Five Mistakes That Ruin a Paper Cups Order - and How to Avoid Them
The avoidable mistakes that most often cost money on paper cups orders - artwork errors, unsigned proofs, tolerance gaps and packing failures - and how to prevent each one.
Artwork that was never print-ready
Missing bleed, low-resolution images and unembedded fonts are the most common reasons paper cups comes back from prepress instead of going to press.
A ten-minute prepress checklist before sending the file prevents this entire category of failure.
Approving by message instead of by proof
Verbal approval is the leading cause of colour disputes, because the press operator has nothing objective to match.
Sign a proof, keep a copy and refer to it at inspection; anything else is an opinion competing with an opinion.
Buying on price alone
A quotation far below the market usually means a lighter board, an uncoated substitute or a skipped finishing step on paper cups.
Compare quotations on identical specifications, and always ask what was removed when a price looks too good.
Ignoring tolerances and counts
Print runs vary slightly by nature, and orders of paper cups without an agreed tolerance invite arguments about short delivery.
State the acceptable over and under percentage, the count method and the packing standard in the purchase order.
Weak packing and late planning
Damage in transit usually comes from movement inside the carton, and late artwork approval is the most frequent cause of missed dates.
Agree packing and a loading plan with the supplier, and build one extra approval round into the schedule.
Summary
Buyers who verify rather than assume get better paper cups at the same price and spend far less time resolving problems after delivery.
