Min. 100 units · 3–5 days
Ice Cream Packaging
Custom Food Packaging
Specify thisCustom Printed Cups
Ice Cream Cups with Lids
Bespoke ice Cream Cups with Lids manufactured to order, with material and finish chosen around how the product ships.
- Minimum order
- 100 units
- Production
- 3–5 business days
- Construction
- paper cup
- Delivery
- US, UK, Canada, Australia
No obligation
Get a price
Name, email, phone and what you are packing and the finish you have in mind. Attach artwork if you have it. We reply with a specification and a written price, usually within one business day.
What ice cream cups with lids have to cope with
Ice Cream Cups with Lids hold a frozen dessert that sweats on the outside and melts on the inside. That is the starting point for the specification, because this needs an exterior barrier as well as an interior lining. They are different requirements.
In service they are used for ice cream counters and retail freezers where the cup is handled warm and wet immediately after purchase.
Where ice cream cups with lids are actually used
Ice Cream Cups with Lids are specified for ice cream counters and retail freezers where the cup is handled warm and wet immediately after purchase. This needs an exterior barrier as well as an interior lining. They are different requirements.
- Ice cream counters and retail freezers where the cup is handled warm and wet immediately after purchase
- Coffee shops and cafés
- Quick-service restaurants
- Events and catering
The substrate for ice cream cups with lids
A lined cup with an exterior barrier coating, and a lid matched to the rim rather than the volume.
The options we would consider for this format are below; this needs an exterior barrier as well as an interior lining. They are different requirements.
- Single-wall PE-lined paperboard
- Double-wall paperboard
- PLA-lined compostable board
- Ripple-wall board
Printing ice cream cups with lids
Print must sit under the barrier coat, or surface condensation lifts it in the 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.
Finishing ice cream cups with lids
Print must sit under the barrier coat, or surface condensation lifts it in the 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.
- Matte outer
- Gloss outer
- Uncoated kraft outer
- Soft-touch outer
Sizing ice cream cups with lids
Squat and wide by volume, from single scoop to sharing sizes, with a matched lid.
Send the contents rather than a box size. The cup is specified for the freezer, but the failure happens in the minutes after it leaves the freezer.
What moves the price
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.
Holding ice cream cups with lids before service
Condensation on the outside softens the cup while the customer holds it, and the lid loosens as it does.
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
Cup artwork is built on a fan-shaped dieline. Keep type at least 6 mm from the top rim and bottom curl, and expect slight distortion at the seam.
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.
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.
Seeing the finish first
Foil, soft-touch and deboss all read differently in person than on a screen, so we recommend a printed prototype rather than a digital proof alone for anything finish-led.
Sample costs are normally credited against the production order.
Reference
Ice Cream Cups with Lids at a specification level
| Product | Ice Cream Cups with Lids |
|---|---|
| Category | Custom Printed Cups |
| Construction | Paper cup |
| Lining | PE or PLA liquid barrier |
| Rim | Rolled rim, lid-compatible |
| Wall | Single, double or ripple wall |
| Materials | Single-wall PE-lined paperboard, Double-wall paperboard, PLA-lined compostable board, Ripple-wall board |
| Printing | Offset lithography, Flexography, Digital press |
| Finishes | Matte outer, Gloss outer, Uncoated kraft outer, Soft-touch outer |
| 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
Specify Ice Cream Cups with Lids 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
Ice Cream
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What you get
What this format does for the brand
Sized to the contents
Squat and wide by volume, from single scoop to sharing sizes, with a matched lid.
What goes wrong in service
Condensation on the outside softens the cup while the customer holds it, and the lid loosens as it does.
The setting it is built for
Specified for ice cream counters and retail freezers where the cup is handled warm and wet immediately after purchase.
The detail that decides it
This needs an exterior barrier as well as an interior lining. They are different requirements.
This format sits in our custom printed cups range, alongside 21 other made-to-order formats.
Answers
Ordering ice cream cups with lids: the usual questions
Specification, minimums and lead times for ice cream cups with lids.
Why does my ice cream cup go soft in the hand?
Condensation on the outside, not melt on the inside. Humid air condenses on a frozen cup within a minute and untreated board absorbs it. It needs an exterior barrier coating, which is a separate thing from the interior lining.
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 ice cream cups with lids, 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.
How do I measure a bottle for its carton?
At the widest point, which is frequently not the base, and including the cap or pump. Send us the actual container if you can — a measurement from a drawing misses flex and applied label thickness, and both decide whether ice cream cups with lids close cleanly.
How much panel space do ingredient lists need?
More than most brands allow for. Ingredient copy and any warnings compete directly with the design, and adding them late usually forces a reflow. We block the area on the dieline before you commit design time.
Will these survive cold storage?
With the right adhesive, yes. Standard carton glue becomes brittle in sustained cold and a seam that is sound at room temperature can crack when handled cold. A cold-tolerant adhesive costs very little and prevents it.
Are these suitable for hot and cold drinks?
The wall construction and the lining differ between the two. A cup specified for hot service will sweat with a cold drink, and a cold cup will not insulate. Tell us which service you need, or both if you want a single stock item.
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. Ask for the printed prototype rather than the plain sample if the question is finish — soft-touch, foil and deboss all read differently in the hand than on a screen.
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. This format nests or lies flat, so a large quantity takes up far less freight volume than the finished pack suggests.
Can I order ice cream cups with lids in a custom size?
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 paper cup around them, then send a dieline template you can design onto.
What happens after I approve the quote?
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 paper cups then take 3 to 5 business days.
Next step
Get Ice Cream Cups with Lids quoted with the finish
Send the fill size and the volumes you run. We reply with a full specification and a written price, usually within one business day.