Paper Cup Cover

A Cover Is Not Quite a Lid

A paper cup cover sits on top of a cup or glass to keep things out, rather than sealing the drink in. It is usually a flat or lightly shaped disc of paperboard, sometimes with tabs that fold down over the rim. You have seen them on the drinking glasses in hotel bathrooms, on water cups at a race aid station, on sample cups at a grocery store demo, and on rows of drinks set out at a wedding before guests arrive.

The job is simple: stop dust, insects, rain and stray hands from getting into the drink. A cover is lighter and cheaper than a snap-on lid, and it lifts off in one motion. It is also a print surface that sits at the very top, where it is the first thing a guest sees when they reach for a drink.

Buyers include hotels and resorts, hospitals and care homes, event caterers, outdoor festivals, airlines, office water stations and anyone setting out drinks ahead of time. Coffee shops and food trucks use covers too, often on cups that are prepped in batches and handed out quickly.

Cover Types and Where Each One Works

We make covers in custom sizes and die-cut shapes to fit the cups or glasses you already use. Board ranges from 10pt to 24pt in white SBS, kraft, white cardstock or recycled board.

A cover is the right pick when drinks are served and drunk in the same place. When drinks are carried away, walked across a parking lot or put in a delivery bag, a fitted lid is safer. In that case, use our fitted paper coffee cup lids, which press onto the rim and stay put.

Designing a Small, Top-Down Print

A cover is seen from above, usually in a group. That gives it a different set of design rules from a cup wall:

• Center your logo. Rows of covers on a table form a neat pattern when each logo sits in the middle.
• Use bold shapes and few words. A cover is often seen from a few feet away.
• For hotels, add a short line such as "Sanitized for your use" or the property name. Guests read these.
• For events, print the couple's names, the date or a sponsor logo. People take photos of a laid table.
• Print both sides if the cover will be flipped or stored face down.

CMYK suits full-color art and photos. PMS keeps a brand or wedding color exact. Gloss gives a bright look, while matte and soft-touch finishes feel more upscale for luxury hotels. Foil stamping, such as gold on white, works well on wedding and gala covers.

Practical Handling

Covers ship flat and stack in a small space, which makes them easy to store under a bar or in a housekeeping cart. Keep them sealed in their packs until use so they stay clean, since that is the whole point of a cover.

At events, place covers on pre-poured drinks right after pouring. On windy days, choose the fold-down tab style or a heavier board so covers do not blow off. At a self-serve water station, set covers beside the cups so guests can grab both. If you need the cups too, see our paper water cups for small sizes that pair with matching covers.

At catered events, covers also save labor. Staff can pour water, iced tea or lemonade before guests arrive, cover each glass and leave the drinks on the tables without worrying about bugs or dust in the half hour before dinner. For breakfast buffets, covered juice glasses on ice look tidy and stay fresh until someone takes one. At hospital bedsides, a cover on a water cup tells the next nurse it has been freshly filled.

Hotel housekeeping teams usually place a cover on each bathroom glass during cleaning. Ordering covers sized to your glassware avoids gaps that make the cover look like an afterthought.

How to Order Paper Cup Covers

1. Measure the rim of the cup or glass, or send us one so we can size the cover.
2. Pick a style: flat, tabbed, straw slot, vented or pull tab.
3. Send your logo or event artwork, and tell us if you want printing on one side or both.
4. Approve the proof. We can send free samples so you can test the fit.
5. Production takes 4 to 6 business days after approval. Rush service is available for event deadlines.

The minimum order is 100 covers, with discounts for larger runs such as a year's supply for a hotel group. Shipping is free to the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia. Other structural options, from cups with handles to cups with lids, are in the paper cup structures category.