Frequently asked questions

Yes. There is no minimum on our online store or in the builder: order one piece if that is all you need. A single cup costs the price on its product page, and most drinkware gets a lower per-cup price at 6, 12 and case quantities, applied automatically in your cart. Each product page lists its own pack prices.

If the cup carries your own logo, photo or artwork, add the $40.75 art prep & proof fee, charged once per design in your cart. Art prep & proof is included on text-only designs and our ready-made designs. Orders of 50 or more go through a custom quote. Design one here or request a quote.

Our ready-made designs and name or text cups: you see your name on the cup, we email a proof, and we ship in 5 business days. If you change the proof, the 5 days start when you approve it. Your own logo or artwork ships 10 to 14 business days after you approve your digital proof: the clock starts at approval, not at checkout.

Shipping adds 3 to 7 business days by USPS or UPS (Alaska and Hawaii may take longer), so delivery time is production plus transit. Rush production is available by arrangement for +20%, subject to capacity. Tell us your date before you order and we confirm we can hit it before you pay, not after.

Holiday orders: for holiday delivery, order our designs and name cups by December 7, and approve your own-art proof by November 20.

Art is priced by the work it takes:

• Art prep & proof: $40.75 a design when your file is ready to print. Our team sizes your art, fits it to your cup and checks it on a proof before we print.
• Art redraw: $122.25 a design when we rebuild your art so it prints sharp. It takes the place of the art prep fee, not on top of it, and we tell you before we start.
• Custom design: $122.25 an hour when you need something made from scratch, quoted as a fixed price before we start.

The art prep fee is one fee per custom design (your own logo, photo or artwork), charged once per design in your cart at any quantity: cups in the same cart with the same art share one fee. Art prep & proof is included on text-only designs and our ready-made designs. Setup is included, online and on quotes: it is in the cup price. Reorders of the same art on a quote: art prep & proof included.

Back of the cup: on a logo print, on cups where the builder offers it, add your logo or a line of text to the back for +$5 per cup. One art prep fee covers both sides; art prep & proof is included on a text-only back. The builder doesn't offer it with a full wrap or on laser-engraved items. On quotes for cups from our online store, a back print is +$5 a cup under 24 cups; from 24 cups up, a UV back costs less per cup as the quantity grows (about $3.85 at 50, $2.70 at 100, $1.25 at 250 and $0.10 at 500), and a laser back stays +$5.

Yes. Every custom order gets a digital proof, and nothing is produced until you approve it. Our designs and name cups: your name is included; you see your name on the cup, we email a proof, and we ship in 5 business days. If you change the proof, the 5 days start when you approve it. Anything you could have changed in the builder (name, text, band or cup colour) you can change on the proof at no charge until you approve it; a different cup is charged at that cup's price. Your own logo or art: we email a proof, and it ships 10 to 14 business days after you approve.

For your own art, our team makes a mockup showing how your design is positioned, sized and coloured on the exact cup you ordered, and emails it to you. If anything looks off (colour, size, placement or text), tell us and we revise the proof. Once you reply with your approval, your order goes into production and the 10 to 14 day window begins.

Yes. Start on our Build Your Own page and pick a cup. On the cup's page you upload your artwork or add text, pick a color and see your price before you add it to your cart. No design experience required.

It works on desktop and mobile. Our team reviews every order before printing to catch resolution or bleed issues and sends you a proof. Start your design here.

Yes. Our own designs (gifts, hobbies, jobs, holidays, badges and full wraps) are each a product with fixed art, a price per cup and its own page. Browse all designs.

Many designs have a name plate and a second line that you fill in on the product page. Your name is included in the cup price, and so is the second line; left empty, those spaces print blank. You see your name on the cup, we email a proof, and we ship in 5 business days. If you change the proof, the 5 days start when you approve it. The Christmas Comic Tumbler is the exception: it is drawn from your own pet photos and ships 10 to 14 business days after you approve its proof.

We accept PNG, JPG, PDF, AI (Adobe Illustrator) and SVG files. Vector formats (AI or SVG) are best because they scale to any size without losing sharpness. Raster images (PNG, JPG) should be 300 DPI or higher at the size you want printed: a small web image stretched across a full tumbler wrap prints soft.

Upload the best version you have. Our team checks every file during art prep and shows it on a digital proof of your cup before anything is printed, so you see exactly how it will look. If your logo needs to be redrawn so it prints sharp, that is an art redraw at $122.25 a design in place of the $40.75 art prep fee, and we tell you before we start.

Yes. ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Perplexity, Grok and other AI assistants can work with our store directly. For a cup with your own logo, an assistant can use the Karved Quotes MCP server at https://karvedconcepts.com/apps/karved/api/v2/mcp (no key needed). It lists our cups, makes a mockup from your logo file, and returns the posted price for under 50 cups (cups plus the art prep fee, shipping not included). For 50 or more, it can send a quote request with your name and email once you agree, and our team replies by email within one business day. It can also search our ready-made designs by plain words such as "nurse gift" or "funny golf".

Mockups are previews, not proofs: every order still gets a proof you approve before printing. For stock products the store supports the Universal Commerce Protocol (discovery at /.well-known/ucp), and checkout always needs your approval. Assistants can read our full store facts at /agents.md.

Each product has one decoration method, stated on its product page, and it can't be switched.

Direct UV print, full colour: our stainless steel tumblers (such as the Ringneck 20oz and 30oz, 22oz Skinny, 12oz Wine and 20oz Pilsner), water bottles (such as the 12oz, 20oz and 32oz) and the 12oz can cooler. You get photo-quality colour with a faint raised texture, including full 360° wraps.

Laser engraving, one tone: anything with a handle (the 15oz mug and the 20oz and 40oz travel mugs), the 20oz Two-Tone Grip Tumbler (silicone or leatherette grip) and the water bottle boots. The design is engraved into the item, so it is permanent and shows as one tone.

Pick UV for photos, multi-colour logos and wraps; pick laser for a clean one-tone mark on a handled mug.

Yes. A full wrap is printed all the way around the cup, 360°, from rim to base. Wraps are UV printed, so they are full colour; laser-engraved items can't be wrapped. Pick Full wrap as the print option on a cup that offers it, and the cup page shows the wrap price per cup. A back-of-cup logo or text line isn't offered with a full wrap, because the wrap already covers the back. Like every order, a wrap gets a proof you approve before we print.

UV printing uses ultraviolet-cured ink printed directly on the drinkware. Sublimation requires a special polymer coating and only works on white or light-colored polyester-coated items. UV printing works on dark and light cup colours and gives photo-quality colour with a faint raised texture.

At Karved, the ink is cured by UV light the moment it's applied, so there's no drying time and no smearing risk. Each product has one fixed decoration method: stainless tumblers, water bottles and the can cooler are UV printed; handled items, the Two-Tone Grip Tumbler and the bottle boots are laser engraved.

It holds up very well to everyday use. UV ink is cured hard right on the cup. What wears any print is abrasion: steel wool, rough scrubbers or harsh cleaners. Stick to a soft sponge, mild dish soap and warm water to keep your print looking its best. Laser engraving is cut into the item and is permanent.

Yes, and this is one of the key advantages of UV direct printing over sublimation. Sublimation only works on white or very light-colored coated surfaces because the dye literally absorbs into the coating, so any background color mixes with the ink color. UV printing lays ink on top and cures it in place, so we can print on black, navy, forest green, burgundy and other dark colours.

Every order gets a proof on your cup colour before we print.

Yes. For 50 or more pieces, or any order you want priced for you, use our quote form. The price shows on screen as soon as you submit it and is good for 30 days; requests that need a custom quote get a reply by email within one business day. Quotes start at one piece.

On quotes, setup is included in the cup price. Under 50 pieces, a quote for a cup and print from our online store is never priced above the same cart online, except names: quotes charge $3 a named cup (names are included online). Custom cups or prints that aren't in our online store are priced from our price book: $100 minimum order, setup included. A $10 ink calibration fee can apply to dark cups or high-pigment reds and oranges, and a $25 Pantone match fee applies when you need an exact Pantone colour. On cups from our online store, a back print is +$5 a cup under 24 cups and costs less per cup from 24 up on a UV print (about $2.70 at 100); a laser back stays +$5. Names are $3 a cup. Art is its own line on quotes: art prep & proof is $40.75 a design when your file is ready to print; an art redraw is $122.25 a design when we rebuild your art so it prints sharp; a custom design made from scratch is $122.25 an hour, quoted as a fixed price before we start. Reorders of the same art on a quote: art prep & proof included.

We print for company gifts, employee programs, events, teams, breweries and restaurants. Resellers can apply for a wholesale account; wholesale orders pay the same quote fees as above.

Yes, from 50 pieces. You send the drinkware, bottles, jars or tins and we print them. Items need to be round glass, ceramic, plastic or coated metal, 40 to 120 mm across, with no handles. The minimum is 50 pieces and $100, setup included.

Start with the fit check and quote form on Print on your items. Our reprint guarantee covers cups we supply; customer-supplied drinkware is printed with care but isn't covered.

Standard shipping is a flat $8.00 on orders under $99.00 and free on orders of $99.00 or more. Express shipping is a flat $15.00.

We ship with USPS or UPS, and transit takes 3 to 7 business days after production (Alaska and Hawaii may take longer). There is no local pickup: every order ships, and each cup ships in its own box.

No. We ship to all 50 US states, including Alaska and Hawaii (transit there can take a little longer). We don't ship outside the United States.

There are two parts to the answer: the print and the cup itself.

The print. On powder-coated colours, our UV print holds up in the dishwasher. On glass and bare stainless steel, the print is hand wash, unless a dishwasher-safe print treatment is added to a quote. Laser engraving is engraved into the item and does not wash off.

The cup. Every cup follows its maker's rating. The 20oz and 30oz Ringneck tumblers are rated dishwasher safe by their maker; no other cup has a confirmed rating, so treat it as hand wash.

We recommend hand washing everything with a soft sponge and mild soap. No scouring pads, and do not microwave.

The single biggest enemy of UV prints is mechanical abrasion: steel wool pads, rough scrubbers, scouring powders, and abrasive cleaning sponges. These physically scratch the printed surface layer and will dull or damage any drinkware print over time, not just UV. A soft cloth or silicone sponge with mild dish soap is everything you need for daily cleaning and won't harm the print at all.

Chemical abrasion is the second concern. Bleach-based cleaners, oven cleaner sprays, industrial degreasers, and anything with a strong acid or base can break down the UV ink over time. Stick to mild dish soap and warm water. Avoid leaving the drinkware soaking for extended periods, not because of the print, but because prolonged soaking can affect the insulation seal at the lid. Never put insulated drinkware in the microwave.

Custom and personalized items are final sale: they can't be returned or exchanged, because each one is made to order.

If an item arrives damaged, defective, or materially different from the proof you approved, we replace or refund it at no cost. Report it within 7 days of delivery with your order number and photos. Unprinted, non-custom items can be returned within 14 days of delivery in original, unused and unaltered condition, with you paying return shipping. Orders can be cancelled within 24 hours of placement, before production starts. Full details: Refund Policy.

Our guarantee: looks like your proof, or we reprint it. If the print quality isn't right or doesn't match the proof you approved, send us photos within 7 days of delivery and we reprint it free or refund it. The guarantee covers cups we supply; customer-supplied drinkware is printed with care but isn't covered.