Cups made in Oman: CupsByAA and Cups Factory

CupsByAA and Cups Factory sell custom printed paper cups that are made in Oman. Both brands print on the BHD Printing & Designing machines in Al Seeb, Muscat. CupsByAA serves small runs from 20 cups. Cups Factory serves cartons and bulk runs from 1,000 cups a size.

Why cups

BHD Group started with BHD Printing & Designing, a commercial printer in Muscat. Its work covers offset, digital, large format, packaging, cups and stickers. A printed cup is a small object. It leaves the counter in the customer's hand. Every cup carries the brand of the café that serves it.

I lead BHD Group as founder and CEO. Cups by AA is one of the companies listed in the group. The cup work splits into two brands because buyers come in two sizes.

CupsByAA: small runs, ordered online

CupsByAA (cupsbyaa.com) is for cafés, restaurants, hotels, clinics, offices and events that need a short run. The order starts at 20 paper cups.

The paper cups come in four sizes:

2.5 oz (75 ml), single wall, for Omani qahwa.
4 oz (120 ml), double wall, for espresso.
6.5 oz (190 ml), double wall, for karak.
8 oz (240 ml), double wall, for Spanish latte and americano.

The site also offers lids, kraft sleeves, cup holders and straws. It has ready cups for Eid, Ramadan, winter and other seasons, and printed cups for weddings, launches and events.

The order has three steps. You choose the cup and the quantity, and the price shows at once. You upload your logo or full design and pay by card or Apple Pay. Bank transfer is also accepted. Then the team checks the design, prints the run and sends updates on WhatsApp. The order page covers delivery in Oman and the UAE. For the rest of the GCC, the team confirms delivery first.

Cups Factory: cartons for the trade

Cups Factory (cupsfactory.om) is the trade side. It serves cafés, chains and distributors that buy by the carton. Runs start at 1,000 cups a size, and the site prices each size live at the quantity you type.

The 2.5, 4, 6.5 and 8 oz paper cups are made in house. The 12 oz and 16 oz paper cups come from a partner factory and are quoted by hand. PET cups in 8, 12 and 16 oz are available for cold drinks. Delivery covers all of Oman.

Before any run, the buyer sees a digital proof of the artwork on the cup. Nothing goes on the press until the buyer says yes. A buyer who is not sure about a size can ask for samples. Cups Factory sends two cups of each size under review. Business accounts can be invoiced on terms, keep their approved artwork and reorder in one step.

How a cup is made

The Cups Factory site shows the full process on one floor in Al Seeb. The paper arrives as sheets and leaves as cups.

The press prints the artwork on a 330 × 483 mm sheet, six blanks to a sheet.
The die cuts each sheet into fan-shaped blanks.
Each blank wraps around a mandrel, and the machine seals the seam.
The base goes in, and the machine rolls the rim.
The cups stack, and the team counts them into sleeves and cartons.

The site also tells buyers what the artwork needs. The file must be at the blank size with 2 mm bleed. Text must be converted to outlines. Images need at least 300 DPI. The 8 oz dieline is free to download, so a designer can work on the real shape.

What I take from it

A paper cup looks simple. It still needs the same discipline as any print job. The file must be correct, and the client must approve the proof. The difference is the last step. A business card stays flat. A cup must be cut, formed and sealed before it reaches the client.

Two brands on one set of machines let us serve both kinds of buyer. A new café can test its brand with 20 cups. A chain can then buy the same cup by the carton.