flying twigs

When stores list an 11oz mug, what are they talking about? It might surprise you to learn they are not talking about the weight of the mug. They are talking about the amount of liquid that the mug will hold. They mean that an 11oz mug holds 11oz of liquid, which is equivalent to 312 ml or just under a third of a litre of liquid.

All very well, but what if you want to know how much the mugs themselves weigh without liquid in them?

And that matters because lifting a heavy mug full of liquid to one’s lips just isn’t as nice as lifting a light weight mug. We know that’s true because people pay more money for lighter weight mugs.

We found that companies that print designs on mugs don’t usually manufacture the mugs themselves. They just print designs on them to their customers requirements.

Why Some Mugs Are Heavier

The weight of a mug depends on what kind of clay it is made of. Cheaper clays can’t be heated in a kiln to the high temperatures that better quality clays are heated. Therefore the process is cheaper. But cheaper clays are not as strong, so the mugs have to be thicker. And therefore they have to be heavier.

So it’s a cost versus weight equation. What is the sweet spot?

Earthenware is the cheapest, and beyond that is stoneware. Stoneware is fired at a higher temperature, where it vitrifies (turns to a glasslike material) that is impervious to water even without a glazing coat. Beyond stoneware, porcelain is a mix of fine kaolin or China clay, plus minerals such as feldspar and quartz.

Top of the tree and even hgher in quality even than porcelain is bone china, which is a mixture of clay, feldspar, quartz, and about one third bone ash.

I think it is hilarious that fine bone china cups are made from burnt bones.

Which Company Prints On The Lightest 11oz Mug

The weight of an empty mug varies a lot from one printing company to another. If you are looking online you will find that suppliers usually don’t state the weight of the mugs. They may not even know. They may have never thought about weighing the mugs. I know that is true for some suppliers. They buy from a manufacturer and they are buying to a price.

For made-to-order mugs, none of the companies use really lightweight clay. The last time I enquired, these were the weights of the mug for an 11oz mug.
Giftflow: 327g
Printful: 354g
CustomCat: 450g
Gelato: 346g

We Are E-Commerce Sellers As Well As Customers

If you are a consumer, buying online, it’s still good to know how much an 11oz Mug actually weighs. Then you won’t get caught out when your mug arrives.

It’s different for us. We wanted to know because we wanted a company that would print our designs on the mugs, so we could sell them on our e-commerce store.

If we had been prepared to order hundreds of each design then there are suppliers who use porcelain or bone china for lighter weight mugs – anywhere from 215g to 275g. But then the initial outlay is bigger because we would have to buy hundreds of each mug design. With made-to-order, we would buy just one mug and have the mug printed when we had a sale and our customer had paid.

For a single made-to-order mug, the sums don’t add up (cost versus selling price) unless we accept that the mug is going to be heavier – like the ones from the companies I’ve mentioned.

In the great scheme of things, the weight of an 11oz mug is not going to bring the world to an end. But a lightweight mug is a pleasure to lift to one’s lips. And a heavy mug just isn’t as nice.

The 11oz Mug Sweet Spot

Just like there’s a ‘cost versus weight’ sweet spot for the companies that print mugs, there’s a sweet spot for us. We just wouldn’t sell really heavy mugs because that’s bound to make unhappy customers. They might not complain. They might not even consciously work out exactly why they don’t like the mug that much, but the weight would be a factor. And a great design printed on the mug doesn’t make the mug lighter. Something to think about when looking for that 11oz mug.