Printing on Plastic Cups: Dry Offset, IML and Shrink Sleeves

How are plastic cups printed?

Most clear PET and thermoformed PP cups are printed by dry offset, in which the artwork is transferred from a relief plate through a rubber blanket onto the cup wall as it turns on a mandrel. Hard injection-moulded cups are often screen printed, PP cups with full-colour graphics use IML, and shrink sleeves decorate the full body.

What is dry offset cup printing?

Dry offset, also called letterset or waterless letterpress offset, prints without a water-based fountain solution, using fast-curing inks that are usually cured by UV. It is the standard method for logos on round, tapered cups because the blanket follows the curved surface and each colour is registered in turn.

What this means for a 1-2 colour job:

• Spot colours are mixed to Pantone references; the result differs between transparent and opaque cup material, so approve colour on the actual cup material
• Solid areas and fine lines print well; photographic gradients do not
• Registration between two colours is tight but not perfect: avoid hairline outlines and tight trapping needs, and use a small overlap or a deliberate gap
• Clear PET shows the print through the wall; for a bold logo, a white underprint or a white as one of the two colours keeps opacity
• The plate is made per design and per colour, so adding a colour adds tooling cost

Can you screen print on plastic cups?

Yes. Screen printing suits hard, rigid and reusable cups, including injection-moulded PP, because it lays down a thicker ink film that resists scratching and washing. It is slower than dry offset and tapered cups need a screen setup that turns with the cup, but it is the usual route for reusable event cups, together with inks designed for dishwasher cycles. Durability claims should be tested on the finished cup, not assumed from the method. More in reusable plastic cups.

What is IML and when does it make sense?

IML, in-mould labelling, places a printed plastic label in the injection mould so the label fuses with the cup wall as it forms. The result is a full-colour, high-resolution wrap that cannot scratch off, and it suits PP cups at high volumes.

• The label is made of PP so cup and label recycle together as one material; this is a recycling advantage over sleeves
• The mould and label tooling cost make IML economic mainly for large, repeated runs of the same design
• It is mainly used on injection-moulded PP cups (thermoforming IML exists for some PP cups) and not on clear thermoformed PET cups
• Label artwork is full colour, so brand colours and photographic imagery can be reproduced closely

IML is outside the 1-2 colour range of this product, but it is the right comparison when a brand wants photographic cups for PP.

Shrink sleeves: what do they add and what do they cost?

A shrink sleeve is a printed film tube that is slid over the cup and heat-shrunk to its shape, giving full-body, full-colour decoration on almost any cup shape. It allows complex shapes and short design runs, but adds a second material to the cup.

The cost is mainly in recycling: a PETG or OPS sleeve on a PET cup can contaminate recyclate unless it is removed in sorting, and sleeves that cover the whole cup can hide it from optical sorters. PPWR recyclability grades from 2030 reward simple mono-material designs, so a sleeve may lower the grade. Compare against the PPWR recyclability grades. A sleeve is a good choice for events and limited editions, less so for a standard range.

How do you design artwork for a tapered plastic cup?

Design for the cup's unrolled shape, not a rectangle, and keep the logo clear of the seam or mould parting line, the rim and the base. A tapered cup unrolls into an arc, so straight horizontal lines on a flat file curve on the cup and text can look slanted if it is not compensated.

Artwork checklist:

• Request the cup template with print area and mandrel tilt from the manufacturer before designing
• Keep text above a minimum size (agree it at technical review) and avoid thin strokes
• Keep clear margins from the rim and the base curve; on round-bottom cups, keep graphics on the straight wall
• Reserve a panel for any required marking, such as the "MADE OF PLASTIC" marking in the EU (at least 1.4 x 2.8 cm on cups under 500 ml, away from the rim), see single-use plastic cup rules
• Use spot-colour Pantone references and one vector file per colour layer; see Pantone vs CMYK for packaging and the packaging artwork guide
• For two-colour designs, mark which elements overprint and which knock out

Which inks and what food-contact rules apply?

Inks on the outside of a cup are not in direct contact with the drink, but they must not transfer to it through set-off or migration. In the EU, Regulation (EC) 2023/2006 on good manufacturing practice covers printing inks on the non-food side of food-contact materials, and in Germany the Printing Ink Ordinance introduces a positive list for inks on food-contact materials from 1 January 2027.

Practical points:

• Ask for ink documentation with the quotation and confirm what is covered for the final cup
• Keep print away from the rim where lips touch and any area that touches the drink
• UV-cured and solvent-based systems differ in odour and migration profile; the maker confirms the system used
• PPWR Article 5(5) PFAS limits for food-contact packaging apply from 12 August 2026 to the whole cup, including inks

For the framework see food-contact packaging compliance.

Which method should you choose?

Use dry offset for 1-2 colour logos on PET and thermoformed PP, screen printing for reusable hard cups, IML for full-colour PP at high volume and shrink sleeves for limited editions or complex shapes. If recyclability matters most, direct print or IML is easier to recycle than a sleeve.

To start, send cup size and material, number of colours and Pantone references, artwork files and destination countries through /contact/. Press and print methods are explained in packaging printing methods; more on the range is on the plastic cups hub.