Branded travel mugs, reusable cups and takeaway mugs

A reusable cup only counts if it gets reused

The impact of a reusable cup is spread across its uses. A coffee cup with a lid can go with someone every morning for years or sit in a drawer after the first week, and the difference is hardly ever the material: it’s whether it seals well, fits under the office coffee machine and in the car cup holder, and has a logo people are happy to take into a café.

That’s why it’s best to keep the branding small and in understated colours, just like on the rest of our branded bottles and mugs. A 4 to 6 cm logo on one side, engraved or printed in a single colour, works anywhere. A full-wrap design makes sense when it says something, such as the name of an event or an internal campaign.

Which cup to choose for each use

Lid, seal and size: what to check

• Splash-resistant or leakproof: a splash-resistant lid helps prevent spills while walking, but it isn’t designed to lie on its side in a backpack. If the cup will travel inside a bag, look for a leakproof seal with a locking closure.
• Height: large cups or mugs with a tall handle may not fit under the spout of some coffee machines. If it’s for the office, compare the height on the product page with the clearance on your machine.
• Base: many large mugs have a narrower base than rim precisely so they fit in a car cup holder.
• Washing: many plastic cups are dishwasher safe; insulated steel mugs should be washed by hand so the vacuum isn’t damaged. Each product page says so.
• Microwave: no cup with steel or aluminium parts can go in the microwave.

Branding methods for cups

The price on each product page includes one-colour branding in the standard print area. More colours or a different technique are adjusted in the quote.

• Laser engraving: on steel and aluminium, the logo appears in the tone of the metal and won’t rub off. It’s the most durable option.
• 360° laser engraving: wraps around the whole cup for full-wrap designs.
• Pad printing and wraparound screen printing: solid colours on plastic or painted steel, with the exact colour of your brand.
• 360° digital print: full colour with gradients; more sensitive to aggressive washing.
• Engraving on the bamboo lid: a second area for a small logo, with no ink.

Common mistakes when ordering cups with a logo

• Choosing a large insulated mug for the office. If it doesn’t fit under the coffee machine, it ends up in a drawer; for a desk, 300 to 350 ml is enough.
• Giving a splash-resistant lid to someone who carries it in a backpack. For that, you need a leakproof seal with a locking closure.
• Wrapping the whole cup with the logo for no reason. Small branding on one side works anywhere; a full-wrap design only works when it says something.
• Asking for the exact brand colour with laser engraving. The engraving comes out in the tone of the metal; for colour, choose pad printing or digital print.
• Splitting the order across too many models. The minimum is per item, so one or two well-chosen models go further.
• Ordering too close to the date. Allow two or three weeks from approval of the mock-up.

Office, events and gifting

In the office, giving one cup per person instead of disposable cups by the coffee machine removes a consumable you buy again and again, and your logo ends up on every desk. It fits into any eco-friendly merchandise plan and works especially well when new people join or when you move office, when everyone is settling into a new space.

At trade shows and conferences, a coffee cup with a lid gets used more than many giveaways: it takes up little space in a suitcase and then gets used back in the visitor’s office. You can find the rest of your stand items in event merchandise. If what you need is a rigid plastic cup for a festival bar, it isn’t in this listing: tell us the quantity and date in the quote request. And if you’d rather let each person choose their colour or model, the Pekata gifting platform does that for you.