Free design proof on every custom order: no templates, no stock SKUs
Custom table tents cover the sizes, folds and panel counts that fall outside the regular two-panel or tri-panel formats. A nonstandard footprint to fit a specific table, an unusual fold to stand up on a narrow bar counter, or a shape built around a particular design. Restaurants use them most often to promote a seasonal menu item or drink special without reprinting a full menu, but the same format works for event signage, table numbers and point-of-sale promotions in retail. Because the fold and base shape are custom, it's worth testing a sample against the table it'll actually sit on before committing to a full run.
A table tent is a folded card that stands upright on its own, showing a printed panel to whoever is seated nearby. The standard way restaurants and bars promote a special without reprinting the whole menu. "Custom" in this category means departing from the regular two-panel triangle fold or the three-panel tri-fold: a different footprint to match a specific table size, a taller or shorter profile to fit on a narrow bar counter or a wide banquet table, or a shape built specifically around a design rather than a standard fold.
Restaurants and bars are the most frequent buyers, usually promoting a seasonal item, a happy-hour special or a new menu addition without committing to a full menu reprint. The same format serves plenty of uses outside food service, though. Event signage, numbered table markers for weddings and banquets, and small point-of-sale promotions in retail settings where a freestanding card can sit on a counter or checkout table.
Because it has to stand on its own, card stock weight is the main construction consideration: too light and it won't hold its shape after a few hours of handling, especially in a restaurant where it may get bumped, leaned on or occasionally splashed. A laminate or water-resistant coating extends the life of a table tent that's staying in rotation for weeks rather than a single event, since spills and wipe-downs are routine in food service settings.
Because the base and fold are custom rather than pulled from a standard die, it's worth testing a sample against the actual table or counter surface before committing to a full print run. A fold that stands fine on a flat proofing table can behave differently on a textured or uneven restaurant tabletop. It's also worth deciding early whether both visible sides need the same message or different ones, since that affects how the artwork is laid out on the sheet before folding.
A table tent is a self-supporting structure made of paper, which is an unusual demand. It has to stand up under its own weight without a base, on a surface that gets knocked, wiped and leaned on. Cover weights from 300gsm are the practical floor. Below that the tent sags and folds over, which is the failure everyone has seen on a restaurant table.
Why does my table tent keep falling over? Stock too light for the height. A tall tent on 300gsm bows at the fold. Go heavier or make it shorter.
Every face is printed, because a table tent is seen from all sides at once by people sitting around it. That distinguishes it from almost every other format. There is no back. A design that works on one face and leaves another blank is wasting the position, since roughly half the table is looking at the side you neglected.
Should every side carry the same thing? Not necessarily. Different offers per face works well. But no face should be blank, because someone is looking at it.
Table tents live on eating surfaces, which means spills, wipes and greasy fingers. Lamination is what makes one survivable rather than disposable. It can be wiped clean, and it stiffens the structure noticeably, which helps a tall tent stay upright. On a short promotional run an uncoated tent is fine; on anything that stays out for a season it is not.
Does lamination help it stand? Yes, noticeably. The film adds stiffness as well as protection, which matters more on taller tents.
The structure comes entirely from scoring and folding, so score accuracy is what decides whether the tent stands square or leans. The base is either a glued or tabbed flap holding the form closed, or an open A-frame relying on the fold angle alone. A glued base is more stable; an open frame ships and stores flat and assembles by hand.
Glued or self-assembled? Glued is steadier and arrives ready to use. Self-assembled ships flat, which matters if you are storing hundreds.
For pieces outside the regular two- and three-panel formats. A nonstandard size, extra panels, a die-cut top that follows a logo or product outline, a taller tent for a bar top, or a base weighted or shaped for a specific surface. The taller or more unusual the structure, the more the stock weight and score positions have to be engineered rather than assumed.
How tall can a table tent be? Taller needs heavier stock and a wider base. Tell us the height and we will specify the weight it actually requires to stand.
Ask for a folded sample before a run. Whether a tent stands square on a real table is a structural property no proof can show.
Fold lines pressed into the stock before folding. On a table tent the scores are structural rather than cosmetic. They set the fold angles, and an inaccurate score is why a tent leans or will not close square.
A bonded film that lets the tent be wiped clean on an eating surface and adds real stiffness to the structure. On anything staying out for a season it is the difference between reusable and disposable.
A glued or tabbed base holding the form closed. Glued tents arrive ready to stand and are steadier; tabbed ones ship flat and assemble by hand, which saves substantially on storage and freight.
A shaped top edge or a cut-out following a logo or product outline. On a table full of rectangles it is the most effective way to make the tent read as designed rather than as a folded card.
Same family, genuinely different jobs. Your current selection is highlighted.
| Table tent | From | Faces | Order it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Table Tents | $190 | Two faces, A-frame | Guests sit opposite one another |
| Tri Panel Table Tents | $290 | Three faces, rigid base | Round tables and bar tops |
| Custom Table Tents | $250 | Your size, panels or shape | Tall, shaped or nonstandard |
Taller tents need heavier stock and a wider base, and the relationship is not linear. Doubling the height needs more than double the rigidity. Tell us the height you want and we will specify the weight it actually requires.
Yes. A die-cut top following a logo or product outline is common and effective. Keep the shaping above the fold line, since the structure below it is what holds the tent up.
With a synthetic stock, yes. Paper tents outdoors are defeated by damp and wind rather than by wear, so both the material and a wider, heavier base need specifying for it.
Yes. Send a sample of the existing pieces and we will match stock and finish. On a table where several printed items sit together, a mismatch is more visible than on any single piece.
Pricing for custom table tents starts at $250 and moves with quantity, size, material and finish rather than sitting on a fixed list. Setup is shared across the run, so the per-unit price drops steeply as the quantity rises: the gap between a few hundred and a few thousand is usually the significant one. Send the size, quantity and what it has to do and you get a firm figure back, not a range.
There is a practical minimum rather than a hard one. Every run carries artwork checks, a proof and a press setup, so a very small quantity of custom table tents prices poorly per unit even though we will still make it. If you are ordering a small batch, ask for pricing at two or three quantities at once: the curve usually shows that a modest increase costs very little more in total.
The clock starts when you approve the proof, not when the order is placed, which is the part most people are surprised by. You get a proof first: a digital proof of every face laid out flat with score lines marked, plus a folded sample where the structure is unusual. A blank face is caught here, and it is the most common table-tent oversight. Turnaround after approval depends on the finish: anything laminated, foiled or die-cut adds a stage that cannot be compressed without causing problems later. Tell us the date you actually need them and we will work backwards from it rather than quoting a generic lead time.
Print-ready artwork with bleed and a safe margin, supplied as a PDF, AI or EPS. Because this product is cut to a shape, the file also needs a live vector path for the blade to follow. A JPG or PNG has no outline to cut to, so it has to be redrawn first. If your file is not print-ready, say so when you order. We would rather fix it before the proof than after the run.
Yes. Your fold, size and panel count is the standard build, and the dimensions around it are yours to set. A size that sits efficiently on the press sheet often costs no more than a standard one, while an awkward proportion that wastes half the sheet does. Ask before you commit and we will tell you whether a small change to the dimensions saves a disproportionate amount.
In most cases they are the same product under a different name: the trade uses several terms for it depending on the region and the supplier. What actually defines this one is the build: your size, panels or shape. Order it when tall, shaped or nonstandard. If you have seen it called custom table tents printing elsewhere, describe what it has to do rather than which name you found, and we will match the specification.
Yes. We provide free samples, and on custom table tents it is worth asking for one, because the difference between cover weight and heavy cover is obvious in the hand and invisible on a screen. Most orders run on heavy cover, but ask for whichever you are weighing up. You also get a free design proof before anything goes to press, so nothing is printed that you have not seen.
The usual choices are scoring, lamination, gluing and tabs. Finish is not decoration on this product so much as a decision about how long it survives and how it reads in the hand, so it is worth choosing against the job rather than the budget. Tell us where the finished piece ends up and we will say which finish is doing real work and which is only adding cost.
Yes, and that is what almost every order here is. Nothing in this catalogue is a stock item: custom table tents are manufactured to the specification you give us, with your artwork on them. Send your logo as vector artwork where you have it, since that scales to any size without softening. If all you have is a low-resolution file, tell us and we will say what it needs before it reaches the press.
Yes, and a repeat run is simpler than the first one. We keep your approved specification on file, so a reorder skips the setup decisions and goes straight to production. Where the job used custom tooling, that tooling is reused, which is why a shaped run costs less the second time. Tell us the previous order and we will match it rather than starting the specification again.
Yes. Regalo Print has been producing custom commercial print for businesses across the USA and Canada since 2008, and every order ships tracked. The tracking number reaches you the day the job leaves, not the day it arrives. If you are working to a fixed date, say so when you order so the production schedule is built around the delivery date rather than the other way round.
