If you want to give clients a mug with your company logo, the decisions that shape how it looks are the mug size, whether the design wraps around or sits on the front, and how big the logo can go inside the print area. You can order through a promotional products distributor, a local print or gift shop, an online design-and-print service, or a print-on-demand marketplace. Compare them on the sizes offered, the exact print area, whether you see a preview or proof, and the minimum order. For a few dozen mugs you lay out yourself, an online tool where you design a custom mug, check the placement on screen and order in one sitting covers most client-gift needs. For hundreds of mugs, a specialty finish or a matched brand color, a distributor is the better fit.

Your options, compared

• Promotional products distributor. Offers a wide range of mug shapes, colors and finishes, plus extras like gift boxes. Pricing drops with volume, and most require a minimum order. The Greater Avon Chamber of Commerce member directory lists promotional and printing businesses under its advertising and media categories.

• Local print or gift shop. Good for a small run you want to see in person before handing out, or a rush job you can pick up.

• Online design-and-print service. Fits owners who want to place the logo themselves and order a modest quantity. Take Adobe Express as an example. Its mug page offers two sizes, 11 oz (325 ml) and 15 oz (444 ml), with a design that can wrap all the way around or appear only on the front. You can add your own logo, pick a color, start from a template or a blank canvas, and preview the mug before you order. Print orders ship only within the US, UK, Australia and Canada.

• Print-on-demand marketplace. Made for selling designs one at a time to the public, not for buying a batch of branded client gifts.

When an online service isn't the right fit: if you need 250 mugs for a trade show, an exact Pantone match on your logo, an etched or two-tone mug, or each mug boxed with a printed insert, call a distributor. Most will send a physical sample and a written proof before production.

Which mug sizes do design-and-print services offer?

Most services list two standard sizes, and some add travel mugs, tumblers or latte mugs. For a client gift, the two standards cover most needs.

• 11 oz. The common office mug. It fits under most single-serve coffee makers and looks right on a desk. Choose it for professional-services clients who'll use it at work.

• 15 oz. Taller and heavier. It suits clients who drink a lot of coffee, work long shifts, or keep a mug in a truck cab. It also gives you a slightly taller print area.

Pick one size for a client list unless you have a reason to split it. Two sizes double your proofing and invite the question of why one client got the smaller mug.

How big can the logo be? Working with the print area

The print area is the number that matters most, and many product pages don't show it. Adobe's mug page lists it in the FAQ: about 8.5 inches wide by 3.6 inches tall for 11 oz, and 8.5 by 4.1 inches for 15 oz. Here's how that translates into a layout.

• Front-only. The part of the mug people see at a glance is about 3 to 3.5 inches wide. A horizontal logo works well at about 2.5 to 3 inches wide. A square or round logo works at about 2 to 2.5 inches tall on an 11 oz mug, leaving margin top and bottom.

• Logo on both sides. Place the logo on the front and repeat it, or put your phone number or website, on the back. This suits mugs that sit on a shared table in a break room.

• Full wrap. Use the whole 8.5-inch strip for a brand pattern or color band, and set the logo in the front panel on top of it. Keep small text off the area near the handle.

• Margins. Leave about a quarter inch at the top and bottom of the print area, since edges can shift slightly in printing.

Use a vector logo or a high-resolution PNG with a transparent background. A logo copied from your website will usually look soft on a mug.

What should I ask about professional printing on mugs?

Whichever supplier you use, ask these before you order:

• What's the exact print area for this mug? Get it in inches. If the supplier can't tell you, your logo may be cropped.

• Will I see a preview or proof? On-screen previews show placement. A physical sample shows color.

• Which mug colors are available? A colored mug can change how your logo's colors look.

• What's the minimum order and turnaround? A distributor may need weeks and a minimum of 36 or 72 pieces. An online service may print one.

• What happens if a mug arrives broken? Ask how to report damage and whether there's a deadline. Photograph the box and the mug before you throw anything out.

Should the client gift be a mug at all?

Mugs are useful and stay on desks for years, but they aren't the only option. Photo books and calendars suit clients you know personally. Wall art suits a long-time commercial client with an office lobby. For a client whose business is home-focused, such as an interior designer or a home décor shop, online custom pillowcases with a photo or a simple pattern can be more memorable than one more mug. Match the gift to how the client lives and works.

Working the numbers: 60 clients and the $25 rule

Say an Avon insurance agency wants to send mugs to its 60 top commercial clients in December.

• Count: 60 mugs, plus 4 spares for new clients added in the fall and any breakage. That's 64.

• Size: 11 oz, since most clients work in offices.

• Layout: logo on the front at 2.75 inches wide, agency phone number in small type on the back, white mug.

• Budget check: the IRS answers a common question on deducting business gifts: you can deduct no more than $25 of the cost of business gifts to each person in a year, and incidental costs such as engraving, packing or shipping aren't included in that limit. Ask your accountant how the limit applies to your gift list.

• Timeline: for delivery the second week of December, approve the design by late October, order by early November, and leave three weeks for printing, shipping and a reprint.

Client gifts around Avon

The Greater Avon Chamber of Commerce's About the Chamber page says about 90 percent of its members are small businesses with 25 or fewer employees, serving Avon and Hendricks County. That's an audience where a handful of strong client relationships carries a lot of weight, and a well-made mug is a low-cost way to say thanks.

The chamber calendar is full of chances to hand one over. Its chamber calendar lists Coffee & Conversation on the second Tuesday of the month at rotating locations, built for members with busy evenings, and Business After Hours, typically on the second Thursday at Bubba's 33. A mug is an easy follow-up gift for a referral partner you met at one.

The chamber's benefits page lists monthly luncheons, the Annual Dinner and Auction, the Annual Golf Outing and member-to-member discounts, and notes that members can display promotional materials in the chamber office. A logo mug on that display shelf, filled with your business cards, does double duty. A branded mug also makes a practical auction or golf-outing donation.

Holiday timing matters. The chamber's e-newsletter this season lists a November member luncheon and a poinsettia fundraiser for the Mary Lee Maier Community Food Pantry. If you plan to bring client mugs to a November event, order by mid-October.

Frequently asked questions

Is an 11 oz or 15 oz mug better for clients?

11 oz suits office clients and fits most coffee makers. 15 oz suits heavy coffee drinkers and gives a slightly taller print area.

How big should a logo be on a mug?

On a front-only layout, about 2.5 to 3 inches wide for a horizontal logo, or 2 to 2.5 inches tall for a square one.

Should my logo wrap around the mug?

Wrap a color band or pattern if you like, but keep the logo itself in the front panel where people see it.

Can I deduct client mugs as a business expense?

The IRS limits the deduction for business gifts to $25 per person per year, not counting incidental costs such as packing or shipping. Check with your accountant.

About Business Owner Toolkit: Business Owner Toolkit is a working handbook for the parts of running a business nobody teaches you. Our guides are general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice, and we don't rate services or publish rankings.