Printed vinyl placemats

A printed vinyl face, about 0.4 mm, with the artwork laminated under the wearing layer, not coated onto it. A laminated face can be cut clean, sealed or stitched; a coated one can only be sealed. With the print under the wearing layer, wiping does not wear it off.

Three standing sizes with no tooling cost: 24 x 14 in (610 x 350 mm) for a single place setting, 35 x 16 in (900 x 400 mm) as a runner down the center of a table or a console, and 47 x 24 in (1200 x 600 mm) as a full table topper for a dining table or a desk. Beyond those, mats are made in any format: round, square, rectangle or cut to your own drawing. Anything outside the three costs one tool and one extra proof round, and is the normal route for a round setting, a bar top, a reception counter or a fitted worktop.

The face is heat resistant. It is specified for a dining table: a served plate, a warm dish and a hot mug, and it wipes clean afterwards. No temperature figure is published.

With a damp cloth. The face is sealed, so spills sit on the surface and a wipe takes them off. Avoid abrasive pads and solvent cleaners: both attack a printed vinyl face and take the print off first.

Clean cut, sealed or stitched. A clean cut edge is the plainest. A sealed edge is the most durable against repeated washing. A stitched edge gives the mat a sewn border.

Yes. The face is proofed against the color standard it has to live with, whether that is a carton range we already print for you, a brand palette or a material sample from the room, and it is signed off on production vinyl, not on paper. Color on vinyl does not behave as it does on board.

Partly. The printing, the proofing and the color control are ours and run to the same standard as the packaging. The laminating and the cutting run on a vinyl line, not in the carton plant, because vinyl is not paperboard.

Bulk runs, counted per artwork rather than per order. A hotel group running four room types is four runs, each carrying its own setup, and a custom size adds a cutting tool on top. Custom printed placemats for a restaurant group are counted the same way, one run per artwork rather than one per outlet. Send the formats and the artwork count and a planner prices the whole program.

New orders run 15 to 20 days in production, from approved artwork and a signed off proof. Repeat orders run 8 days, because the settings are stored against the part number and a reorder skips setup. Shipping time is additional and depends on destination.

The quote is one landed price: the cartons, tooling, structural design, proofing, the documents that travel with the order, import duty, shipping and delivery to your address, in the US or anywhere else. Nothing is quoted on top of it later.

The 24 in and 35 in formats ship flat. The 47 in table topper ships rolled in a tube, because a mat that size holds a crease if it is folded. A rolled mat lies flat from the first use; give it an hour on the table if it has been in transit in the cold.