Written by George Keklik · Updated August 2026
Somebody is getting married, turning fifty, closing a deal, or having a baby, and you want their name on the cigar. The design part is easy once you know two things: exactly how big a cigar band is, and how little of it people actually see once it is wrapped. This guide gives you both, plus a free template built from the same die line we print on.
Short answer: A custom cigar band is 3-1/2 inches long overall, with a 1-1/2 inch round face in the middle and 0.75 inch tails on each end that tuck underneath. Design on a 3-1/2 by 1-1/2 inch canvas, keep all artwork inside a 1-1/4 inch circle in the center, build at 300 DPI or in vector, and set the file to CMYK. That length wraps any cigar from a 42 ring gauge up to a 60 with room to spare.
Jump to a section
The Exact Size of a Cigar Band
Search this question and you will get four different answers, because there is no industry standard. Every brand prints its own size, and the numbers floating around online range from half an inch tall to six inches long. So here is the honest version: below are the real measurements of the bands we print, taken off the die line, not off a forum post.
| Measurement | Size | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Total length | 3-1/2 in | End to end, including both tails. This is what wraps the cigar. |
| Face diameter | 1-1/2 in | The round center. The only part anyone sees or reads. |
| Tail height | 0.75 in | The straight arms that overlap and hold the band closed. |
| Safe zone | 1-1/4 in | Keep names, dates and logos inside this circle. |
| Material | Matte white paper label | What we print on. Matte reads better than gloss at this size. |
The face is round, but the band is not a circle of paper. It is a strip with a round middle. Designers who set up a 1-1/2 inch square canvas end up with art that has nowhere to sit once the tails are added.
Will It Fit Your Cigar? The Ring Gauge Table
Ring gauge is the diameter of a cigar measured in 64ths of an inch, so a 50 ring gauge cigar is 50/64 of an inch across. To find out how much band you need, multiply that diameter by pi. Here is the math already done, against our 3-1/2 inch length.
| Ring gauge | Diameter | Wrap needed | Overlap left | Typical vitola |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 0.66 in | 2.06 in | 1.44 in | Lonsdale, panetela |
| 46 | 0.72 in | 2.26 in | 1.24 in | Corona, lancero |
| 48 | 0.75 in | 2.36 in | 1.14 in | Corona gorda |
| 50 | 0.78 in | 2.45 in | 1.05 in | Robusto, toro |
| 52 | 0.81 in | 2.55 in | 0.95 in | Toro, belicoso |
| 54 | 0.84 in | 2.65 in | 0.85 in | Toro grande |
| 56 | 0.88 in | 2.75 in | 0.75 in | Gordo |
| 60 | 0.94 in | 2.95 in | 0.55 in | Double gordo |
Even a 60 ring gauge gordo, which is a genuinely fat cigar, leaves better than half an inch of overlap. If you are banding something wider than a 64, measure first and add length to the tails rather than to the face.
Download the Free Cigar Band Template
Three formats, all built from the same die line, all free and with nothing to fill out. Pick the one that matches the software you are already in.
Turn page scaling off and print at 100 percent. Every home printer wants to shrink a page by a few percent to fit its margins, and that is how people end up with bands that are 3-3/8 inches instead of 3-1/2. Measure the first one with a ruler before you cut the other seven.
The Safe Zone, and What Actually Fits
This is where most first attempts go wrong. The face measures 1-1/2 inches, but you never see all of it at once. Once the band is wrapped around a cylinder, the left and right edges of the face curve away from the eye. Art that runs to the die line looks cut off even when it printed perfectly.
So keep everything meaningful inside a 1-1/4 inch circle in the middle. That is what the dashed red line in the template marks. In practice that gives you room for:
- Two or three short lines of text. Two first names and a date is the most common wedding layout and it sits comfortably.
- One logo, or a logo plus a short name. Not both a full company name and a detailed mark unless the mark is simple.
- Type at 6 pt and up. Below that, ink spread on paper starts closing up the counters in letters like e and a.
Thin serifs, hairline rules and long taglines are the three things that look great on screen and vanish at this size. If you are unsure, print one at actual size and hold it around a cigar before you order a hundred.
How to Design the Band
You do not need Illustrator. Plenty of the artwork we print comes out of Canva. What matters is the setup.
-
Start on a 3-1/2 by 1-1/2 inch canvas
Set the document to inches at 300 DPI. In Canva, use Custom Size and enter the dimensions in inches rather than pixels so the export lands at the right physical size.
-
Drop the template in as a guide layer
Place the PNG or SVG above your background, lock it, and design underneath it. Delete or hide it before exporting so the die line does not print.
-
Work in CMYK if your tool allows it
Bright screen blues, neon greens and pure blacks all shift on paper. A rich black mixed from all four inks reads deeper than a flat 100 percent black.
-
Keep it to one or two colors
Gold on cream, black on white, one accent color from the wedding palette. Gradients and drop shadows muddy at this size, and a flat two color band looks more expensive than a busy full color one.
-
Export at full resolution
PDF or PNG at 300 DPI, actual size. If you send us a file we print it as it arrives, so what you export is what wraps the cigar.
How to Put the Band on the Cigar
Nobody explains this part, and it is where a good design gets ruined. Two minutes of care per cigar.
-
Band below the cap, never over it
The cap is the rounded head you cut. A band that creeps up over it gets sliced when the smoker cuts, and takes a piece of the wrapper with it.
-
Wrap, do not slide
Bring the band around the cigar and meet the tails. Sliding a pre-closed band down the barrel drags against the wrapper leaf and can tear it, especially on a maduro.
-
Close the tails against each other
Press the two tails together, not down into the cigar. That is exactly why the tails exist. A glue dot, a sliver of double sided tape, or the label adhesive if you ordered printed labels.
-
Leave it slightly loose
Snug enough that it does not spin freely, loose enough to slide off with two fingers. Cigars swell a little with humidity, and a tight band creases the wrapper.
-
Band the day before, not the week before
Paper and adhesive sitting in a 70 percent humidity humidor for a week will soften. Band them the night before the event and keep them in the box until the bar opens.
Print It Yourself or Have It Printed
Both are legitimate. It comes down to how many you need and how much your evening is worth.
| Printing at home | Having us print | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Paper and ink you already own | 99 cents per band |
| Material | Whatever stock your printer takes | Matte white paper label with adhesive |
| Cutting | You, with scissors or a craft knife | Die cut to shape |
| Best for | Under 20 bands, or proofing a design | Weddings, outings and anything you photograph |
| Turnaround | Tonight | Ships in 8 to 12 business days |
The honest advice: print one at home first no matter which way you go. Hold it around the actual cigar you plan to serve. You will catch a type size problem in thirty seconds that would otherwise arrive a hundred times over.
Designs by Occasion
If you would rather start from a design that already works and just add the names, these are the three we print most. Every one is personalized before it prints, and they are 99 cents a band.
Wedding Party Cigar LabelsRoles, initials and your wedding date on every band at the cigar bar. $0.99 per band.
Birthday Cigar LabelsHis name and the milestone age, printed on matte label stock. $0.99 per band.
Cigar Outing LabelsGolf-inspired designs for tournaments and corporate outings. $0.99 per band.
Sending us your own artwork instead?
Company logos, custom crests and anything you designed from the template above. We print it on matte label stock at the same 99 cents per band, at any quantity.
See custom cigar bands and labelsFrequently Asked Questions
What size is a cigar band?
There is no single industry standard, because every brand prints its own. Our custom bands measure 3-1/2 inches long overall with a 1-1/2 inch circular face and 0.75 inch tails. That length wraps every common ring gauge from a 42 lonsdale up to a 60 gordo with overlap left to glue or tape.
What are the dimensions of a cigar band template?
Build your artwork on a canvas 3-1/2 inches by 1-1/2 inches. The printed face is the 1-1/2 inch circle in the middle, and the two 0.75 inch tails on either side disappear underneath when the band is wrapped. Keep all names, dates and logos inside a 1-1/4 inch circle in the center so nothing gets lost around the curve.
Can I print cigar bands at home?
Yes. Page two of our free template is an eight up cut sheet sized for US Letter paper. Print at 100 percent scale with page scaling turned off, measure the first band to confirm it is 3-1/2 inches long, then cut and wrap. Matte sticker paper holds better than plain paper, and a glue dot or a small piece of double sided tape closes the tails cleanly.
What file format should a cigar band be designed in?
Vector is best, so an AI, SVG, EPS or PDF file. If you are working from a photo or a raster logo, build it at 300 DPI at the final size and send a PNG or a high quality JPG. Set the document to CMYK for printing rather than RGB, because bright screen blues and greens shift when they hit paper.
How much text fits on a cigar band?
Not as much as people expect. The visible face is a 1-1/2 inch circle, so plan on two or three short lines. Two names and a date is the most common wedding layout and it fits comfortably. A company name plus a logo mark usually needs the logo shrunk or the name set on two lines.
Do cigar bands damage the cigar?
Not if you are careful. Wrap the band around the cigar rather than sliding it down from the head, keep it below the cap so it never touches where you cut, and press the tails together instead of pressing into the wrapper. Paper bands come off cleanly when the smoker is ready.
Related reading: how to host a wedding cigar bar, groomsmen cigar gifts, and how to cut a cigar for the part that happens right after the band comes off.