Printed paper cups for ice cream shops and cafés
In an ice cream shop the paper cup holds milkshakes, cold drinks and sometimes the ice cream itself; in a café it goes out with every order. Because customers carry the cup out of the shop and down the street, a printed paper cup is the surface of your brand that travels furthest. In this guide we explain the rules of cup printing and how to match it with the rest of your packaging.
Gepako team · Updated:
Cup layout and seam
Like an ice cream cup, the body of a paper cup is a truncated cone: it is wrapped from a fan-shaped sheet, one edge is overlapped and glued onto the other, and the base is folded in underneath. Printing is done on that fan-shaped sheet. No logo or text goes on the overlap, the seam; the seam is usually planned to sit at the back of the cup.
Text placed as a straight line on the flat layout looks curved once the cup is formed. That is why logos and text are placed along the arc of the layout, so they read straight on the finished cup. The safe area and 3 mm bleed rules apply here too.
Logo placement
When a cup is held, the fingers cover the middle of the body. Placing the main logo in the upper half, a little below the rim, gives the best visibility. A logo on both sides of the cup means customers holding it in either hand still see it. Avoid printing too close to the rim; that part is rolled to form the lip of the cup.
Simple designs work better on cups: a logo on a single background colour, with your social media handle below. Cups appear in photos often, and a legible logo is remembered better than a busy pattern.
Colour and matching your packaging
When the cup shares the same tone as your cone sleeves, cups and napkins, every item on the counter tells the same brand story. Gepako prints in its own facility, so colour consistency comes from a single press line; simply state your brand colour codes on the proof. Food-safe raw materials are used.
Ordering cups together with serving products such as napkins and stickers builds a single brand language on the counter. For products printed with the same logo a set proof is prepared; you see the layout of each item on one page and approve or request changes product by product. If you run a café, the same cup design can serve both coffee and cold drinks.
Proof and quote
Once your design is ready, you approve the proof on the order tracking page and production starts after approval. Before printing you can view the paper cup with your logo in 3D on the See Your Logo page, download the image and share it with your team.
Cup sizes, carton quantity and minimum order are kept up to date on the product page. For a price, select the paper cup in the Quick Quote form; you can request it in the same quote as serving products such as napkins and stickers.
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List the products and approximate quantities; our sales team replies with a carton-based price.
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