Branded cocktail napkins for bars and pubs: the second job they do
Every bar napkin has two jobs. The first is obvious, and plain stock napkins do it fine. The second happens while the drink is still in the customer's hand, and plenty of pubs never order for it.
What are branded cocktail napkins, and why do bars and pubs use them?
Branded cocktail napkins for bars and pubs are small paper napkins, usually 20 × 20 cm or 24 × 24 cm, printed with the venue's logo, name or a QR code. They go under a glass, beside a snack or into a hand at the bar. With Printed Napkin you can order from 100 per design, the design is free, and production and delivery anywhere in the UK take 10 working days from payment.
Plenty of pubs still buy them plain. Wholesale cases of white or black cocktail napkins often run to 2,400 or 4,000 at a time, and they do the first job well enough: they mop up.
The second job is the one people forget to order for. A cocktail napkin sits in front of the drinker for the whole drink, usually under the glass, often right next to a phone that is about to take a photo. Plain napkins waste that spot. A printed one fills it with your name.
So the useful question is less "should we brand them?" and more "what should be on that square, and which square do we need?"
Which size of cocktail napkin suits a bar or pub?
Bars and pubs usually choose one of the two smallest sizes. The 20 × 20 cm napkin is the classic cocktail size and also works as a coaster. The 24 × 24 cm napkin is a little larger, which helps with finger food and with oily or staining snacks such as chips, wings or olives.
These figures come from our guide to napkin sizes, colours and printing inks:
| Size | Folded | Best for | Typical use per guest | Paper qualities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 × 20 cm (XS) | 10 × 10 cm | Cocktails, drinks, small snacks; also used as a coaster | Around 4.5 | Tissue 2-ply and 3-ply, double point, airlaid |
| 24 × 24 cm (S) | 12 × 12 cm | Cocktails and finger food, including oily snacks | 3 to 4 | Tissue 2-ply and 3-ply, airlaid |
| 30 × 30 cm (M) | 15 × 15 cm | Bar food served as a light meal: sandwiches, baguettes, subs | 2 to 3 | Tissue 2-ply and 3-ply |
A simple rule: if the napkin mostly travels with a drink, choose 20 × 20 cm. If your bar serves food on the counter, choose 24 × 24 cm. If you run a gastropub with a full menu, you will probably want a larger napkin for the tables as well, and the same logo can go on both.
What should you print on a bar napkin?
Print less than you think. A folded cocktail napkin shows a face of 10 × 10 cm or 12 × 12 cm, so the design has very little room, and a wet glass will sit on part of it.
What tends to work on a small square:
- Your logo or name, placed on the folded face that shows, where people actually see it.
- A QR code that takes people to your menu, your website or your review page. We print them on napkins, and a napkin under a glass is one of the few places a customer has both a reason and a spare moment to scan.
- One short line, if you have one: the cocktail of the month, the quiz night, the opening hours.
What tends to go wrong: long text, very fine detail on soft paper, and many-coloured logos squeezed onto a coaster-sized face. We adapt your logo to the size you choose, and every amendment to the design is free.
Not sure what fits? Send us your logo through the quote form and we come back with a free design for the size you choose.
Deluxe® or full colour: which print method suits a bar logo?
Many bar and pub logos suit Deluxe®, our flat-ink printing system. It prints solid colours with sharp edges, from a chart of 37 inks with Pantone references plus metallic gold and silver. Full colour CMYK is for artwork a flat ink cannot hold: photographs, gradients and logos with many colours.
For a bar, the metallics deserve a mention. Gold or silver on a dark napkin reads well in low light, which is the light most bars work in. Tell us the napkin colour you have in mind and we confirm which sizes and qualities carry it. A single flat ink in your brand colour on a white napkin is the other safe choice.
One thing to know before you sign off a colour: screen colours are only an approximation, and a Pantone printed on absorbent paper shifts again with the napkin stock. If the colour is critical to your brand, we send a physical sample before we print the run. You can see finished jobs on our work page.
Which paper quality should a bar choose?
For high-volume drinks service, tissue is the usual choice. Tissue 2-ply and 3-ply is ultra-soft cellulose, the most economical option, with the edges trimmed so the plies stay together and the napkin does not come unfolded on the bar.
Double point embossed tissue is noticeably softer and spongier in the hand, because the point-to-point embossing creates air cells between the fibres. In the cocktail sizes we print it at 20 × 20 cm.
Airlaid is our best quality. It is a single layer with a look and feel close to fabric, the nearest thing to a cloth napkin while staying disposable. It suits cocktail bars and hotel bars that care about how the napkin feels in the hand, and it comes in both 20 × 20 and 24 × 24 cm.
How many branded cocktail napkins should a pub order?
Start from the per-guest figures. At around 4.5 small napkins per guest, a 200-guest private party at the bar gets through roughly 900 napkins of 20 × 20 cm. For everyday service, look at how many plain napkins you go through in a normal month and order the printed version to match.
The minimum is 100 units per design, and it does not change with size, paper or print method. That makes some orders practical that a bulk-only supplier cannot take on:
- A short run for one event, such as a launch night, a match screening or a private hire.
- A seasonal design alongside your standard napkin.
- A test run in one paper quality before you commit to a longer order.
Lead time is 10 working days from payment, anywhere in the UK, on orders of up to 10,000 units. If you need napkins by a set date, tell us when you ask for a quote and we confirm it before you pay.
Can you match coasters to your napkins?
Yes. We print coasters too, with the same 100-unit minimum as the napkins, so the bar can carry one design across both. Some venues use the 20 × 20 cm napkin as the coaster and skip the separate coaster altogether; others want a firmer coaster on the bar top and the napkin with the snack. Either way, one logo file and one approval cover both.
If you are also thinking about napkins for the dining side of the pub, our post on custom printed napkins for restaurants covers the larger sizes and table service.
Ready to order branded cocktail napkins for your bar?
Tell us your venue, how many napkins you need, the size and roughly when you need them, and send your logo in the best quality you have. We reply with a free design and a firm price, and you can ask for as many changes as you like before approving anything. Orders start at 100 napkins per design and arrive within 10 working days of payment, anywhere in the UK. If the result is not right, our satisfaction guarantee means we collect the order and refund you. Get your free bar napkin design.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum order for branded cocktail napkins?
100 napkins per design. The minimum is the same whatever the size, paper quality or printing method, so a single event or a seasonal design is worth printing.
What size is a cocktail napkin?
The standard cocktail napkin is 20 x 20 cm, folding to 10 x 10 cm, and it also works as a coaster. Bars that serve oily snacks often prefer the 24 x 24 cm size, which folds to 12 x 12 cm.
How long do printed bar napkins take to arrive?
Production and delivery take 10 working days from payment, anywhere in the UK, on orders of up to 10,000 units. Tell us your date when you ask for a quote and we confirm it before you pay.
Why don't you show prices on the website?
The price depends on the quantity, size, paper quality and number of ink colours, so 100 napkins and 5,000 napkins are not the same product. Send us your logo and you receive a firm price along with the free design, with no commitment.
Will my logo still look right on such a small napkin?
We prepare the design for the size you choose, and every amendment is free. You see the finished design before paying, and for a critical brand colour we send a physical sample before printing the run.
Can I put a QR code on a cocktail napkin?
Yes. We print QR codes that take people to your menu, your website or your reviews page. Keep it on the folded face that shows, away from where the glass sits.