Cardboard Coffee Cups

What People Mean by a Cardboard Coffee Cup

Most customers call a takeaway coffee cup "cardboard," and most suppliers call it "paperboard." It is the same thing: a stiff board, heavier than printer paper, with a thin plastic or plant-based lining on the inside that keeps coffee from soaking into the fibers. The board gives the cup its stiffness. The lining keeps it from leaking and from making coffee taste like wet paper.

Coffee shops, drive-thrus, office kitchens, campus cafes and gas station coffee bars all run on these cups. They are light, they stack, and every inch of the outside can carry your brand. We make them from food-grade SBS, kraft and PE-coated paperboard in weights from 250 to 380 gsm, so you can choose anything from a light sample cup to a stiff, premium cup that does not flex when a customer grips it.

A lot of searches for cardboard coffee cups are really about the sleeve that wraps the cup. The two products work together, and the right pairing depends on how hot your drinks are and how long people hold them.

Board Weight, Wall Type and When You Need a Sleeve

The table below shows how buyers usually match cup construction to the way drinks are served. It is a starting point, not a rule. If your shop pours very hot drinks, lean toward the heavier option.

A single wall cup with a sleeve is the most flexible setup. You keep one cup in stock and print sleeves for each season, promotion or partner. If you want to go that route, our printed paper coffee cup sleeves are made to fit standard cup tapers, and you can order them in the same artwork as your cups.

Double and ripple wall cups skip the sleeve. You save a step at the counter and the cup looks cleaner, but each cup costs more board, so it is worth comparing both setups when you request a quote.

Sizes, and Where the Small Ones Fit

Cardboard coffee cups are made in custom sizes from 4 oz to 20 oz. In the US, a 12 oz cup is the usual medium coffee, 16 oz is the common large, and 20 oz covers extra-large iced and blended drinks. An 8 oz cup is a typical small or a cappuccino, and 4 oz handles espresso shots, cortados and free tasters.

If most of your volume is espresso, samples or a kids' hot cocoa, a dedicated small run often makes more sense than shrinking a large-cup design. See our small cardboard cups for tasters for that end of the range. Small cups give you a tiny print area, so a simple mark works better than a full illustration.

Designing Artwork That Survives Heat and Handling

A coffee cup is round, tapered and held in a hand, so part of the design is always hidden. Plan for that:

• Put your logo where a right-handed customer's palm will not cover it, and repeat it on the opposite side.
• Keep the side seam in mind. Ask us to place it in a plain area so no text or face runs across the join.
• Leave the top inch around the rim simple. A lid covers part of it and lips touch the rest.
• Add a QR code or social handle low on the cup, where it is easy to scan while the cup is on a table.
• White board shows the truest color. Kraft board gives an earthy look and works best with black or one strong color.

Heat does not change printed ink colors in normal use, but condensation from iced drinks can make a matte cup look darker in spots. Gloss or a moisture-resistant coating keeps iced coffee cups looking clean. Spot UV on a logo adds a bit of shine against matte board and looks good on premium menus. CMYK and PMS printing are both available, and you can add foil on sleeves or premium cups when the budget allows.

Running Them Day to Day

Store cups in their cartons, upright, in a dry room. Board picks up moisture from a damp storeroom and that can make lids fit loosely. Keep a short stack at each station rather than the whole sleeve, so cups do not pick up spills or steam from the espresso machine.

Order lids with your cups so the rim diameter matches. For delivery and drive-thru, pair cups with a carrier so drinks travel upright. If you also sell cold drinks, the same artwork can run on a heavier cup with a moisture-resistant finish.

Ordering Your Cardboard Coffee Cups

1. List the sizes on your menu and roughly how many of each you go through per month.
2. Choose single, double or ripple wall for each size, or ask our team to suggest one.
3. Send your logo in vector format (AI, EPS or PDF) and any Pantone colors.
4. Approve the digital proof. You can ask for a free sample before a big run.
5. Production runs 4 to 6 business days after approval, and shipping is free to the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia.

Orders start at 100 units with discounts as quantity grows. You can see related cups, sleeves and trays in our full cardboard cups category.