Custom Paper Soup Cups
Custom paper soup cups from 8 to 32 oz with lids that vent and seams that do not leak, lined for hot liquid and the microwave, printed with your brand, from 100 sleeves. Proofed on the cup template, priced the same working day.
A cup that has to hold a liter of hot liquid in a carrier bag
- Stock
- Cupstock 300–350 gsm; double-lined; rolled rim and base seam
- Formats
- 8, 12, 16, 26 and 32 oz; vented paper, PP or combi lids
- Lining
- PE for microwave reheating; PLA where not reheated
Get a price for Paper Soup Cups
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
- Free dielineThe flat drawing comes with the quote, before you commit.
- Proof before pressNothing is printed until you have seen it laid on the dieline.
- Die kept for reordersTooling is paid once. Every reorder skips straight to press.
- Quoted in four marketsUS, UK, Canada and Australia, in the delivery currency.
Sizes and what each serves
| 8 oz (240 ml) | A side; a taster |
|---|---|
| 12 oz (355 ml) | The single serve |
| 16 oz (473 ml) | The standard takeaway soup |
| 26–32 oz (770–950 ml) | A large or a share; a quart of broth |
Lids that vent
A soup lid without a vent lifts as the soup steams. Every lid we quote for hot liquid has one.
- Vented paper lid — the plastic-free choice; a small vent lets steam out so the lid does not lift.
- PP lid — clear or white, snaps on, microwave-safe, tight enough to travel upright.
- Combi lid — paper with a small PP vent.
Stock, lining and the microwave
Soup cups run 300–350 gsm cupstock, heavier than a coffee cup, double-lined on the inside for hot liquid and often on the outside for handling. PE lining is microwave-safe for reheating; a PLA lining is not, and is used only where the cup will not be reheated. The base is a rolled seam that is tested by filling and leaving the cup for an hour. Our food boxes for takeaway and delivery cover the containers for solid food.
Say whether customers reheat in the cup. It decides the lining and what can be printed about the microwave.
Print for a cup that is seen through a bag
A soup cup is seen on a shelf in a deli and through a delivery bag. A strong color wrap with the brand and the variety — or a blank panel for a sticker naming the soup — in flexo before lining, food-safe. A "hot" mark and a fill line printed on help the counter and the customer.
Delis, restaurants and meal-kit brands
Soup cups are bought by delis and cafés by the case, by restaurants for delivery, and by meal-prep and soup brands for retail with a printed lid. Cups ship in sleeves of 25 or 50; a hundred sleeves is a starter run. Lids are quoted in the matching size.
Paper Soup Cups — specification
The rows that are specific to this build first, then what applies to every job we run. Anything not listed is a question, not a limit — send the brief.
This build
- Stock
- Cupstock 300–350 gsm; double-lined; rolled rim and base seam
- Formats
- 8, 12, 16, 26 and 32 oz; vented paper, PP or combi lids
- Lining
- PE for microwave reheating; PLA where not reheated
- Flexo before lining, food-safe; hot mark and fill line
- Test
- Filled and held for an hour before approval
- Packing
- Sleeves of 25 or 50
- Minimum
- 100 sleeves
On every job
- Print process
- Flexo in one to six colors, printed on the outer face only and before any lining goes on.
- Color
- Food-safe inks throughout. Kraft mutes color; a white board or liner is needed for anything photographic.
- Tolerance
- Cutting plus or minus 1 mm, and fit confirmed by filling a plain sample from your own kitchen or line.
- Tooling
- A cutting die per size, kept. Molded pulp needs a tool per shape, which is a longer lead and a larger one-off.
- Food contact
- Every board food-contact grade, with grease resistance built into the sheet and never a PFAS treatment.
- Sustainability
- Aqueous linings and unlined boards repulp with ordinary paper. PE-lined cups need cup collection, and we say which you have.
- Artwork
- Vector PDF or AI, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe area, fonts outlined. We check every file and send a proof before press.
- Dieline
- Supplied free with the quote, before you commit. Yours whether or not you order.
- Sample
- A plain unprinted sample at the finished size on request, for fit and construction.
- Reorders
- Skip the tooling and go straight to press at a lower unit price.
- Lead time
- Quoted with the price against your fill date rather than promised before we have seen the spec.
- Markets
- United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia — priced in the delivery currency, freight included.
Boards and films we build paper soup cups on
Food packaging is chosen for what the food does to it: grease, steam, heat and time. Every board here is food-contact grade, and none of them uses a PFAS treatment for grease resistance.
Food-grade virgin board
Bleached board made for direct food contact. Clean, bright, no recycled fiber and no mineral-oil risk from recovered paper.
14–24ptGrease-resistant board
Resistance built into the sheet rather than sprayed on. Holds fries, pastry and butter without darkening. PFAS-free.
16–24ptPE-lined cupstock
Board with a polyethylene film for hot and cold liquid. Microwave-safe for reheating; recycled only where cup collection exists.
260–350gsmAqueous-lined cupstock
A water-based lining instead of PE. Repulpable in ordinary paper recycling in more places, and compostable; a slightly shorter hold time.
260–320gsmGreaseproof and glassine
Dense, calendered paper that resists fat through the fiber. Wraps, liners and interleaves; breathable, so pastry stays crisp.
30–55gsmFood-grade corrugated
E and B flute with a food-contact liner, vented where steam has to leave. Pizza, catering and anything hot and heavy.
E and B fluteMolded pulp and bagasse
Fiber pressed into a shape. Holds heat, resists grease with no lining, composts, and takes only an embossed or one-color mark.
Molded to shapeRecycled board
Post-consumer fiber. Used for outers, sleeves and anything that does not touch food directly — not for direct contact.
Non-contact onlyNot sure which? Say what goes in it and where it is sold — the material follows from that. Our notes on recycled, recyclable and compostable cover which claims each stock can honestly carry.
- 01
Send what you have
A dimension, a photograph beside a ruler, or the product itself. No technical drawing needed — that part is ours.
- 02
We quote and draw
A price, a dieline and a date come back together. If a different build would suit the product better, that is in the reply too.
- 03
Approve the dieline
The flat drawing is yours to check: which panel is the front, where the folds fall, how deep the cavity really is.
- 04
Artwork on the dieline
You place your design on the flat we sent, or we place it for you, and you see a proof before anything goes to press.
- 05
A sample if you want one
A plain unprinted sample at the finished size shows fit and construction — the things a drawing cannot.
- 06
Cut, printed, shipped
The die is cut once and kept, so every reorder skips the tooling and goes straight to press at a lower unit price.
Format
Vector PDF or AI where possible. Raster artwork at 300dpi at final size, in CMYK.
Bleed
3 mm past every trim line, so a fraction of drift on the cutter never leaves a white edge.
Safe area
Keep type and anything important 4 mm inside the cut and away from every fold.
Color
Convert to CMYK before sending. Uncoated stock prints lighter; a spot color is the only exact match.
Fonts
Outline them or supply the files. A missing font substitutes silently and the proof will not match.
Barcodes
On a light, matte, unvarnished patch with the quiet zone clear — a code on gloss fails the scanner.
Not set up that way? Send it anyway — fixing a file is a short conversation, and we check every one before press. Our guide to preparing print files covers each point.
Food finishes are limited by what may touch food, and that is the point.
Food-safe inks
Printed on the outer face only. Every food pack we make uses them, laminated or not.
Uncoated kraft
No coating at all. Breathable, so pastry stays crisp, and it takes one or two colors.
Aqueous varnish
Scuff resistance without a plastic film, so the pack still repulps.
Molded emboss
A logo pressed into pulp or bagasse. No ink, nothing to rub off, and it survives grease.
Grease-resistant face
Not a finish you can see. It is in the sheet, it is PFAS-free, and it is why the print stays clean.
Matte lamination
Available on outers and sleeves that never touch food — a cake box lid, a carrier, a gift sleeve.
Not sure which suits the shelf it sells from? Say where the product is sold and we suggest one — our notes on specialty finishes show them on real boxes.
Sizing food packaging around a portion, hot: paper soup cups
Food is sized by serving, not by dimensions, and it is served hot, heaped and in a hurry. Send us the portion — or better, the box you use now with the food in it — and we size to how it is actually filled.
- Portion, heaped
- Fries, popcorn and salad are served above the rim. A box sized to a level fill looks mean and spills in a bag.
- Lid clearance
- Enough that a loaded burger or a topped cake does not touch the lid. This is the single most common complaint about a food box.
- Venting
- Hot food steams. Vents in the lid keep pastry and fries crisp; a sealed box is right only for cold food.
- Grease path
- Where the fat sits decides the board. Say if the food is fried, buttered or sauced, and whether it is held for minutes or an hour.
- Stacking in a bag
- Delivery boxes are stacked five high on a bike. The lid has to hold the box above it off the food below.
- Sample fill
- A plain box filled from your kitchen settles the size in one try, and we send one before the run.
Not sure your numbers are right? Send the product dimensions rather than the box dimensions and we work the box out — the full method is in our guide to measuring for a box.
Interactive · five steps · no sign-up
Build your Paper Soup Cups in 3D
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a board and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about paper soup cups? The answers below cover what we get asked most. If yours is not here, send it with a brief, message us on WhatsApp, or call +1 503-461-4788 — we reply the same working day.
Will the cup leak?
Not with a rolled base seam on heavy cupstock. We fill and hold a sample for an hour before the run.
Can it go in the microwave?
With a PE lining, yes, for reheating. A PLA lining is not for the microwave, and we say which the cup has.
Do the lids vent?
Yes, every lid quoted for hot liquid has a vent so it does not lift as the soup steams.
Paper or plastic lid?
A vented paper lid is plastic-free; a PP lid snaps tighter and travels upright better. Both are available.
What sizes do you make?
8, 12, 16, 26 and 32 oz.
What is the minimum order?
100 sleeves.
Can I print the soup name?
Print the brand and leave a panel for a sticker naming the soup, or print each variety if the volumes justify it.
Are the inks food safe?
Yes, and printed before the lining so they never touch the food.
Can the cup be compostable?
With a PLA lining and compostable inks, yes, to the standard named on the quote, but then it is not for the microwave.
How are they packed?
In sleeves of 25 or 50, lids separately in the matching size.
Can I have a fill line printed?
Yes, and a hot mark. Both help the counter and the customer.
Do you ship outside the US?
Yes, to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, quoted in the delivery currency.
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