 business days.
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.
Related formats
Next step
Send the dimensions and quantity you need. We reply with a full specification and a written price, usually within one business day.