Large Paper Cups for Big Lattes and Iced Drinks

Who buys large paper cups

Large cups follow the long drink. Commuters who want a coffee to last the train ride, students settling in for an afternoon and drivers at a roadside kiosk all tend to order the biggest size on the board.

Juice bars and smoothie stands use 20oz cups as their standard, because blended drinks need volume to feel worth the price. Festival and event traders like them for iced coffee on warm days, when a small cup is finished before the queue clears.

Hospital and university outlets often sell more large drinks than any other size. Long shifts and long lectures both favour a cup that lasts.

• Cafés with a large size on the menu
• Drive-through and roadside coffee kiosks
• Juice and smoothie bars
• Festival and outdoor event traders
• University and hospital coffee outlets

16oz or 20oz for your menu

Most cafés with three sizes use 16oz as their large. A 20oz cup suits shops that want an extra large tier, or that sell drinks poured over ice where the cubes take up a good share of the cup.

If you are unsure, pour your current large drink into a jug and measure it. Order the size that leaves a little space below the lid.

The table shows how we usually see each size used, and the wall that tends to suit it.

Keeping hands comfortable with a big hot drink

Half a litre of hot coffee throws off a lot of heat, and a single wall cup gets uncomfortable fast. For hot drinks in large sizes, double wall or ripple wall is usually the better buy.

If you prefer single wall for cost or storage, add a sleeve. Our printed paper cup sleeves can carry a second message, such as a loyalty offer, while protecting fingers.

Ripple wall also gives a firmer grip on a tall cup, which helps when people walk and drink at the same time.

Large cups for iced and blended drinks

Cold drinks in a paper cup are common now, from iced lattes to fruit smoothies. A single wall cup works well here, since there is no heat to manage and condensation is easier to see coming than to stop.

Tell us the cup will carry cold drinks so we can suggest a suitable lining. For thick shakes with cream on top, have a look at milkshake cups with domed lids as well.

A clear message on the cup helps here too. Many juice bars print the drink names or a simple ingredients motif, so staff can hand the right smoothie to the right person without reading a scribbled label.

Using the tall print area well

A 20oz cup has far more printable height than a short cup. That space can carry a full wrap pattern, a logo with a strapline, or a vertical design that runs from base to rim.

Remember that a sleeve or a hand covers the middle third of the cup. Put the logo above that band so it is seen when the drink is carried, and keep fine detail away from the base seam.

Patterns like the stripes and geometric lines in our photos look striking on large cups, because the repeat has room to breathe.

Lids, carriers and the walk back to the office

Large drinks travel further, so the lid matters more. A sip lid with a tight snap suits hot coffee, while a flat or domed lid works for cold drinks and straws.

A round of four large drinks is heavy and awkward without a carrier. Our guide to lids, sleeves and carriers explains which combinations hold up best on the move.

Drive-through kiosks in particular should think about cup holders in cars. A 20oz cup is tall, so a lid that sits low and snug is less likely to catch on a dashboard.

Storage and stacking

Large cups take up more cupboard space than people expect. A sleeve of 20oz cups is tall, and a carton of them can fill a shelf that once held two sizes of small cups.

Double wall cups also stack less tightly than single wall, so check your storage before ordering a big run. Many cafés solve this by ordering large cups more often in smaller amounts.

Keep cartons off the floor and away from the steam wand or dishwasher. Board that sits in damp air can soften at the rim, and a soft rim makes lids harder to snap on.

Ordering large cups

You can order 16oz and 20oz together with the same design, scaled to each height. Begin with a free quote for large cups and add lids or sleeves in the same request.

1. Choose 16oz, 20oz or both, and say whether drinks will be hot or cold.
2. Pick the wall for each size.
3. Send artwork in AI, PDF, EPS, SVG, PNG or JPG.
4. Check the free proof, which shows the full height of the cup.
5. Once approved, large cups are printed in 4 to 6 working days.
6. Tracked delivery to your door takes another 2 to 3 working days.

Common mistakes with large cups

Large cups tend to go wrong in the same few ways, and nearly all of them show up on the proof if you know where to look.

• Placing the logo where the sleeve will hide it
• Using single wall for hot drinks with no sleeve
• Ordering hot sip lids for iced drinks with straws
• Forgetting carriers for drive-through rounds
• Underestimating the storage space a carton needs

Matching your large cups to smaller sizes

Your large cup is often the one people photograph, so it sets the look for the rest of the range. Keep the same colours on the 8oz and 12oz cups so customers recognise the brand at any size.

If you only need one size, our 16oz paper cups are the most common large choice in UK cafés.

A shared design also makes reordering simpler. One approved artwork file can be scaled to every size you sell, so a new size never needs a fresh design job.

Delivery and reprints for large cups

Large cup orders travel free and tracked to the UK. Cartons are packed so the tall cups cannot crush under their own weight.

If large cups turn up misprinted or damaged, photograph them and tell us within 10 days. We then print the batch again or give you your money back.