Every cocktail napkin quote comes down to one of three processes. Knowing which one your artwork needs saves both money and a disappointing carton.

Flexographic printing

Flexo presses one to three flat spot colours from a plate. It is fast, efficient at volume, and the right answer for a house design you reorder every quarter. Its limit is absolute: no gradients, no photographs, no blends. A colour is either on the plate or it does not exist.

If your logo is two flat colours, stop reading and order flexo.

Full-colour digital

Digital printing has no colour limit and no plate, so gradients, illustrations and photographs all reproduce, and short runs become viable because there is no setup to amortise. It also unlocks full-bleed, where the colour runs to every edge instead of sitting in the middle of a white napkin.

For a one-night activation with bespoke artwork, digital is almost always the correct choice.

Hot foil stamping

Foil is not printing at all — a heated die presses metallic film into the sheet. The mark reflects the room rather than absorbing it, which is why a foiled napkin reads as expensive across a dim bar.

The die is the constraint and the cost. Foil rewards a solid, simple mark and a design you will reorder; it cannot do gradients at all.

Picking in ten seconds

Flat logo you reorder: flexo. Gradient, photo or one-night bespoke: digital. Solid mark, dark stock, premium room: foil. Still unsure? Ask for both on the mockup — it is free and it settles it.