Restaurant menu printing: stocks, sizes, and what laminate buys you

The menu is the highest-leverage print piece in a restaurant — every customer touches it, your prices and descriptions live on it, and it sets the visual tone before the food arrives. Pick the wrong format and you spend more on reprints than the menus saved.

Single-page menu (the casual option)

A double-sided 8.5x11 or 11x17 sheet, full color, on 100lb gloss text or matte. No folds. The customer reads everything at a glance.

**Best for:** Fast-casual, takeout, pizzerias, food trucks, brunch spots with a focused menu.

**Cost:** $0.18-0.30 per menu at 500-1,000 quantities.

**Lifespan:** 2-6 months before grease, water, or wear damages them. Plan to reorder seasonally.

Tri-fold menu (the most versatile)

8.5x11 folded into 3 panels, 6 panel-faces of content. Holds breakfast/lunch/dinner sections, or food/drinks/specials cleanly.

**Best for:** Casual sit-down restaurants, diners, sports bars.

**Cost:** $0.22-0.40 per menu at 500-1,000 quantities.

**Pro:** Compact enough to fit on a 2-top table even with condiments. Easy to update if you reprint sections (folder layout helps).

Half-fold menu (the upscale option)

A single 11x17 or 17x22 sheet folded in half. Creates a 4-page menu that opens to a substantial spread. Substantial enough to feel premium.

**Best for:** Mid-tier restaurants, gastropubs, casual fine dining.

**Cost:** $0.40-0.65 per menu at 500-1,000 quantities.

Booklet menu (the formal option)

Saddle-stitched booklet, 5.5x8.5 or 8.5x5.5, 8-20 pages on 100lb gloss text inside with 14PT cover. The menu becomes an object.

**Best for:** Fine dining, wine programs, hotel restaurants, multi-section menus (food + wine + cocktails + dessert as separate pages).

**Cost:** $1.20-2.50 per menu at 250-500 quantities. Order in smaller batches because reprints are expensive.

What lamination buys you

Lamination = a clear plastic film bonded to the printed surface. Adds 4-8 weeks of life to a menu that gets handled at every seating.

• **Gloss laminate:** Shiny, easiest to wipe clean. Most common for casual restaurants.


• **Matte laminate:** Reduces glare under restaurant lighting, looks more upscale. Adds $0.15-0.40 per menu.


• **Soft-touch laminate:** Velvet-like feel. Adds $0.25-0.60 per menu. Used by upscale spots where the menu IS part of the experience.

Skip lamination if your menu changes seasonally and you don't mind reprinting.

Specialty: write-on menu boards

For daily specials, a wipe-clean board you write on with dry-erase markers beats reprinting. We don't print these but they're the right answer for daily-changing specials sections.

QR code menus

Pure QR-code menus (link only, no printed) became common during COVID. Most restaurants reverted to printed menus by 2024 because:

1. Older customers don't scan QR codes reliably
2. Restaurant data shows higher per-check spending with physical menus
3. The "premium" perception of a sit-down restaurant requires physical menus

QR codes still work as a supplement (printed menu + QR to full wine list or allergen info), not a replacement.

Order restaurant menus or browse our restaurant-focused print options.