The coffee-ring pattern is detrimental when uniform application of a dried deposit is required, such as in printed electronics. It can be suppressed by adding elongated particles, such as cellulose fibers, to the spherical particles that cause the coffee-ring effect. The size and weight fraction of added particles may be smaller than those of the primary ones.
It is also reported that controlling flow inside a droplet is a powerful way to generate a uniform film; for example, by harnessing solutal Marangoni flows occurring during evaporation.
Mixtures of low boiling point and high boiling point solvents were shown to suppress the coffee ring effect, changing the shape of a deposited solute from a ring-like to a dot-like shape.
Control of the substrate temperature was shown to be an effective way to suppress the coffee ring formed by droplets of water-based PEDOT:PSS solution. On a heated hydrophilic or hydrophobic substrate, a thinner ring with an inner deposit forms, which is attributed to Marangoni convection.
Control of the substrate wetting properties on slippery surfaces can prevent the pinning of the drop contact line, which will, therefore, suppress the coffee ring effect by reducing the number of particles deposited at the contact line. Drops on superhydrophobic or liquid impregnated surfaces are less likely to have a pinned contact line and will suppress ring formation. Drops with an oil ring formed at the drop contact line have high mobility and can avoid the ring formation on hydrophobic surfaces. 
Alternating voltage electrowetting may suppress coffee stains without the need to add surface-active materials. Reverse particle motion may also reduce the coffee-ring effect because of the capillary force near the contact line. The reversal takes place when the capillary force prevails over the outward coffee-ring flow by the geometric constraints.