Craft template generators and printables

Tapered tumblers: printing or engraving?

A tapered cup is a slice of a cone, so a rectangular design does not fit it, whichever way you decorate it. The fix depends on the method:

• Sublimation, printable vinyl, waterslide or paper sleeves: you print a flat sheet and wrap it round the cup, so you need a curved template at true size. Use the tapered tumbler template generator; the tumbler wrap size guide explains the canvas and paper sizes.
• Laser engraving on a rotary: the laser turns the cup, so there is no template; you need the right diameter in your software and a design warped for the taper. Use the laser rotary tumbler calculator, and if the result is the wrong length, see rotary engraving stretched or squashed.

Problems these tools solve

"My wrap leaves a gap at the seam or overlaps at the bottom."

The cup is tapered and the wrap is a rectangle. Enter the top, bottom and height and print a curved wrap instead.

"What size should I make my tumbler design?"

For a tapered cup, design at the mid-height circumference by the slant height; the wrap size guide works an example in inches and pixels.

"My logo comes out squashed at the bottom of a tapered cup on the rotary."

That is the taper, not your settings: warp the design (the laser calculator gives LightBurn and xTool values or a pre-warped file).

"I need a pattern for a ball, a dome, a hat crown or a foam helmet."

Use the sphere and dome pattern generator; the sphere and dome guide helps choose how many panels.

Why true-size templates?

A template only works if it prints at exactly the right size. Each generator here draws the shape from your own measurements, prints it at 100% with a scale bar you can check with a ruler, and records the print resolution in its image files, so design software places them at the right size too. Your images are processed in the browser and never uploaded.

Guides

• Tapered tumbler wrap size: measuring and sizing a curved wrapHow to measure a tapered cup, why its wrap is curved, and how big the wrap really is.
• Rotary engraving stretched or squashed: finding the right settingMeasure a test line, then correct mm per rotation, steps or diameter with one ratio.
• How to make a sphere or dome pattern from flat panelsHow a ball or dome is made from flat gores, how many to use, and the width formula behind the shape.

Printable troubleshooting references

• Tumbler wrap troubleshooting card: scale, seam fit, height and artwork.
• Rotary troubleshooting decision tree: calibration, slipping, taper and double warping.

Related categories

The same cone and gore geometry is used for metal in sheet metal and fabrication, which also covers cones and reducers for paper and card projects. Wooden builds are in woodworking and DIY.