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Permalink Reply by Jared Rutledge on December 18, 2009 at 4:13pm

i always found the stamp to be far more efficient and less wasteful. not to mention cheaper. but one well known coffeeshop around here puts stickers (silver with black logo) on all their cups

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Permalink Reply by Matt Swenson on December 18, 2009 at 5:38pm

i second what Jared said about the stamps. More efficient and cheaper. When considering labels at .3-.15 each, plus cost of ink for each cup, it really starts to add to your costs of goods sold.

The label printer does have some good advantages though. We have used it for certain holidays to personalize coffee bags, for christmas, valentines day, fathers/mothers day, breast cancer month, etc.

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Permalink Reply by Jarred Hoffpauir on December 19, 2009 at 7:52pm

I have yet to see a stamp that does not look cheep. While the price of stickers or labels are going to be more then the stamp its far less expensive then printing your own cups. Your cups are your business cards that go out the door with every customer. If they have nothing on them or even worse look cheep you are loosing out on potential customers and advertising.

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Permalink Reply by Mike M on December 19, 2009 at 11:14pm

Jarred, do you have a digital camera? I think you'd get better-informed feedback if you could attach a photo of an example the stickers to which you're referring for discussion.

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Permalink Reply by Jared Rutledge on December 20, 2009 at 7:47am

i don't agree that my cups are my business card. i think under the starbucks model that was true, i'm not sure it is anymore. i've had discussions with more than a few customers on the subject, and most of them are indifferent on the subject - they care far more about whether the packaging is environmentally sustainable than any other aspect of it (and my cups are fully compostable). they're not carrying my coffee around as a status symbol, they're carrying it around because it tastes good. if someone asks them where they got the coffee, the customer saying "waking life espresso" is going to be far more effective than the logo on the cup. plus they won't notice if it's not stamped perfectly. adds character.

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Permalink Reply by Jarred Hoffpauir on December 20, 2009 at 9:24am

Mike, Ill take some pictures of stuff I have done so far. Its pretty new and I am still waiting for the oval labels I would want for coffee cups but Ill post some stuff.

Jared, Yes I see your point, I agree that your satisfied customer is going to be your best form of advertising. Though I would also add that most often you dont give business cards or fliers to people that are already customers. You give them to people you want to come into your shop to experience all that you offer. When your cups go out the door they instantly become your advertising flier and business card. Weather or not your customers show it off or not, other people see the cup. As a further reach, if the sign on the front of your building (or your giant portafilter) match the logo on your cup people will make that connection.

It is said in advertising that you need 7 points of contact before someone will come to see you as "the neighborhood shop" and come in. One of those points can be the cup that you send out the door.

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Permalink Reply by Chase on December 20, 2009 at 7:16pm

I think it depends. Stickers could work, but what a pain, putting a sticker on - every - single - cup. I'd almost say use a customized sleeve.

A good stamp *could* work if you use good ink, make sure it drys, and want to go for that sort of 'style'. Again, really, it just depends on the look your going for. Clean look - stickers. More of a dirty look - Stamp.

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Permalink Reply by Bailey Warr on December 20, 2009 at 8:59pm

We sticker cups at the store I work at. Surprisingly, I don't think they look cheap at all but would prefer the label to be printed on the cups. Also, as one of the employees that has to spend time putting stickers on every cup, I am not a fan. Not exactly the best or most productive way to spend time behind the counter...

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Permalink Reply by Mike M on December 20, 2009 at 11:00pm

Is there a significant cost difference between putting the sticker on the cup and having a sleeve with a customized logo put on it? I think the plain white cups with logos on the sleeeves look pretty sharp.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Beecher on December 21, 2009 at 5:05am

I looked into printing sleeves but the problem was the minimum order was 54 cases. Same with cups. Not much more per cup but large minimums. I went with stickers. It doesn't take long to sticker a few sleeves of cups and there is always a little down time.

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Permalink Reply by teresa pilarz on December 29, 2009 at 7:39pm

Maybe you didn't look far enough... we use a plain white cup w/ printed logo sleeve and we do NOT have 54 cases sitting around! I'm definitely a fan of stamping the sleeve; why bother putting any effort into a fancy cup when it's just going to get covered up with the sleeve?!

Michael Beecher said:

I looked into printing sleeves but the problem was the minimum order was 54 cases. Same with cups. Not much more per cup but large minimums. I went with stickers. It doesn't take long to sticker a few sleeves of cups and there is always a little down time.

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Permalink Reply by Mike M on December 29, 2009 at 8:14pm

I always thought simple white paper cups with the printed logo sleeves looked sharp!

teresa said:

Maybe you didn't look far enough... we use a plain white cup w/ printed logo sleeve and we do NOT have 54 cases sitting around! I'm definitely a fan of stamping the sleeve; why bother putting any effort into a fancy cup when it's just going to get covered up with the sleeve

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