coaster companies

[bmxfrank]

So I am now in charge of getting bids ofr new coasters. There is alot of companies so I figure its best to see who some brewers use and why you are happy with them. Im thinking 4-1/2 inch square which will accomadate more stules of glassware and the 40 point which looks to be inbetween for most thicknesses. I want o get more than one use out them but it doesnt need to be a durable as the super thick Sam Adams style either. Thoughts and opinions are appreciated. Thanks.

FHF

[Laughing Dog]

Both Atlas Packaging and Canada Coater have Been great to us

Fred
Laughing Dog

[bmxfrank]

how long do they last? I mean a typical order. I dont want toget 10000 just to get the better price and then have them for 2 years. I really dont know the usage rate on such an item. We may want to do a promo new design with 500-1000 and then a bucnh from there. What does an order last you?

[MatthewS]

shoot Jillian an email at Yankee Schooner. They have great pricing and are always honest and accurate about pricing, lead times, and quality.

[Laughing Dog]

Frank depends on how you use them on how long they last, we burn through 10,000 in 3 months BUT we are a Packaging brewery and they are going to accounts

FC

[Butcher Scott]

At our brewpub we probably go through 3-4 orders of 5,000 per year.

[bmxfrank]

overused

Yeah, I just found out we use about 9000 a month! We are only a pub so I find that to be stupid. They gotta be using them as scrap paper. We were able to buy in such large volume that I guess it didnt matter, but going forward we will not have such purchase power. I could order a SHIT LOAD of cheap ones so we can keep the cost down and they will get used via waste no less. But Id rather get a better coaster, re-use a few times. The issue will be retraining the staff and changing the culture that coasters are not for passing love notes and taking orders. Im hoping printing on both sides will help. UGH! I dont wanna be the coaster guy.

[SRB]

We used absorbent ink.
We recommend. We ordered a minimum run and they lasted a little over a year.
We printed both sides with a map on the back. They worked well as handouts on big event weeks around town and at a couple of the beer festivals we have attended. We have pulled back on distribution (15 accounts) until we find a way to expand to a larger system....or the economy turns around. Coasters make more sense to me as a brewery that distributes draft to bars etc. At least with business as tight as it is. Our coasters looked awesome and they stood up to a few uses. Good call on the retraining!

[nickfl]

I would be wary of Absorbent Ink. Actually I would never use them again. I ordered coasters from them a year and a half ago and they nearly screwed me out of the whole order. About a month after the coasters were supposed to arrive, they sent me an email saying that they were going out of business and that I would not receive my order even though they had already charged me for it. Fortunately the company that actually printed the coasters had already fulfilled the order and even though they hadn't been paid by Absorbent Ink, they offered to send me the coasters if I paid for shipping. So I only got screwed a little by having to pay for shipping twice, but it still sucked. I guess Absorbent Ink went through bankruptcy and reorganized, and they may be a better company now, but I wouldn't work with them again.

I now deal directly with the company that prints the coasters. I don't have their info with me right now, but if I come across it I will post a link.

[lhall]

Coasters are a waste of money in my opinion. The ones that the big guy's distributors don't hide behind the cash register, on top of the cooler, etc, get wasted by being tossed in the trash after one use, or thrown around the bar by bored bartenders who think they are ninjas. Someone should come up with a steel-tipped five pointed coaster. That would be fun.

[SRB]

I would be wary of Absorbent Ink. Actually I would never use them again. I ordered coasters from them a year and a half ago and they nearly screwed me out of the whole order.

yowzer....good to know if we print coasters again!

[Barley]

free coasters

We get our coasters from canada coaster and have been happy with them. We are a brewpub and probably ordered 5000 2x a yr. This spring however I approached a couple of regular customers, one who is a realtor and the other in the granite countertop business. They now advertise on one side of the coaster and I use the other side. And the best part is they pay for the whole order. They love coming in and seeing their name on a coaster in front of each customer at the table every day. Cheapest advertising they can buy. We now have a wait list of people who want to do the same thing once this run is over and I have even seen another pub in town do the same thing. So I don't think I will be buying coasters again. Give it a try.

[jbrew55]

canada coasters

I third canada coasters. have been using them for years with absolutely no issues. Josh