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Open-top formed trays · Grease-resistant board
Custom Hot Dog Trays
Long, narrow paperboard boats that hold a dressed hot dog without letting chili, onions and cheese escape down the side. Printed to your artwork for stadiums, carts, drive-ins and concession stands.
- 500 piece minimum
- Standard and footlong sizes
- Stacks and nests
- Free digital proof
From $0.50 per trayVolume 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
A hot dog tray is an open-top paperboard boat, longer than it is wide, that carries a dressed hot dog and its toppings from the window to the seat. The Cone Sleeves builds them in standard and footlong lengths on food-safe white, kraft or recycled board, from 500 pieces per design, with a free digital proof and 6–7 business day production.
Why shops order hot dog trays from us
Walls that hold chili
Side walls are specified tall enough that a chili-cheese dog with onions stays in the tray instead of running over the rim on the walk back.
Cut to your bun
A standard dog rattles in a footlong tray and a footlong hangs out of a standard one. We cut the die to the bun you actually buy.
Grease-resistant board
Board and coating are chosen so the base does not go translucent and soft after a few minutes under a loaded dog.
Nests in a warmer
Trays nest tightly for storage and stack without wedging, so a runner can pull one at a time during a rush without tearing two out.
One-hand carry
The long, narrow shape lets a customer hold the tray in one hand and a drink in the other, which is how food is eaten at a game.
Print the whole boat
The inside floor and the outside walls both print, so your logo shows in a photo of the food and again in the trash-can shot.
Printed work
Hot Dog Trays 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.
| Capacity | One dressed hot dog; wider cuts hold a dog plus a small side of fries |
|---|---|
| Lengths | Around 7 in for a standard dog and 11 in for a footlong, cut to your bun |
| Wall style | Straight or slightly flared side walls, roughly 1–2 in tall for loaded toppings |
| Board | White SBS cardstock, natural kraft or recycled board in a heavier tray caliper |
| Printing | Full-color CMYK, single-color logo or Pantone spot colors |
| Finish | Gloss or matte lamination, spot UV, foil stamping, or uncoated |
| Minimum order | 500 pieces per design, with volume pricing from 1,000 |
| Turnaround | 6–7 business days after proof approval; 3–4 day rush on request |
| Packing | Nested in sleeves of 50 or 100, flat cartons, shipped worldwide with tracking |
What a hot dog tray has to survive
A hot dog tray takes more abuse than most disposable serviceware. It is loaded hot, it is carried one-handed, and whatever is on the dog is usually wet. Chili, nacho cheese, relish and grilled onions all sit against the board for the whole time the customer is eating, and warm grease attacks a tray from the inside out.
Three things decide whether the tray survives that. Board caliper keeps the floor from sagging in the middle when the tray is picked up by one end. Wall height decides whether toppings stay put — a shallow tray looks neat empty and fails the moment a Coney dog lands in it. Grease resistance keeps the base from going soft and translucent.
We spec all three around your actual menu, so tell us what goes on the dog when you ask for a quote. A plain mustard dog and a loaded chili-cheese dog need different trays, and it is cheaper to say so before the die is cut than to re-order later. If you also wrap dogs for takeout, a printed hot dog sleeve for handheld service covers the other half of the menu.
Standard, footlong or combo: picking the size
Hot dog trays sell in three broad lengths, and the right one is set by your bun, not by the average of the market.
- Standard, around 7 inches — fits a 6 inch bun with a little room at each end for a customer's fingers. The everyday size for carts and snack bars.
- Footlong, around 11 inches — for 10 to 12 inch buns. Needs a slightly heavier board because the longer floor wants to flex in the middle.
- Combo or wide — a broader tray that takes the dog down one side and a handful of fries, tots or chips down the other. Popular at stadiums where one tray replaces two.
Send us a bun, a photo of a dressed dog with a ruler beside it, or your bun supplier and product code, and we build the dieline to match. We also check nesting depth at the same time, because trays that fit the food perfectly but stack badly slow down a service window. Volume pricing starts at 1,000 pieces, and our guide to bulk ordering, lead times and minimums explains how to plan a season's supply.
Tray or sleeve for a hot dog?
Both hold a hot dog, and they are not interchangeable. The question is what is on the dog and where the customer is going with it.
- Use a tray when the dog is dressed. Anything with chili, cheese sauce, slaw, kraut or a pile of onions needs walls and a floor. A tray also carries a side, sits flat on a stadium seat or a car hood, and can be eaten from with a fork.
- Use a sleeve when the dog is simple and eaten walking. A sleeve is faster to load, uses less board, takes less storage space behind the counter, and keeps the customer's hand off the bun without the bulk of a tray.
Plenty of operators run both and print them from one artwork file so the counter looks consistent: sleeves at the window for grab-and-go, trays for anything loaded or for combo baskets. If your menu runs wider than hot dogs, matching printed burger trays for combo baskets use the same board and finish so a whole counter reads as one brand.
Board, print and finish for wholesale runs
All three of our stocks are food safe and all three take print well. White SBS cardstock gives the brightest base, so photographic art, bright reds and yellows and pastel brand colors all hold true — it is the usual choice for stadium and franchise work. Natural kraft reads as retro and artisan, which suits carts and roadside stands, but ink shifts warmer on brown board so it flatters logos and line art more than photographs. Recycled board sits between the two with a visible flecked texture.
For finishing, a laminated tray resists grease and moisture longest and photographs well, while uncoated board is the most recyclable and the easiest to write a flavor or order number on. Spot UV on a matte tray picks a logo out under stadium lighting; foil stamping is the one people notice before they look at the food.
Print method follows the artwork: full-color CMYK for anything illustrated or photographic, a single-color logo for the cheapest wholesale run, Pantone spot colors when your brand red has to match the cups and the signage exactly.
Where these are used
- Ballpark and stadium concessions
- Hot dog carts and street vendors
- Drive-ins and roadside stands
- Cinema and arena kiosks
- Fairs, carnivals and festivals
- Diners serving baskets
- Catering and corporate cookouts
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.
Hot Dog Trays designer
Design your hot dog trays
Build the specification for hot dog trays step by step — size, board, print and finish — and send it for a quote. Five short steps, no account.
Questions
Hot Dog Trays: common questions
Do you sell custom hot dog trays wholesale?
Yes. Every run is made to order, so wholesale is the only way we sell them. The minimum is 500 pieces per design, volume pricing starts at 1,000, and it improves again on stadium and franchise quantities. Ask for a quote with your annual volume and we will price the tiers.
What size tray do I need for a footlong?
A footlong bun needs roughly an 11 inch tray so the ends do not overhang. We also step up the board caliper on that length, because a long floor flexes in the middle when a customer picks the tray up by one end.
Will the tray hold chili and cheese without leaking?
That is what the wall height and the grease-resistant board are for. Tell us the wettest thing on your menu when you ask for a quote and we spec the tray around it. Coated stock holds up longest against warm cheese sauce and chili.
Can hot dog trays be stacked in a warmer?
Yes. We check nesting depth on the dieline so empty trays sit inside each other without wedging, and stack squarely in a holder next to the grill. That matters more than it sounds — trays that jam get pulled two at a time during a rush.
Can I get a tray that holds a hot dog and fries?
Yes. A wider combo tray takes the dog down one side and fries, tots or chips down the other. We can also die-cut a raised divider between the two so the fries stay dry if the dog is dressed.
How long do custom printed hot dog trays take?
Production is 6–7 business days from your approval of the digital proof, with a 3–4 business day rush available. Proofing usually takes a day, so allow around two weeks for a first order and less for a repeat run of the same die.
Are the trays recyclable?
Uncoated kraft, white and recycled board all go into the paper stream once scraped clean. Lamination adds grease and moisture resistance but makes recycling harder, so if disposal is the priority we will get you the durability another way.
Do you print the inside of the tray as well as the outside?
Yes, and it is worth doing. The inside floor is what shows in a customer photo of the food, and the outside walls are what the person in the next seat sees. We set both up on the same dieline at no extra design cost.
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.