Printed and Coloured Paper Cups in Your Shades

Starting with colour instead of size

Some customers know their sizes already and want the cup to match a brand. Others are planning a party, a launch or a shop fit and the colour is the whole point.

Either way, every cup on this page uses the same print process. What changes is the base board, how much of the cup is covered and how exact the shade needs to be.

If your logo is the star and the colour is secondary, our branded paper cups built around your logo are the natural place to begin.

Most colour and print choices work on every size from 2oz to 20oz, so you can settle the look first and confirm sizes afterwards.

• Cafés matching a shop fit or uniform
• Brands launching a new product
• Wedding and party planners
• Bakeries and dessert bars
• Agencies running promotional events

Every printed and coloured cup compared

Twelve products sit in this group. Some are about a base board, some about a printed colour and some about the style of artwork.

Use the table to narrow it down to two or three, then read those pages in full.

White, kraft and brown boards

The board is the canvas under your ink, and it changes every colour printed on it. White board gives the truest result, which is why bright palettes and photos look their best on crisp white paper cups.

Kraft board is natural brown, and ink sits on top of it rather than replacing it. Dark inks look rich, but yellows and pale blues lose their punch.

Brown cups can go either way. You can have a brown tone printed over white board for a controlled shade, or bare kraft for texture.

If you cannot decide, ask for the same artwork proofed on two boards. Seeing them side by side usually settles it within a minute.

Matching an exact brand colour

CMYK builds colour from four inks and is ideal for photos, gradients and illustrations. Pantone uses a premixed ink, so a specific brand shade comes out the same on every run.

For strong single colours like a signature red, Pantone is usually the safer choice. Our red paper cups matched to your shade show why, because red drifts more than most colours when it is built from four inks.

Give us a Pantone reference if you have one. If not, send a sample or a screen colour and our team suggests the closest match on your proof.

Screens show colour with light, while a cup shows it with ink on board. That is why a shade picked from a website can look duller once printed, and why a reference code matters.

Dark and metallic looks

Black cups make a strong statement on a counter and photograph well under warm café lighting. A white or cream logo stands out clearly against the dark wall.

Gold works differently. On our gold paper cups for celebrations, the gold is a printed tone over white board, used for full wraps, rim bands or patterns.

Both styles look best with simple artwork. Fine lines and small text can fill in on dark backgrounds, so we check sizes on the proof.

Dark cups also pair well with black lids for an all-dark finish. Gold looks smartest next to white or blush artwork, where it has room to shine.

Soft shades and fresh greens

Pastels need care because a pale tint can look patchy if it is built from too little ink. Pantone gives smoother pinks, mints and lilacs, and we flag any tint that might print unevenly.

Pink is a favourite with bakeries, dessert bars and party planners, from blush through to a bright fuchsia.

Green suits juice bars, garden centres and plant-based menus. Our green paper cups in your chosen shade run from sage to deep forest, with a leaf pattern or plain panel.

Think about what sits next to the cup too. A mint cup on a pale wood counter looks calm, while the same shade beside bright packaging can fade into the background.

Using colour to sort drinks

Colour is not only decoration. A café that sells oat, soy and dairy drinks, or a juice bar with six blends, can use cup colour so staff grab the right one fast.

That is the job of coloured paper cups for coding drinks, where each colour is quoted as its own design within one order.

Keep the logo in the same place on every colour. Customers then read the cups as one family rather than a jumble.

Write the colour key on a card by the till for the first few weeks. Staff learn it fast, and customers soon start asking for their drink by colour.

• Dairy and plant milks on different colours
• Decaf in its own shade
• One colour per smoothie or juice blend
• Different colours for staff and visitors at events

How to plan a printed cup design

A good printed cup comes from a few clear choices made in the right order. These steps keep the proof rounds short.

Our designers help at every stage for free, so you do not need finished artwork to start.

1. Pick the board: white for bright colour, kraft for a natural look.
2. Decide on coverage: one side, two sides or a full wrap.
3. Give us colour references, ideally Pantone codes.
4. Send your logo as AI, PDF, EPS or SVG if you can, or a sharp PNG or JPG.
5. Review the digital proof for each size and colour.
6. Approve, then printing takes 4 to 6 working days.

Patterns that wrap the whole cup

Patterns are the one style that looks right from every angle. Stripes, florals, butterflies and brand motifs all work as a continuous wrap.

The tricky part is the seam where the pattern meets itself. On our patterned paper cups with full wraps, we set the design on a curved template so the repeat lines up as closely as possible.

You can keep a plain panel inside the pattern for your logo. That stops the logo getting lost among the motifs.

Busy patterns need fewer colours than you might expect. Two or three tones repeated cleanly often look sharper than a full rainbow.

Colour mistakes and how to price your order

The mistakes we see most are pale ink on kraft, tiny text on black, and a brand colour sent only as a screen value. Each one is easy to fix at proof stage.

Prices start from £0.25 per cup, with the exact cost in your written quote. Multi-colour orders show each colour on its own line, so you see the cost of every design.

Every order includes a free digital proof that we revise until you are happy. If cups arrive misprinted, send photos within 10 days and we reprint or refund. You can try your colours on a cup before asking for a quote.