Min. 100 units · 3–5 days
Double Wall Coffee Cups
Custom Printed Cups
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Single Wall Coffee Cups
Bespoke single Wall Coffee Cups 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 volumes you run. Attach artwork if you have it. We reply with a specification and a written price, usually within one business day.
What single wall coffee cups have to cope with
Single Wall Coffee Cups hold hot drinks where a sleeve will be added, or cold drinks where insulation is irrelevant. That is the starting point for the specification, because single-wall is the right choice when sleeves are part of the operation or the drink is cold. It is the wrong default otherwise.
In service they are used for high-volume service where a sleeve is added at the counter, and all cold drink service.
Where single wall coffee cups are actually used
Single Wall Coffee Cups are specified for high-volume service where a sleeve is added at the counter, and all cold drink service. Single-wall is the right choice when sleeves are part of the operation or the drink is cold. It is the wrong default otherwise.
- High-volume service where a sleeve is added at the counter, and all cold drink service
- Coffee shops and cafés
- Quick-service restaurants
- Events and catering
The substrate for single wall coffee cups
Single-wall cup board with a PE or PLA lining, gauged to the volume.
The options we would consider for this format are below; single-wall is the right choice when sleeves are part of the operation or the drink is cold. It is the wrong default otherwise.
- Single-wall PE-lined paperboard
- Double-wall paperboard
- PLA-lined compostable board
- Ripple-wall board
Printing single wall coffee cups
A sleeve will cover the middle band in hot service. Keep essential branding above or below where a sleeve sits.
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 single wall coffee cups
A sleeve will cover the middle band in hot service. Keep essential branding above or below where a sleeve sits.
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 single wall coffee cups
The full size ladder from 4oz through 16oz.
Send the contents rather than a box size. Single-wall is ordered as the default because it is cheapest, without deciding whether sleeves are part of the service.
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 single wall coffee cups before service
Used for hot drinks without a sleeve, where the cup is simply too hot to hold comfortably.
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.
Preparing artwork
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.
Testing the fit first
We can produce a plain unprinted sample so you can check the fit and structure of single wall coffee cups before committing.
Sample costs are normally credited against the production order.
Reference
Single Wall Coffee Cups at a specification level
| Product | Single Wall Coffee Cups |
|---|---|
| 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 Single Wall Coffee Cups 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
Single Wall
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What you get
What you get with this format
Sized to the contents
The full size ladder from 4oz through 16oz.
What goes wrong in service
Used for hot drinks without a sleeve, where the cup is simply too hot to hold comfortably.
Where it is used
Specified for high-volume service where a sleeve is added at the counter, and all cold drink service.
What decides the job
Single-wall is the right choice when sleeves are part of the operation or the drink is cold. It is the wrong default otherwise.
This format sits in our custom printed cups range, alongside 21 other made-to-order formats.
Answers
Ordering single wall coffee cups: the usual questions
Specification, minimums and lead times for single wall coffee cups.
Where should I print on a single-wall cup?
Above or below where a sleeve will sit, if you use sleeves. A design centred on the cup gets covered by the sleeve exactly where the customer is looking.
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 single wall coffee cups, 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.
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 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 single wall coffee cups 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.
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. The board and coating are held together, so a reorder cannot quietly arrive on a stock with different grease resistance.
Do you offer recycled or recyclable options?
Recycled grades are available across most of the substrates we run for paper cups. 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 single wall coffee cups?
A flat 100 units on any format. Most paper cups 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.
Next step
Start on Single Wall Coffee Cups
Send the fill size and the volumes you run. We reply with a full specification and a written price, usually within one business day.