Capitol Cups can design your cup for you, or you can submit your own design. If submitting your own design, please observe the following guidelines. If you don't see the information you are looking for here, please Contact Us and we'd be happy to assist you.

Our labels are printed on a special type of white media and then wrapped around the actual cup during the in-mold process. In order that the finished graphics are correctly positioned, a technique known as "warping" or "distorting" must be applied to the graphics while they are still in the digital stage. We offer our clients who use their own designers two kinds of templates to choose from based on their own experience with cup labels:

For Easy Traveler™ 16 oz. Cup:

1) Basic Rectangular Template - Use this template if you are not experienced with warping or distorting graphics for cup labels. Just design your label within the borders indicated and Capitol Cups will warp it for you. Download .pdf of 16 oz. Rectangular Template here 2) Warped Template - Use this template if you are experienced with cup labels and understand how to correctly warp graphics and type. Our art department will review your design before it's submitted to the printer to insure printability. Download .pdf of 16 oz. Warped Template here

For Easy Tumbler™ 20 oz. Cup:

1) Basic Rectangular Template - Use this template if you are not experienced with warping or distorting graphics for cup labels. Just design your label within the borders indicated and Capitol Cups will warp it for you. Download .pdf of 20 oz. Rectangular Template here 2) Warped Template - Use this template if you are experienced with cup labels and understand how to correctly warp graphics and type. Our art department will review your design before it's submitted to the printer to insure printability. Download .pdf of 20 oz. Warped Template here

Art Specs:

TRANSFERRING FILES TO CAPITOL CUPS:
1) The quickest way is with our easy-to-use an FTP site. FTP site is best for large files or for fastest delivery. Contact us for upload instructions.
2) E-mail: compress your graphics files using .zip or StuffIt software if they are not larger than 20-30 megabytes and send it to: Contact Us
3) Send a disk with all the elements on it via USPS, FedEx or UPS to Contact Us

LAYOUT
1/8" Bleed all the way around the label.
When designing a label, keep in mind that the elements look the best when they line up at the side seams.
Critical elements need to be at least 3/8" from top & 1/4" from bottom of the template.
View Templates
 
DIGITAL IMAGES
We prefer to work with CMYK .psd, layered.tif, .eps or .ai file formats.
We do accept .jpg images, but they must be a high resolution image (300dpi) and they will be converted from RGB into CMYK files, which can result in minor color shifts. Please be aware that if you submit an image in a .jpg or .tiff format, we will limited in how much we can modify your design to fit the template. There are situations where an image cannot be modified further and borders (bands) on the top and bottom of the cup can be added that match the design and make a very attractive label. Borders are excelllent places to add your contact information or any other copy that you want to stand out.

Resolution: for crisp, sharp images, submit 300dpi files. Vector art created in Adobe Illustrator® provides the cleanest and sharpest images for type and illustrated artwork. For photographic images, Adobe PhotoShop® is the best choice for our workflow.

Colors: All our printing is CMYK. All PMS/Spot colors will be converted to 4-Color Process. When referencing a PMS color in a process color print, refer to a Pantone® Process Imaging Guide to see how the color translates when converted to CMYK (most colors change when converted to CMYK). Capitol Cups will make every effort to match any specific PMS color with the CMYK colors available. We also provide color hard copy proofs as well as digital proofs for your review.

FONTS
All fonts must be converted into outlines/curves or we will need the font itself in order to print the label. We use a Macintosh platform, so TrueType or PostScript fonts work the best. Don't forget to include your fonts or change them to outlines if you are submitting a .pdf file.
 
SOFTWARE
Current or recent Mac or PC versions of the following applications:

Layered Adobe Photoshop® CS files
Adobe Illustrator® CS  files - include any placed images
Corel Draw® and Freehand® files: will be converted into Adobe Illustator® files, so please save your file as an Adobe Illustrator® or Adobe PhotoShop® compatible file before submitting.
Adobe InDesign® CS files

NOT ACCEPTABLE: Word®, PowerPoint®, and Excel® files cannot be used.
Images that have been downloaded from a website that are very bit-mapped or low-resolution cannot be used.

ARTWORK COPYRIGHT LAWS 
You must own the rights to use ALL artwork you submit to Capitol Cups. Capitol Cups reserves the right to request a wriiten confirmation that artwork submitted has the proper usage permissions from its originator. Customers warrant that all images supplied for reproduction, whether digital, conventional or otherwise, are unecumbered by copyright and other usage rights connected to the image(s) and agree to hold harmless and indemnify Capitol Cups, Inc. for all claims and expenses for any actions in law that may result from the use of these images.  

COLOR TARGET / OUTPUT SAMPLE
If you are submitting your own design, it is best to include a complete, full-sized hard copy of the composite art submitted. It may be color or black & white, but must be printed from the final file(s) you provide. Color targets should be printed using calibrated devices. The black and white hard copy will be for position of elements only.

Contact us for answers to your design questions at  www.capitolcups.com/contactus