We own the press your cups run on
Era Manufacturing Ltd prints paper cups in Luton. We are not a print broker and we do not put the work out — the board comes in here, the press is ours, and the pallet leaves from our own unit. That is what makes a thousand-cup run possible, and it is most of why the price is what it is.
What people ask us
- What is the smallest order you will print?
One thousand cups, in any size. That is a genuine minimum rather than a headline figure — it is one pallet layer on our own press, which is why we can do it at all.
Past that the unit price steps down as the run grows. The bands are printed on this page, so you can see exactly where the next saving falls before you decide.
- How quickly will they reach me?
It depends on the size, because not every size runs on the same press. 4, 8 and 12oz leave us in 3 to 4 working days from the moment artwork is approved. 6, 10, 16 and 20oz take about two weeks.
The figure for the size you are looking at is on this page, above the price. You get a tracking number the day the pallet goes.
- What should the artwork file be?
Vector artwork prints best — an AI, EPS, SVG or vector PDF, with fonts converted to outlines and colours set in CMYK.
We will also take a high-resolution PNG or JPEG. If that is all you have, send it anyway: our studio will tell you honestly whether it will hold up at print size before anything goes on a press.
- Can I put two sizes on one order?
Yes, and most regulars do. Each size and wall is priced as its own line with its own 1,000-cup minimum, so it finds its own band — three thousand cups split across three sizes is three lots of a thousand at the first rate, not three thousand at the three-thousand rate.
- What if my artwork is not print-ready?
Then we set it up for you. Send whatever you have — a logo off your signage, a photo of a menu, a sketch — and our studio lays it out for the cup you have chosen.
There is a one-off £50 setup charge per design on most sizes, and none at all on 4oz. You approve a proof before we print, and changes to that proof are free.
- Can I still change something after I have ordered?
Until the job goes on press, yes. Tell us as soon as you can and we will hold it — nothing is printed before you have signed off a proof.
Once the board is running we cannot stop it, and a reprint is a new order. That is the one deadline worth watching.
Nobody holds a leaflet for twenty minutes
A cup gets carried down a street, set on a desk, photographed on a table. Nothing else you print gets looked at for that long or that close, which is why it is worth getting the board and the print right. That is most of what we do here.
What buying from the press gets you
Everything we get asked
One thousand cups
That is the minimum, in every size and both walls. It is one pallet layer on our press, which is why we can run it at all. Past that the price steps down through seven bands, and every band is printed on the product page before you order.
Nobody in between
The press is ours. You are buying from the people who make the cup rather than from someone placing the order with a factory on your behalf, and the price is what is left when there is no one in the middle.
Lead times we will state
4, 8 and 12oz leave us in three to four working days from artwork approval. 6, 10, 16 and 20oz take about two weeks, because they do not run on the same press. The figure for your size is on its own page.
Recyclable, and we will say how
A paper cup needs a thin lining to hold a hot drink, so ours cannot go in with ordinary paper — it needs a mill equipped to separate the two, and those exist in the UK. We would rather tell you that than call the cup compostable.