Paper cups vs cold cups: which one your drink needs

The two products side by side

The ordering row is the one that surprises people. A cold cup program starts at a thousand units, so it is a decision for a venue with steady volume rather than for a single event.

Why the lining matters more than the paper

A paper cup holds liquid because of a coating, not because of the paper. Ours is described as durable laminated paper with a liquid proof inside coating, and that coating is the food contact surface.

That is also the part that is regulated. The FDA treats materials touching food as food contact substances and maintains an inventory of those authorized in 21 CFR, and 21 CFR 175.300, resinous and polymeric coatings, is the umbrella regulation covering coatings applied as a continuous film over a substrate for direct food contact. The basic polymers used for a clear plastic cup fall instead under 21 CFR part 177 subpart B, which covers substances used as basic components of single and repeated use food contact surfaces.

You do not need to quote those sections to order a cup. They explain why the specification talks about a liquid proof inside coating rather than about paper thickness.

Print freedom is the real difference

This is where the two products diverge most.

Paper cups come in three styles: plain white, logo front, or full wrap custom. A separate product takes that further with full wraparound printing on the entire outside in four sizes, single or double wall, and it invites you to order a single custom cup to test your design first. That single unit option is the most useful thing on the page, because a wrap is exactly the kind of artwork that behaves differently in your hand than on a screen.

Cold cups print a single color on the front and the back. That constraint is not a limitation of the press so much as a consequence of the material and the look: the point of a clear cup is that you see the drink, so the artwork is a frame around a product rather than a full surface.

One color also means your brand mark has to work as a silhouette. Gradients, photographs and multi color logotypes do not survive the trip. Decide on the single color version before you decide on the cup.

Single wall or double wall

Our paper cups come both ways, and the choice interacts with the sleeve question.

Single wall is thinner, cheaper and the specification says to pair it with a sleeve. Double wall has built in insulation, so it holds heat without a second item to stock, print and hand out.

If you already print sleeves, single wall plus a sleeve gives you two branded surfaces and lets you change the sleeve artwork without reordering cups. If you do not, double wall is one item instead of two.

Lids, and the detail that catches people

Lids are sold separately on both products and are not customizable. Paper cup lids are black or white sip thru and fit all four sizes, which is convenient for stockholding. Cold cup lids come flat or dome at 98 mm, and the dome is the one to order if drinks get whipped cream or a tall garnish.

Order lids at the same time as cups. A branded cup with no lid is a cup nobody can carry out.

Recyclability claims, said carefully

Both products are described as widely recyclable, and our paper ice cream cups add a sensible qualifier: confirm paper food containers with your local facility.

That caution is the right instinct. The FTC Green Guides advise marketers not to make broad, unqualified environmental claims, and to qualify recyclability claims where facilities are not available to a substantial majority of consumers. If you plan to print a recycling claim on the cup itself, keep it specific and keep it true for the places you actually operate.

Choosing in one line

• Hot coffee, full color brand, small runs: paper cups, and consider the full wrap version.
• Iced drinks where the drink is the product, high volume venue: cold cups.
• Desserts and scoops: paper ice cream cups for hot or cold, plastic ice cream cups for cold only.
• One branded surface you can change cheaply: single wall cups plus printed sleeves.
• Fewest items to stock: double wall paper cups.

Cup ordering checklist

• Decide temperature first, because cold cups are cold only.
• Reduce your logo to one color before considering cold cups.
• Choose single or double wall, then decide about sleeves.
• Order lids at the same time and check the size in millimeters.
• Check the real minimum: cold cups ship by the case of 1,000.
• Order a single full wrap cup to test the artwork before a run.
• Qualify any recycling claim you print on the cup.