In-mould labelling puts the artwork inside the cup. A pre-printed polypropylene label is placed in the mould before the plastic is injected, and the two fuse into a single wall. There is no ink layer sitting on the surface to scratch off in a crate, fade in a dishwasher or wear away at the rim after forty washes — which is what eventually happens to every printed cup.
That makes it the right choice for two situations: a cup that has to survive many seasons in a stadium or arena wash cycle, and a cup that carries a brand’s actual artwork rather than a logo — photographs, gradients, sponsor blocks, a full wrap in unlimited colours at no per-colour cost.
| Screen print | Digital wrap | IML | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the artwork sits | On the surface | On the surface | Fused into the wall |
| Colours | 1–4, priced per colour | Full colour | Full colour, no colour cost |
| Wash resistance | Good | Good | Effectively permanent |
| Minimum order | 250 pieces | Mid hundreds | 1 000 pieces |
| Setup | Per colour, per 10 000 prints | Per design | EUR 235 per design |
| Best for | One logo, one season | Limited editions | Multi-season fleets, licensed artwork |
If the run is under 1 000 pieces, or the artwork is a single-colour logo that only needs to last one summer, the standard printed event cup is the cheaper and correct answer. IML earns its price when the cup is an asset rather than a consumable.
| Capacity | What it is for |
|---|---|
| 0,25 l | Wine, soft drinks, tastings and short serves. |
| 0,3 l | The small standard. Keeps the deposit value low at high-footfall bars. |
| 0,4 l | A generous soft drink, or a third of a litre of beer with head. |
| 0,5 l | The standard pour and the most ordered size for stadiums and festivals. |
Standard body colours are transparent, white and beige. Any other body colour carries a per-piece surcharge and, below 5 000 pieces, a one-off colour charge; a matched Pantone requires shade patterning. In practice most IML orders use a transparent or white body, because the label carries the colour anyway.
Indicative unit prices for a 0,5 l cup with full-colour IML, one design, before delivery. Smaller sizes are a few cents lower per piece.
| Quantity | Indicative EUR / piece |
|---|---|
| 1 000 | 1,60 |
| 2 500 | 1,28 |
| 5 000 | 1,12 |
| 10 000 | 1,02 |
| 25 000 | 0,85 |
| 50 000 | 0,78 |
| 100 000 | 0,70 |
Add EUR 235 once per graphic design for pre-print work. The curve is steep between 1 000 and 5 000 and flattens after 25 000, so if a second season is likely it is usually cheaper to order both at once than to repeat a 1 000-piece run.
An IML cup is worth returning, which changes how the deposit behaves — guests keep them deliberately, and a proportion will not come back at any deposit level. Plan for that, and give the cup a place to live while a guest is holding a plate and a phone: a cup holder lanyard, a belt clip, or cups with a moulded lanyard hook. Outdoors, silicone lids keep rain and insects out.
In-mould labelling. A printed polypropylene label is placed inside the injection mould, and the molten plastic bonds to it as the cup forms. The label becomes part of the cup wall rather than a coating on it, which is why the artwork cannot be scratched, peeled or washed off.
Because the decoration happens during moulding rather than after it, so each design needs its own label tooling and pre-print work, and the minimum run is higher. At 1 000 pieces an IML cup costs roughly three to four times a one-colour printed cup. By 25 000 the gap is much smaller, and per season of use it is usually the cheaper cup.
As many as the artwork contains. IML is a printed label, so photographs, gradients, metallic effects and multiple sponsor logos cost the same as a single flat colour. This is the main reason licensed and sponsored events choose it.
1 000 pieces per design. Below that the same cup body is available with screen print from 250 pieces, or blank from 100 pieces — the shape, stacking and dishwasher behaviour are identical, only the decoration differs.
Yes. There is no surface ink to attack, so the cup fails long before the print does. This is the specification to choose when cups are washed centrally and reissued across a whole season.
Yes, with a per-piece surcharge that falls with volume, plus a one-off charge on runs under 5 000 pieces and a shade patterning fee if you need a specific Pantone. Most orders skip it: the label already covers most of the visible surface.
Roughly four weeks during the event season and three weeks outside it, from approved artwork. Express production is possible at a surcharge and has to be ordered as a separate job, so it is worth confirming dates before the season starts rather than after.
The everyday version: standard reusable event cups in six sizes with screen or digital print. Also unbreakable wine glasses, reusable shot glasses, foldable silicone cups, bio-based coffee cups and LED cups. Everything that goes with them: drinkware accessories.
Our EU-based production means we meet even the tightest event deadlines.
Each product is created specifically to meet your unique event needs and brand guidelines.
Sustainable materials are available, incl. recycled and biodegradable wristbands.
