Sizing Guide

Every size we print, what each one is actually for, and how many to order. If you are here for one number: a cocktail napkin is 4.8 x 4.8 inches folded, and you want three to four per guest for a bar.

Napkin sizes

Paper napkin sizes are always given folded, which is how they arrive and how they sit on a table. Unfolded they are four times the area.

Cocktail, 4.8 x 4.8 inches

Also called a beverage napkin. This is the bar napkin: it goes under a glass, gets handed out with each drink and is the size most people mean when they say custom napkins. Because guests hold it and read it while they wait, it is the best surface in the room for names, a monogram or a fun fact.

Dinner, 6.5 x 6.5 inches

The plate napkin, sold elsewhere as a luncheon napkin. Big enough for cake, a slider or a full plate. Use it at a seated meal, at a buffet or beside a dessert station.

One thing worth knowing: a cloth dinner napkin is around 20 x 20 inches, so if you are comparing against a linen rental, these are not the same object. For paper, 6.5 inches is the large size and it is the one that goes on the table.

Guest towel, 4.25 x 7.75 inches

The long one, folded into a band. Made for the powder room and the sink area, and useful laid out along a buffet where guests need more coverage than a cocktail napkin gives.

Which napkin size should I order?

If your event has a bar and a meal, they are two different jobs and you want both. Cocktail napkins go where the drinks are, dinner napkins go where the food is. If you can only order one, order cocktail: more guests touch it, more times.

How many napkins per guest

Personalized napkins don't just get used, they get kept. Guests slip them into a pocket or a bag as a keepsake, so these numbers plan for extras.

Guests take a fresh napkin with every drink and set the old one down somewhere, which is why the bar number is the high one. The full breakdown, including a worked example for a 120-guest wedding, is in how many napkins per guest.

We print from 50 to 1000 napkins. The gap between 100 and 150 is small in money and large in stress, so round up rather than down. A reprint costs another production run and another shipping window.

Paper plate sizes

Dessert, 7 inches

Cake, appetizers, a slice of pizza, the kids' table. Also the right size for a dessert bar where guests are taking one or two small things.

Dinner, 9 inches

A full plate of food. This is the one you want for Thanksgiving, a buffet, a barbecue or any sit-down meal, and it is the size that needs to hold up under gravy without folding in half.

How many plates?

One per guest per course, plus 20 percent. If dessert is separate from the meal, that is a second plate each. We print from 8 to 800.

One rule that applies to every printed plate, ours included: serve on paper, reheat on ceramic. Printed and coated plates are not made for a microwave. Here is why.

Coaster size

Our coasters are one size, on absorbent pulpboard, printed edge to edge in full color or foil. That is the standard drinks-coaster footprint, sized to sit under a glass without disappearing beneath it or crowding a place setting.

Order 1.5 to 2 per guest. People move them, misplace them and take them home, which is rather the point of putting your names on one. Minimum 50, up to 300. More in the coaster guide.

Favor label and sticker sizes

• Round, 1.5 inches: seals an envelope, a favor bag or a box lid. Best for a monogram, initials or a short line.
• Square, 2 inches: more room for a name, a date and a thank you together. Better for anything with more than a few words.

From 24 to 264 labels. Order one per favor plus a handful spare, since a crooked one gets peeled and replaced.

Can cooler sizes

• Standard, 12 oz: the regular can. Beer, soda, most seltzers in a wide can.
• Slim, 12 oz: the tall narrow can. Hard seltzer, canned cocktails, sparkling water.

They are not interchangeable: a standard cooler slides off a slim can. Check what you are actually serving before you order, and if you are serving both, order both. From 1 to 100.

Bar sign sizes

Rule of thumb: if a guest reads it while standing at the table, 5x7 to 10x12 is enough. If they need to see it across a room, go 18x24 or larger. Wording ideas per station are in bar sign ideas.

Still not sure?

Tell us your guest count and what the event looks like and we will do the arithmetic with you. Send us a message. We would rather spend two minutes on it now than have you short on the day.