If you run a café, restaurant, hotel or events business in Dubai, a printed napkin is the cheapest branded object you will ever put in a customer's hand. At MaxPrint the two napkin lines on the site are the printed cocktail napkin at AED 985 and the satin table napkin at AED 895, both priced with VAT included and delivered across the UAE. This guide explains the difference between tissue and fabric, what ply and GSM actually change, how logo printing behaves on soft stock, and what a fully branded table costs once you add cups, bands and seals — with real prices from the store, not estimates.
Tissue napkins vs fabric napkins: two different products
Almost every "napkin printing Dubai" search mixes two things that share a name and nothing else.
Tissue napkins are disposable, absorbent, printed in ink on soft paper stock and thrown away after one use. They are what a café, quick-service restaurant, cloud kitchen, coffee cart or exhibition stand needs. Our cocktail napkin is this category: soft, absorbent tissue printed with your logo in crisp colour, built for hospitality and catering volume.
Fabric napkins are woven textile, laundered and reused for years. They belong on a set table in a fine-dining restaurant, a hotel banquet, a wedding or a majlis. Our table napkin is this category — 45 × 45 cm and 50 × 50 cm are the common sizes, supplied in sets of 6 or 8 pieces, in Duchess Satin or Monroe Satin.
The practical rule: if the napkin leaves the building with the customer, print tissue. If it stays and gets washed, buy fabric. Restaurants that do both — dine-in and delivery — usually order fabric for the dining room and tissue for takeaway and the coffee counter.
Ply, GSM and why cheap napkins fail
Tissue napkins are specified by ply (how many layers of tissue are bonded together) rather than by GSM, which is the language used for card and paper stock elsewhere in printing.
- 1-ply — the thinnest, cheapest option. Fine as a dispenser napkin next to a drinks fridge or on a shawarma counter where volume matters more than feel. Print detail is limited; keep the logo simple and solid.
- 2-ply — the practical standard for cafés and casual restaurants across the UAE. Enough body to absorb a coffee spill, enough surface to hold a two-colour logo cleanly. This is what most branded cocktail napkins are.
- 3-ply — noticeably softer and thicker, used by hotels, premium cafés and events where the napkin is part of the table setting rather than a wipe.
The most common complaint about branded napkins is not the print — it is that the napkin disintegrates. That is almost always a 1-ply napkin doing a 2-ply job. Going up one ply costs a fraction of what a customer's bad impression costs.
Common napkin sizes in the UAE
Tissue napkins are quoted by their folded size:
- Cocktail / beverage, roughly 24–25 cm square folded — the small square that goes under a karak, an espresso or a glass at an event. The highest-volume branded napkin in Dubai by a wide margin.
- Lunch, roughly 30–33 cm square — the everyday café and casual restaurant napkin.
- Dinner, roughly 40 cm square — full-service restaurants and catered buffets.
- Dispenser / interfold — rectangular, fed from a counter-top box, used in food courts and quick-service outlets.
Fabric napkins run larger: our table napkin is offered at 45 × 45 cm and 50 × 50 cm, which is the standard restaurant and banquet range and folds properly into a cone, pocket or rosette without looking undersized.
Branding options: what actually prints well on tissue
Napkin stock is soft, slightly textured and absorbent, so ink spreads a little more than it does on coated card. That changes what you should send us.
Works well: a solid single-colour logo, a wordmark, a repeating pattern, a large monogram in a corner, an Arabic and English name side by side, a social handle, a simple icon. Two- and three-colour prints are routine.
Works badly: hairline type under about 7 pt, fine reversed-out text sitting inside a dark block, photographic gradients, and full-bleed solid dark coverage across the whole napkin. Dense ink coverage on tissue also makes the napkin stiffer and less absorbent — the opposite of what a napkin is for.
Placement. Most branded napkins print on one visible quarter, because that is the panel showing when the napkin is folded on a saucer or in a dispenser. A centre-placed logo often disappears inside the fold. Tell us how the napkin will be folded and presented and we will position the artwork to sit on the face panel.
On fabric napkins, branding is embroidery or a heat-applied transfer rather than ink printing — usually a small corner monogram. If you are branding uniforms at the same time, our fabric printing guide covers the method choice in detail.
Real prices from the store
Every figure below is a live listed price on maxprint.ae and includes VAT. Napkin lines are priced per order with the size, ply and quantity confirmed when you send your artwork — message the size and quantity you need on WhatsApp and we will confirm before anything is produced. The supporting items are priced per fixed quantity as shown.
| Item | Quantity | Price (VAT incl.) |
|---|---|---|
| Printed cocktail napkin (tissue, logo print) | Confirmed at order | AED 985 |
| Satin table napkin, 45×45 / 50×50 cm | Sets of 6 or 8 pcs | AED 895 |
| Double wall paper cups, 4 oz (karak / espresso) | 500 | AED 510 |
| Double wall paper cups, 8 oz (standard coffee) | 1,000 | AED 760 |
| Paper stickers 7 × 7 cm, matt lamination (napkin bands, seals) | 100 | AED 230 |
| Economy stickers, glossy laminated 80 GSM | 1,000 | AED 350 |
| Rounded PVC transparent stickers, 6 cm | 1,000 | AED 690 |
The sticker line matters more than it looks. A printed paper band wrapped around a stack of plain napkins, or a die-cut sticker sealing a napkin-and-cutlery roll, gives you branded table service for AED 230 to AED 350 without committing to a full napkin print run. For a delivery brand testing packaging, that is the cheapest way to look finished. The full range sits in sticker and label printing.
What a branded table actually costs
A café doing roughly 200 covers a day is looking at three items on the table, not one. Pairing the 8 oz cup at AED 760 per 1,000 with a napkin print and a AED 350 sticker run puts a fully branded hot-drink service — cup, napkin, seal — comfortably inside a four-figure budget that lasts weeks, not days. Compare that with any paid media in Dubai and the napkin wins on cost per impression, because the customer holds it for the length of a coffee.
If you are building the whole kit rather than one item, our restaurant packaging guide maps out cups, boxes, bags and wraps together, and the menu and table mat guide covers the rest of the table surface.
How to order printed napkins in Dubai
- Decide tissue or fabric. Takeaway, counter service and events: tissue. Set tables and banquets: fabric.
- Pick size and ply. Cocktail 24–25 cm at 2-ply covers most café use. Go 3-ply for hotels and premium service.
- Send artwork. A print-ready PDF in CMYK at 300 dpi with 3 mm bleed. Keep type at 7 pt or above and avoid hairline reversed-out text. No artwork? Design is free with every order — send your logo on WhatsApp and our designers prepare the layout.
- Approve the proof. We send a digital proof showing the print on the fold panel before production starts.
- Production and delivery. Standard production runs 3–5 working days after final artwork approval. We deliver to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Al Ain, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain, free on orders over AED 800. Collection is available from 32 Sheikh Zayed Road, Office 706, Dubai — open daily 09:00 to 21:00, closed Sunday.
Frequently asked questions
How much does napkin printing cost in Dubai?
The printed cocktail napkin is listed at AED 985 and the satin table napkin at AED 895, both VAT inclusive. Napkin runs are confirmed against your exact size, ply and quantity — send those details on WhatsApp +971 52 210 0909 and we will confirm the price before production.
What is the difference between a cocktail napkin and a table napkin?
The cocktail napkin is disposable printed tissue for cafés, events and takeaway. The table napkin is woven satin fabric in 45 × 45 cm or 50 × 50 cm, supplied in sets of 6 or 8 pieces, laundered and reused on set tables.
How many colours can I print on a napkin?
One, two and three-colour logo prints are standard on tissue. Solid shapes and wordmarks reproduce best; photographic images and fine gradients do not, because tissue absorbs ink and spreads fine detail.
What size napkin should a café order?
The cocktail size, roughly 24–25 cm square folded, is the highest-volume branded napkin in the UAE — it sits under a karak, an espresso or a cold drink. Lunch size at 30–33 cm suits casual restaurants serving plated food.
Can I brand napkins without printing them?
Yes, and it is the cheapest route to test a design. A printed paper band around a napkin stack, or a die-cut sticker sealing a napkin-and-cutlery roll, starts at AED 230 for 100 matt-laminated 7 × 7 cm stickers or AED 350 for 1,000 economy stickers.
Do you deliver napkins outside Dubai?
Yes — across the UAE including Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Al Ain, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain. Delivery is free on orders over AED 800.
How long does production take?
Standard production is 3–5 working days after final artwork approval. Tell us your event or opening date when you enquire and we will confirm whether it is achievable before you order.
Ready to brand your table?
Send your logo, the napkin size and the quantity you need on WhatsApp +971 52 210 0909 or call 0522100909, and we will come back with a confirmed price and a free design proof. To see everything that goes on a branded counter alongside napkins, browse paper cup printing, plastic cups and custom boxes.
