Custom Labeled Water for Event Planners
Custom labeled water for event planners starts at six cases of bottles with about a two-week turnaround, which matters when a date is fixed, or 18 cases for printed cans at about five weeks. DrinkMore Custom Water puts client branding on labeled bottles or prints it directly onto aluminum cans, filled with award-winning purified water. We drop-ship directly to a venue so product never passes through your office.
Where Event Planners Use Custom Labeled Water
For a planner, a branded can is one of the few giveaway items that gets used on-site rather than carried home and forgotten:
- Welcome bags and room drops
- Registration and check-in desks
- VIP and green rooms
- Sponsor activations, where a sponsor logo can share the can
- Brand launches and press events, where the can appears in every photograph
- Crew, vendor, and load-in hydration
Bottles or Cans: Sizes, Minimums, and Turnaround
Bottles are the lower cost option — six cases to start, and a label that carries as much artwork as a client wants. Cans cost more per unit and need more lead time, but the seamless full-wrap print is what a lot of brand activations are after.
| Format | Labeled Bottles | 12 oz Sleek Can | 16 oz Can |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum order | 6 cases | 18 cases | 72 cases (pallet) |
| Units per case | 24 bottles | 24 cans | 24 cans |
| Smallest order | 144 bottles | 432 cans | 1,728 cans |
| Turnaround | About 2 weeks | About 5 weeks | About 5 weeks |
| Sizes | 8, 12, 16.9, 20 oz | 12 oz | 16 oz |
Bottles are the faster and lower-commitment option — six cases gets you started and most orders turn in about two weeks. Cans take about five weeks because each design is printed directly onto the aluminum, and the result is a seamless, full-wrap look with no label edge. Either way, pricing improves as order size increases, so it is worth asking what the next tier looks like before you settle on a quantity. Timelines run from artwork approval and payment. Delivery is included inside our DC-area zone, and we ship anywhere in the continental United States through our freight partners.
Artwork needs to arrive print-ready as vector EPS or high-resolution PDF. We provide the dieline and print spec sheet, and our in-house art team can build a design from scratch if you do not have one.
Brand and Sponsor Work
We have produced client-branded water for high-end brand activations, including work for Valentino Beauty, Neutrogena, Ann Taylor, and Titleist.
We have seen a lot of can work from planners recently. The pattern is consistent: the branding is the client’s rather than the planner’s, it changes with every event, the timeline is short, and the artwork has to be exactly right. We push to meet that level of detail inside a compressed schedule, because on an activation there is no version of close enough.
Bottles remain the lower-cost route and turn faster, so they still carry plenty of activation work. But sometimes a client wants the seamless full-wrap look only a printed can gives.
Common Questions
Can you drop-ship directly to a venue?
Yes, and for planners it is usually the right call — product never touches your office. We deliver inside our DC-area zone and ship nationwide by freight. We also offer storage with case packout if you want to order ahead of a season and release shipments event by event.
Can we run multiple designs in one order?
Each distinct design is its own print run with its own setup charge and its own minimum of 18 cases. So multiple designs are possible, but they are multiple orders in practice. For a multi-sponsor event, it is often cheaper to run one design that carries several logos.
How far ahead do we need to commit?
Bottled water orders run about two weeks from artwork approval and payment, which is why they suit an activation calendar that moves fast. Cans take about five weeks because they go through an outside printer, so for a hard date on cans, eight weeks out is comfortable. If the date is close, bottles are almost always the answer.
Who owns the artwork?
Your client’s artwork stays theirs. We keep the print-ready file on record so reorders of the same design skip both the design cycle and the setup charge, which matters for recurring annual events.
What if the guest count changes after we order?
Order a little long. Both formats are shelf stable, so surplus carries to the next event as long as the artwork is undated. Ordering up to the next volume tier is often cheaper per case than you would expect — pricing improves at 21 cases and again above that — so the extra is rarely as expensive as a shortfall.
Ready to Design Your Water?
Send us your client’s artwork and we will send back a free digital mockup within two business days, plus a free first sample. Ask about drop-ship if you would rather product went straight to the venue.
See Can Options & Request a Quote See Bottle Options
Or call us at 301-591-9391.
