Cone Sleeves

Two Colour Cone Sleeves

Most brand marks are one or two colours. Printing them in full CMYK means building those colours from four inks, which costs more and holds less accurately across a run than printing them directly.

Two-colour spot printing gives a closer match for less money, provided the design suits it.

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Cut to your own product, not a stock size
Board, print and finish confirmed in writing
Delivered across the UK on national carriers

Short enquiry

Quote for This Product

Tell us the quantity and any date you are working to. We reply with the board, print and finish, plus the minimum order quantity and lead time.

Design Your Own

Design Your Custom Two Colour Cone Sleeves

Pick a colour, put your name on it, and see how the idea reads before you ask anyone for a price. It is a sketch rather than a manufacturing proof — the real shape is cut from the product you already serve.

Sleeve colour

Name on the pack

Finish

Show a repeating pattern

Leave two or three centimetres of wafer showing. Customers read a visible cone as freshly made, and the sleeve still catches the first drips.

Carry this into the full designer

The full page adds the size, board, print and quantity, then sends the whole specification over in one go. Nothing is committed to at any point.

Spot Colour Against Full-Colour Process

Which is cheaper depends entirely on the artwork.

	Two spot colours	Full CMYK
Colour accuracy	Very close to a Pantone reference	Approximated from four inks; shifts across a run
Cost on long runs	Lower — two inks instead of four	Higher
Photographs	Cannot reproduce them	Reproduces them well
Gradients	Limited to tints of the two inks	Full range available
Suits	Logos, flat colour, line illustration, pattern	Photography, illustration with many colours

A logo and a background colour is the classic two-colour job, and it is where the saving is largest.

Getting More than Two Colours Out of Two Inks

Tints extend the palette considerably. A solid colour at 100 per cent, the same ink at 40 per cent, and the two inks overprinted give five distinct tones from two plates.

Designers used to working in CMYK sometimes forget this. It is worth asking yours to work in spot from the start rather than converting afterwards.

Supplying Artwork for Spot Printing

Send vector artwork with the colours named as Pantone references, not as CMYK builds.
Keep the file to exactly two named colours plus any unprinted areas.
Avoid drop shadows and soft gradients, which convert badly to spot separations.
Tell us which colour is more critical if only one can be matched exactly.

Everything we need is set out in our artwork specification for print-ready files, including file formats and colour naming.

Ordering, Artwork and Delivery

Getting a Quote

Send us two or three of the cones you use, or the top diameter and slant height. We reply with a written specification, the minimum order quantity and the lead time for your job.

Artwork

We supply a die template cut to your cone before design work starts. Full file requirements are set out in our artwork guidelines.

Turnaround

Lead times depend on the print method, run length and press schedule, so we confirm yours on the quote rather than publishing a single figure.

Delivery in the UK

Orders are dispatched on national carriers to any UK address. Seedelivery information for how dates are given.

Custom Two Colour Cone Sleeves: Common Questions

Is two-colour always cheaper than full colour?

On longer runs, usually. On short digital runs the difference narrows or disappears, because digital presses lay down all colours in one pass. Ask for both prices when the quantity is modest.

Can we add a third colour later?

It becomes a different job rather than an adjustment, since each ink is a separate plate on a conventional press. If a third colour is likely, it is worth pricing the three-colour version now.

How do we know if our logo suits two-colour printing?

Count the flat colours in it. If it is a mark and a background with no photographs or soft gradients, it suits spot printing and will usually cost less than full colour.

Can we get more than two tones from two inks?

Yes. Each ink at full strength, each at a lighter tint, and the two overprinted gives five distinct tones from two plates, which surprises most people the first time.

What if our brand has three colours?

Then price the three-colour version as well as a two-colour simplification. On a conventional press each ink is a separate plate, so the third one is a real cost rather than a rounding.

Do we need to supply Pantone references?

For spot printing, yes. A CMYK build or a hex code describes a colour approximately; a Pantone reference describes a specific mixed ink, which is the point of the process.

Will two spot colours match across reorders?

Far more closely than a process build, because the ink is mixed to a recipe rather than assembled from four separates. That consistency is the main reason to choose spot.

Can we add a photograph later?

Not to a two-colour job. Photographs need process printing, so adding one converts the whole design and changes the price. Decide before the artwork is built.

Is two-colour cheaper on a short digital run?

Often not. Digital presses lay all colours in one pass, so the saving comes on longer conventional runs. Ask for both prices when the quantity is modest.

What should we send our designer?

Our die template, and an instruction to work in two named Pantone colours rather than CMYK. Converting a CMYK file to spot afterwards rarely produces a clean separation.

Prefer to Talk It Through?

Sizing questions are usually quicker on the phone, especially if you have the product in front of you.

+44 7458 651107 info@conesleeves.co.uk