White SBS cardstock
A bright, smooth sheet. Photography, gradients and fine type all hold their detail, and colors sit where the proof says they will.
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Hot cup sleeves · Printed to your artwork
Custom Coffee Sleeves
Board sleeves that take the heat out of an 8 to 20 oz cup and put your logo in every hand that leaves the counter. Printed to order, including variable runs that carry a different code on each sleeve.
- 500 piece minimum
- Variable print available
- 6–7 day turnaround
- Free digital proof
From $0.50 per sleeveVolume pricing from 500 units · final price on your quote
500
Minimum per design
Volume pricing from 1,000
6–7 days
Standard production
After you approve the proof
Free
Dieline and proof
Built around your item
Worldwide
Tracked shipping
Quoted with the job
In short
Coffee sleeves are printed board bands that slide onto a hot cup so the drink can be held comfortably, and they carry your branding while it is carried. The Cone Sleeves prints them for 8, 12, 16 and 20 oz cups on kraft, white SBS or recycled board, from a minimum of 500 pieces per design, with a free digital proof and 6–7 business day production.
Why shops order coffee sleeves from us
Heat you can hold
A fluted or heavy board layer puts an air gap between a freshly poured cup and a customer’s palm, so nobody has to double-cup to get out of the door.
Cut to your cup line
Two cups labeled 12 oz from different suppliers rarely share a diameter. We size the band to the cup you actually buy, not to a generic average.
Variable print runs
A different promo code, QR link, number or name on each sleeve in the same run, driven from a spreadsheet you supply with the artwork.
Stays put in a rush
Seam position and circumference are set so a barista slides one on one-handed and it grips instead of spinning under the lid.
Paper-stream disposal
The sleeve peels off the cup and goes in with paper, which matters in cities where the lined cup itself is not accepted for recycling.
Dieline kept on file
Once your first sleeve is approved we keep the dieline and proof, so a repeat run is artwork-only and skips setup entirely.
Printed work
Coffee Sleeves we have printed
Every run below started as somebody's artwork on plain board. Yours is quoted the same way, whatever the shape.
Specifications
Everything this order includes
These are the options we quote against. If you need something outside them, ask — most custom sizes and finishes are possible, and the quote will say so plainly.
| Cup sizes | 8, 12, 16 and 20 oz hot cups; custom sizes cut to the cup you already buy |
|---|---|
| Construction | Corrugated (fluted) sleeve or flat cardstock band, glued seam |
| Board | White SBS cardstock, natural kraft or recycled board |
| Printing | Full-color CMYK, single-color logo or Pantone spot colors; variable data on request |
| Finish | Gloss or matte lamination, spot UV, foil stamping, or uncoated |
| Minimum order | 500 pieces per design; volume pricing from 1,000 pieces |
| Turnaround | 6–7 business days after proof approval; 3–4 day rush on request |
| Artwork | PDF, AI or EPS at 300 dpi with 3 mm bleed; we build and keep the dieline free |
Which cup does the sleeve have to fit?
Cup size is the spec that decides everything else. Most menus run on 8, 12, 16 and 20 oz hot cups, and a sleeve cut for one of them will not behave on another: too tight and staff fight it during a morning rush, too loose and it slides down to the base as soon as the cup is tilted.
The complication is that ounces are not a measurement of diameter. Two cups both sold as 12 oz can differ by several millimeters between suppliers, and some 12 and 16 oz cups in the same range share a body while others do not. So we do not guess. Send a cup, or the cup brand and product code, or a photo with a ruler laid across the rim, and we cut the dieline to that.
Most shops end up with two sleeve sizes rather than four — one that covers the small cups and one for the large — which keeps the counter simple and puts both quantities over the volume break sooner. Tell us the cups on your menu when you request a printed sleeve quote and we will say which combination works.
Variable print: a different code on every sleeve
Variable print means the press changes part of the design as it runs, so each sleeve in the same order carries something unique. It is a digital process, and on coffee sleeves it is normally used for one of four things: single-use promo codes, QR codes that let you track a campaign by batch, sequential numbering for a prize draw, or a set of collectible designs cycling through one run.
What we need from you is a data file — a CSV or spreadsheet with one column per variable field and one row per sleeve, with at least as many rows as pieces ordered. Generate and validate the codes on your side; we place them, we do not create them. Leave a clear panel in the artwork for the variable field, and for a QR keep it dark on a light ground with clear space around it, because a code sitting on a photograph or on dark kraft scans badly under café lighting.
It is worth it when the sleeve has a job after it leaves the shop. It is not worth it just to change a seasonal design — that is an ordinary run, and each design counts against the 500 minimum on its own. Our notes on preparing artwork for printed sleeves cover the file side.
Corrugated or flat board — which sleeve should you print?
Both are sold as coffee sleeves and they behave differently in the hand.
- Corrugated (fluted) sleeve — the air trapped in the flutes does the insulating, so this is the pick for single-wall cups and drinks poured hot. It is thicker, grips well when hands are dry, and the ridged surface softens fine detail slightly, so it favors bold logos over small type.
- Flat cardstock band — a smooth, thinner sleeve on SBS, kraft or recycled board. Print is sharper, photographs and small text hold up, and foil stamping or spot UV sits flat and reads as premium. It insulates less, so it suits double-walled cups, cooler drinks and brands that care most about how the print looks.
Finish then decides the feel: matte lamination hides fingerprints on a cup handled with damp hands, gloss lifts color saturation, and uncoated is the most recyclable and takes a rubber stamp if staff mark orders on the sleeve. Board weights and coatings are compared further in our guide to sleeve materials and board choices.
Ordering in bulk and reordering the same design
The minimum is 500 pieces per design and volume pricing starts at 1,000. Per design is the part worth planning around: a four-design seasonal set is four lots of 500, not 500 split four ways. If the artwork changes but the cup does not, all four share one dieline, so only the print changes.
Repeat customers get the benefit of that dieline staying on file. A reorder of an approved sleeve needs nothing from you but a confirmation and a quantity — no re-setup, no new proof unless the artwork moves. If a run has to reach more than one location, say so at quote stage so it is boxed and labeled by site rather than arriving as one pallet at your busiest store.
Production is 6–7 business days after you approve the proof, with a 3–4 day rush available, and everything ships flat-packed with tracking. Plan your first order with a proofing day in front of that. Our guide to bulk ordering, lead times and minimums sets out the whole calendar.
Where these are used
- Coffee shops and espresso bars
- Roasteries with retail counters
- Drive-thru and window service
- Office coffee and pantry service
- Hotel lobby and conference coffee
- Campus and hospital cafés
- Promo and loyalty campaigns
- Market stalls and coffee carts
Not sure on size?
Send a sample or a photo with a ruler beside it and we cut the dieline to fit. There is no charge for the dieline or the digital proof.
Ask a questionHow the order runs
- You send sizes, quantity and artwork, or just a photo of the item.
- We build the dieline and come back with a written price.
- You approve a digital proof with your artwork laid on it.
- We print, cut and ship, with tracking on the carton.
Materials and printing
Board and print, side by side
Three boards and three ways to print on them. Every combination below is quoted the same way, so the choice is about how you want the packaging to feel in the hand.
Choose the board
Natural kraft
Unbleached brown board. Ink sits into the surface rather than on top of it, which mutes bright colors and reads as craft and small-batch.
Recycled board
Post-consumer fiber with a slight fleck through it. It takes a one or two color mark well and tells the customer what it is without a claim printed on it.
Choose how it prints
Full-color CMYK
Four process inks. The right choice when the artwork is a photograph, an illustration or anything with a gradient in it.
Single-color logo
One ink on plain board. It is the least expensive way to print a run and, on kraft, it is often the better looking one.
Pantone spot colors
A mixed ink matched to a Pantone reference. Use it when a brand color has to be exact across every reprint.
Coffee Sleeves designer
Design your coffee sleeves
Build the specification for coffee sleeves step by step — size, board, print and finish — and send it for a quote. Five short steps, no account.
Questions
Coffee Sleeves: common questions
What is variable printing on a coffee sleeve?
It is digital printing where part of the design changes from one sleeve to the next — a unique promo code, QR link, serial number or name. You supply a spreadsheet with one row per sleeve and we place the data inside a panel you leave in the artwork. Codes are generated on your side.
Can I order coffee sleeves wholesale for several locations?
Yes. The minimum is 500 pieces per design, volume pricing starts at 1,000, and there is no upper limit on a run. One design can serve every site, or each site can have its own — each design carries its own 500 minimum. Ask for the order to be boxed by location.
Which cup sizes do your coffee sleeves fit?
8, 12, 16 and 20 oz hot cups as standard, and any custom size cut to a cup you send us. Because diameters vary between cup suppliers at the same nominal ounce, we work from your actual cup, its product code, or a photo with a ruler beside it.
Are coffee clutches, cup jackets and coffee cozies the same thing?
Yes. Coffee clutch, hot cup jacket, cup sleeve, coffee cozy and java jacket all describe the printed board band that wraps a hot cup. Suppliers use different names for the same product, so you are comparing like for like whichever term a quote uses.
Will the sleeve slide off a tapered cup?
Not if the diameter is right. A hot cup narrows toward the base, so a sleeve cut to the circumference at the grip point wedges in place and stops there. Sleeves slide when they are cut for a larger cup than the one being used — which is why we size to your cup rather than a standard.
Can I print a QR code that actually scans?
Yes, with three conditions: print it dark on a light area, keep a clear margin around it, and do not shrink it below about an inch across. Avoid placing it over the glue seam or over a photograph. We check scanning on the digital proof before the run goes ahead.
Can I run a seasonal design and my everyday sleeve together?
You can, and most cafés do. Each artwork counts as its own design against the 500 minimum, but if both sit on the same cup they share one dieline, so there is no extra setup. Printing both in one go also means one proofing round instead of two before the holiday period starts.
Do these sleeves work on iced drinks as well?
Hot cup sleeves are built for insulation, not condensation. A cold cup sweats, and an uncoated sleeve will go soft against it. For iced coffee, smoothies and cans, look at our printed sleeves for cold drinks, which use a moisture-resistant face instead.
Related products
Often ordered alongside
Free quote · No obligation
Tell us your cone, we will price the sleeve
Send your size, quantity and artwork. You get a written quote and a free digital proof before anything goes to press.