Printed plastic pint glasses do the job of a glass pint without the breakage, the weight or the safety paperwork. The trick is specifying the right model and print so they serve a legal pint and survive the wash. Here is how.
We are Drinksmate. We mould and print plastic pint glasses at our factory in Stockton-on-Tees, and we have shipped more than ten million reusable cups in the past three years to pubs, bars, festivals and stadiums. This is the same advice we give venues when they call to spec an order.
To line or to brim: the most important decision
Plastic pint glasses come in two formats, and choosing the wrong one is the most common mistake we see.
A pint to line glass holds 568ml at a marked fill line that sits below the rim. The gap above the line gives you room for a head on a beer or cider, and the line is what makes it a regulated pint for serving alcohol in the UK. A pint to brim glass holds 568ml right to the top. It maximises volume for soft drinks, mixers and cocktails, but it has no headroom for a beer head. As a rule: to line for cask and keg beer, to brim for everything else.
The pint line and UKCA marking
If you are serving beer or cider as a pint, the glass has to be stamped to prove it actually holds a pint. Our pint to line glasses carry the UKCA / CE mark required to serve a regulated pint in the UK, with the fill line moulded in. This is not optional for licensed venues, and it is one of the first things Trading Standards will check. Every UKCA-rated model we make is certified, so you are covered. There is more detail on our UKCA certified cups page.
Print methods: single colour vs full colour IML
Single colour screen print sits on the outside of the glass. It is quick to set up, the cheaper option at smaller volumes, and gives clean, bold results for a one-colour pub name, brewery logo or event wordmark. It is the right call where the glass only needs to last a season or two.
Full colour IML (in-mould labelling) fuses the printed label into the cup wall during moulding, so the print becomes part of the glass rather than a layer on top. It survives hundreds of commercial dishwasher cycles without fading, peeling or scratching, and there is no per-colour upcharge, so a full-colour design costs the same to print as a single colour. For venues running glasses across multiple seasons or operating a deposit-return scheme, IML is the durable choice. There is a fuller explanation on our IML printing page.
Durability and washing
These are not single-use cups. Moulded from food-grade, BPA-free polypropylene, a printed plastic pint glass is built to take hundreds of commercial dishwasher cycles. They are shatterproof, which removes the glass-injury risk in busy or outdoor settings, and they are light, which speeds up bar service and glass collection. For an outdoor bar, a beer garden or any standing event, that combination is the whole reason to switch from glass.
Minimum order, lead times and pricing
The minimum order is 50 glasses. Pricing is volume-driven, with tiers at 50, 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 5,000 plus, and the per-unit price drops at each step. At high volume our cheapest printed cup works out at 33 pence. Standard production is 10 working days from artwork sign-off, Eco Saver is 25 working days at the lowest unit price, and plain unbranded stock ships in 5 working days from our UK warehouse. For sub-48-hour emergencies, our sister site Express Cups handles express runs.
For exact pricing on your model, print method and quantity, use the quote form below. We reply inside the hour with a price, lead time and free 3D digital proof. If you are weighing plastic against glass before you commit, read printed plastic pint glasses vs glass.
Where to start
Browse the printed plastic cups range or the dedicated custom pint cups page, then send your specifications via the quote form. We will recommend the right model, confirm the pint line and certification, and come back with a price.