Everything we get asked
- What is the smallest order you will print?
One thousand cups, in any size. That is a real minimum rather than a headline figure — it is one pallet layer on our own press, which is why we can run it. Past that the unit price steps down as the run grows, and the bands are printed on every product page so you can see where the next saving falls.
- 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 sits on its own product page, and 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 and our studio will tell you honestly whether it holds up at print size before anything goes on a press.
- 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.
- Can I set the artwork up on the cup myself?
Soon — our templates are being redrawn from our own die lines and are off the site while that is done. In the meantime send your artwork at any size and our studio will set it up for the cup you have chosen, at no charge.
- How does the design side actually work?
Two ways in. Either you send us finished artwork and we set it up for the cup you have chosen, or you use the designer on this site — pick a size, drop your logo in, position it on the wrap and see it on the cup as you go. Either route ends the same way: our studio checks the file at print size, you get a proof, and nothing goes on a press until you have approved it.
- What does the design work cost?
There is a one-off setup charge of £50 per design on most sizes, and none at all on 4oz. It is charged once, on the first order for that design — reprints of an approved design carry no setup. Everything around it is free: checking your file, telling you it will not hold up, laying it out, and any number of changes to the proof before you sign it off.
- Can I open an account and pay on terms?
Yes, for customers who order regularly. Accounts are approved case by case — talk to us once you have a couple of orders behind you and we will look at it. Until then it is card at checkout, and the price you see is ex VAT with VAT added separately.
- Do you actually make the cups, or do you buy them in?
We make them. The press is ours, in Luton — Unit 7c Britannia Estate — and your job runs on it. That is the whole reason a thousand cups is worth our time and the reason we can tell you honestly on the phone whether something will print, because the person answering can walk out and look at the machine.
- What happens to the cups after they are used?
They are recyclable, but it is worth being precise about how. A paper cup needs a thin polyethylene lining to hold a hot drink, and that lining is why a cup cannot go in with ordinary paper — it has to reach a mill equipped to separate the two. Those mills exist in the UK and dedicated cup collections feed them. We would rather say that than call the cup compostable, because ours is not.
- The order grew — does the price per cup move with it?
Yes, and it moves in steps rather than smoothly. There are seven bands — 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 70,000 and 100,000 cups — and crossing into one drops the rate for the whole order, not just the cups above the line. Every band is printed on the product page, so you can see what the next one is worth before you decide how many to run.
- Can I put more than one size on the same order?
Yes, and most regulars do. One thing to know before you plan it: each size and wall is priced as its own line, so each one carries its own 1,000-cup minimum and finds its own band. Three thousand cups split across three sizes is three lots of a thousand at the first-band rate, not three thousand at the three-thousand rate. If the run is big enough that a band is in reach, it is usually worth putting the volume behind one size.
- Same cups again — how does a repeat run work?
Your approved artwork stays on file, so a repeat is the same job with a new quantity and no setup charge. Sign in and reorder from Past Orders, or quote your design code at checkout if you would rather not sign in. If you want a change to the artwork it becomes a new design, with a new proof to approve.
- Do you tell me when the pallet leaves?
You will hear from us twice: once when you have a proof to approve, and once when the pallet leaves, with the tracking number. Between those two the job is on the press and there is nothing to report. How long that takes depends on the size — 4, 8 and 12oz leave us in 3 to 4 working days from approval, 6, 10, 16 and 20oz in about two weeks — and the figure for your size is on its product page.