How to Measure a Tumbler for Sublimation

Most wrap problems start before you ever print: with a template copied from a chart that was made for a different blank. Here's how to measure the tumbler on your table in about a minute, with nothing more than a strip of paper and a ruler.

By the CraftSizer team · Updated 2026-10-11

What you need

• A strip of printer paper about 1 inch wide and longer than the tumbler is around (tape two strips together if needed), or a soft sewing tape measure
• A ruler marked in inches or centimeters
• A pencil

Skip the rigid metal tape measure. It can't follow the curve of the tumbler, so it will read a little long every time.

Step 1: Find the printable area

Look at your tumbler from the side. The printable area is the part where sublimation paper can lie completely flat against the coating. It usually starts a little below the rim (where the lid sits or where the top edge begins to curve) and ends just above the point where the bottom starts to round in.

Make a light pencil mark at the top and bottom of that area. Anything outside these marks is where paper lifts, shrink wrap wrinkles, and colors come out patchy, so it shouldn't be part of your template.

Step 2: Measure the circumference

Wrap your paper strip snugly around the middle of the printable area. Keep it level; a strip that drifts at an angle reads long. Mark the point where the end of the strip overlaps itself, unwrap it, and measure from the end to your mark.

That number is the circumference: the distance all the way around. It's the most important measurement, because it decides the width of your template.

Step 3: Measure the printable height

Measure straight up and down between the two pencil marks from step 1. This is the height of your template.

Step 4: Check whether it's tapered

Repeat step 2 near the top mark and again near the bottom mark. Compare the two numbers:

• Within about 0.1 inch of each other: treat the tumbler as straight. Your template is a simple rectangle.
• More than about 0.1 inch apart: the tumbler is tapered. A rectangle will tilt as you wrap it, so you'll need a curved template instead.

Some tumblers sold as "straight" have a small taper you can't see by eye. This check takes ten seconds and saves a ruined blank.

Step 5: Turn the measurements into a template

For a straight tumbler, the template width is the circumference plus a small seam overlap (about 0.05–0.15 inch), and the height is the printable height. Enter your numbers in the tumbler template size calculator to get the size in inches, centimeters and pixels, and download a blank 300 DPI template.

For a tapered tumbler, enter the top circumference, bottom circumference and height in the tapered tumbler template generator. It builds the curved template and can warp your flat design to match.

A worked example

Say you measure a straight tumbler and get a circumference of 9.2 inches and a printable height of 8.2 inches. Add a 0.1 inch overlap and your template is 9.3 × 8.2 inches. At 300 DPI, that's 2790 × 2460 pixels. If you design in Canva, create a custom size of 9.3 × 8.2 in, then download as PNG.

Common measuring mistakes

Before you print

• Keep names, faces and text at least half an inch away from the seam.
• Use a background that continues across both ends, so a tiny overlap is invisible.
• Check that your design is sharp enough for the size with the DPI checker.
• Write your measurements on the blank's box. Next time, you won't need to measure again.

Frequently asked questions