Printed Paper Cone Cups for Water Coolers and Treats

Who orders cone cups

Cone cups turn up wherever people want a quick sip and then move on. Gyms, dental waiting rooms, offices and garden centres put them beside the water cooler.

Events use them differently. A snow cone stand at a summer fair, a popcorn cart at a school disco or a sweet table at a wedding all suit the pointed shape.

Because the cone cannot be put down, people finish the drink and bin the cup. That keeps half-full cups off desks and counters, which is why offices like them. It also means a printed cone is seen at the exact moment someone pauses in your space.

• Office and gym water coolers
• Snow cone and shaved ice stands
• Pick and mix and popcorn counters
• Clinic and salon waiting areas
• Tasting stations at food fairs

Sizes and what each one holds

Cone cups run small. A 2oz cone is a taster, while a 4oz cone gives a proper drink of water without much waste.

For shaved ice or popcorn, step up to 6oz so there is room for a heaped scoop. If you need something outside this range, ask and we will quote it.

Check your dispenser before choosing. Most water cooler holders are built for one cone width, and a cone that is too wide will jam. One that is too narrow drops straight through, which wastes a sleeve of cups in a morning.

White or kraft board

White board makes printed colours look bright and crisp. It is the usual choice for a sweet stall or a branded snow cone where the cup is part of the fun.

Kraft board has a natural brown finish. It suits a farm shop, a garden centre café or a wellness studio that wants a quieter look.

Both are single wall. A cone is held for a few seconds, so there is no need for the thicker walls used on hot drink cups.

Some buyers order white cones for the office and kraft cones for a café counter in the same building. Both can carry the same logo, printed in one colour that works on either board.

Printing a curved cone

A cone tapers to a point, so artwork is printed on a curved, fan-shaped template. Text near the tip shrinks, and anything placed there can be lost in the fold.

Keep your logo in the top half, close to the rim. That is the part people see when they pull a cone from the dispenser.

We print full colour CMYK or Pantone, and you can see the result before anything is made with our free logo preview on a cup.

1. Email your cone artwork in AI, PDF, EPS, SVG, PNG or JPG
2. We place it on the cone template
3. You check a free digital proof
4. We revise it until you approve
5. Production starts after approval

Dispensers, holders and stands

A cone cup only works if something holds it. For water coolers that is a tube dispenser fixed to the side of the unit.

Snow cone and popcorn stands often use a rack with round holes so cones can be filled in a row. If you need something to carry several at once, look at our paper cup holders and trays.

Tell us the dispenser or rack you use when you ask for a quote. We can then match the cone size to it.

Cold drinks only

Cone cups are made for cold water, squash and frozen treats. They are not meant for tea or coffee, because there is no base and no room for a lid.

If you also serve hot drinks, pair your cones with a flat-bottomed cup. Our cold drink cup range sits alongside them for juices and soft drinks.

Shaved ice melts as people walk, so serve it in a 6oz cone with a little headroom. That gives syrup space to settle.

Ideas for printed cones

Most offices print a simple logo in one or two colours. It looks tidy beside the cooler, and the same artwork can be reused on every reorder without changes.

Event cones can be bolder. A summer fair might print bright stripes, while a Halloween party could use orange and black with a small bat near the rim.

Weddings sometimes print initials and a date on a white cone for a lemonade station. Keep the wording short so it fits the curve.

• One-colour logo for an office cooler
• Bright pattern for a snow cone stand
• Initials and date for a wedding drinks table
• Seasonal print for Easter or Halloween

Storing and loading cones

Cones arrive nested in long sleeves, which is the same way a cooler dispenser takes them. Keep the sleeves sealed until you load them so dust stays off the rim.

Store boxes somewhere dry and away from the floor of a busy kitchen. Damp board softens, and a soft cone will not feed cleanly from a tube.

Load from the top of the dispenser and push the stack down gently. If cones stick together, fan the end of the stack before it goes in.

• Keep sleeves sealed until use
• Store boxes off the floor
• Fan stuck cones before loading
• Refill before the tube runs empty

Common mistakes with cone cups

The most frequent problem is ordering the wrong width for a dispenser. Measure the holder or send us its model before you order.

The second is putting small text near the point. It looks fine on a flat file but disappears once the paper is rolled.

People also forget that cones cannot stand. If guests need to put a drink down, a flat-bottomed cup is the better choice.

A last one is ordering too few for a hot day. Cooler use can double in a heatwave, so keep an extra sleeve or two in the cupboard from June onwards.

Price, proof and timing

Printed cones start from £0.25 per cup, confirmed in a written quote. The figure depends on size, print and quantity.

Design help and a digital proof cost nothing. Your cones go into production once you approve that proof, and the run takes 4 to 6 working days.

Tracked delivery then takes 2 to 3 working days, free anywhere in the UK. You can request a quote for cone cups with your size and artwork.

Board, lining and recycling

Food-contact board is available on request, which matters if the cones hold sweets or shaved ice. Mention it on your enquiry.

Cones with a recyclable lining can be supplied on request as well. Our guide to how recyclable paper cups work explains what to ask your waste collector.

If anything arrives misprinted or damaged, send photos within 10 days. A reprint or refund follows for every cone that was spoiled.