Custom Die Cut Stickers
Every other sticker is a shape you fit your design into. A die cut sticker is the shape of the design itself, which is why it reads as a graphic rather than a label — and why the cut line is the file that matters most.
- Cut
- Full die cut to a supplied or drawn vector path
- Materials
- Coated paper, white vinyl, clear polypropylene
- Finishes
- Matte, gloss, soft-touch, UV laminate for outdoor life
Get a price for Die Cut Stickers
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
- Free dielineThe flat drawing comes with the quote, before you commit.
- Proof before pressNothing is printed until you have seen it laid on the dieline.
- Die kept for reordersTooling is paid once. Every reorder skips straight to press.
- Quoted in four marketsUS, UK, Canada and Australia, in the delivery currency.
How the cut line is made
The cutter follows a vector path, not your image. If you supply artwork with no cut path, one gets drawn for you — usually offset a couple of millimeters outside the outline to create the white border that most die cut stickers have.
Supply the path yourself if the border matters. Draw it on its own layer as a single closed path in a spot color named for cutting, and keep it simple: every extra anchor point is a place the blade changes direction.
A cut path with hundreds of points on a hand-drawn outline will cut visibly ragged. Simplify it before sending.
Shapes the cutter will fight you on
None of these are refusals — they are all producible. They just fail in the customer's hands rather than on our machine, which is the worse place for a sticker to fail.
- Points narrower than about 3 mm — they tear on the peel, every time.
- Internal cut-outs, which need a second path and double the tooling on a rotary die.
- Long thin limbs on a character, which curl and lift once applied.
- Two elements joined by a hairline, which will not survive weeding.
The border is a design decision, not a default
A zero-offset cut needs the printing and the cutting to register within a fraction of a millimeter, and on a long run they will drift slightly. If the artwork has a colored edge against a colored background, that drift shows. A border absorbs it entirely.
| No border | Cut exactly on the artwork edge; sharpest look, least forgiving of drift |
|---|---|
| 1–2 mm border | The usual choice; hides cutting tolerance, reads as a sticker |
| 3 mm+ border | Bold and retro; also the most durable, because nothing sharp is exposed |
Where these end up, and what that changes
A die cut sticker given away at an event goes on a laptop or a water bottle and lives outdoors on and off for years. That is a vinyl and UV laminate job, not a paper one, and the difference in cost per sticker is small against the difference in how long the artwork stays readable.
A die cut sticker used to seal a box is the opposite: it is opened and destroyed within days, so paper is correct and vinyl is waste. The material choices across the whole range are set out in our sticker material and adhesive notes.
Singles or sheets
Fully die cut singles come loose, each on its own backing, ready to hand out. Kiss cut sheets keep several stickers on one backing, which is cheaper per sticker, easier to post flat and much easier to store.
For giveaways, singles. For anything included in an order or applied in a warehouse, sheets or a roll — peeling loose singles from a pile is slower than it sounds.
Die Cut Stickers — specification
The rows that are specific to this build first, then what applies to every job we run. Anything not listed is a question, not a limit — send the brief.
This build
- Cut
- Full die cut to a supplied or drawn vector path
- Materials
- Coated paper, white vinyl, clear polypropylene
- Finishes
- Matte, gloss, soft-touch, UV laminate for outdoor life
- Border
- Zero, 1–2 mm or wider, specified per job
- Supply
- Loose singles, kiss-cut sheets or rolls
- Minimum
- 100 stickers
On every job
- Print process
- Flexo on a roll for volume, digital for short runs and for variable data such as batch codes and names.
- Color
- CMYK plus spot colors. On clear film a white underprint is needed wherever a color must read against the product.
- Tolerance
- Die-cut plus or minus 0.5 mm, and the label drawn 3 mm inside the panel so a slightly crooked application still looks square.
- Tooling
- A cutting die per shape and size, made once and kept. A change of artwork on the same shape needs no new tooling.
- Food contact
- Food-safe adhesives and inks where a label goes onto food packaging or a food-contact surface.
- Sustainability
- Paper labels recycle with a paper pack. Synthetic labels come off first, and the spec says which yours is.
- Artwork
- Vector PDF or AI, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe area, fonts outlined. We check every file and send a proof before press.
- Dieline
- Supplied free with the quote, before you commit. Yours whether or not you order.
- Sample
- A plain unprinted sample at the finished size on request, for fit and construction.
- Reorders
- Skip the tooling and go straight to press at a lower unit price.
- Lead time
- Quoted with the price against your fill date rather than promised before we have seen the spec.
- Markets
- United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia — priced in the delivery currency, freight included.
Boards and films we build die cut stickers on
A label is a face stock, an adhesive and a liner, and each is chosen from where the label lands. The face decides how it prints; the adhesive decides whether it stays there.
Matte paper face
The everyday label. Writable, recyclable with a paper pack, and the right ground for a barcode. Not waterproof.
80–90gsmGloss paper face
Brighter color and a sharper photograph, at the cost of glare and fingerprints. Never put a barcode under a gloss finish.
80–90gsmKraft paper face
Unbleached and tan. One or two colors and white ink; the artisan seal. Colors print warm and muted on it.
70–90gsmClear polypropylene
The no-label look on glass and clear packaging. Needs a white underprint wherever a color has to read against a dark product.
50–60 micronWhite synthetic
PP or PE film: waterproof, tear-proof and dishwasher-tolerant. For bottles, jars, chilled and frozen goods and anything outdoors.
50–80 micronDirect thermal
Prints black with heat and no ink, for shipping and batch labels. It darkens in heat and fades in sunlight, so it is not for retail.
60–80gsmAdhesives
Permanent for corrugated and long-stay labels; removable for a clean peel; freezer-grade for anything applied cold or stored below zero.
Water- or solvent-basedLaminate and varnish
A film or a coat over the print for scuff and moisture resistance. It also stops a pen working, which matters on a label meant to be written on.
Matte, gloss or noneNot sure which? Say what goes in it and where it is sold — the material follows from that. Our notes on recycled, recyclable and compostable cover which claims each stock can honestly carry.
- 01
Send what you have
A dimension, a photograph beside a ruler, or the product itself. No technical drawing needed — that part is ours.
- 02
We quote and draw
A price, a dieline and a date come back together. If a different build would suit the product better, that is in the reply too.
- 03
Approve the dieline
The flat drawing is yours to check: which panel is the front, where the folds fall, how deep the cavity really is.
- 04
Artwork on the dieline
You place your design on the flat we sent, or we place it for you, and you see a proof before anything goes to press.
- 05
A sample if you want one
A plain unprinted sample at the finished size shows fit and construction — the things a drawing cannot.
- 06
Cut, printed, shipped
The die is cut once and kept, so every reorder skips the tooling and goes straight to press at a lower unit price.
Format
Vector PDF or AI where possible. Raster artwork at 300dpi at final size, in CMYK.
Bleed
3 mm past every trim line, so a fraction of drift on the cutter never leaves a white edge.
Safe area
Keep type and anything important 4 mm inside the cut and away from every fold.
Color
Convert to CMYK before sending. Uncoated stock prints lighter; a spot color is the only exact match.
Fonts
Outline them or supply the files. A missing font substitutes silently and the proof will not match.
Barcodes
On a light, matte, unvarnished patch with the quiet zone clear — a code on gloss fails the scanner.
Not set up that way? Send it anyway — fixing a file is a short conversation, and we check every one before press. Our guide to preparing print files covers each point.
A label is finished for what will rub against it and whether anyone writes on it.
Matte laminate
Scuff and moisture resistance. Stops a pen working, so not for a label meant to be filled in.
Gloss laminate
Deeper color and a wipeable face. Never over a barcode.
Varnish only
A thin coat instead of a film, so a paper label still recycles with the pack.
Hot foil
On a small label the block is tiny and the effect is out of proportion to the cost.
Embossed label
Raised shape on a face stock, usually on a bottle or a jar where it is felt.
Textured face
Felt, laid or cotton label stock for wine and spirits. Prints softly and tears with a fiber edge.
Not sure which suits the shelf it sells from? Say where the product is sold and we suggest one — our notes on specialty finishes show them on real boxes.
Sizing a label to the panel it sits on: die cut stickers
A label is cut to the surface, not to a standard size. Send the container or the box — or its dimensions and the panel you want covered — and the label is drawn to fit with the tolerance an applicator needs.
- Flat panel
- The panel less 3 mm each way, so a slightly crooked application still looks square. Rounded corners resist lifting.
- Wrap-around
- The circumference less 5 mm, so the ends butt rather than overlap. A wrap that overlaps its own print reads as a mistake.
- Corner radius
- 2–4 mm. A square corner lifts first and, on a shipping label, jams a sorter.
- Barcode area
- A white matte area with the quiet zone clear on both sides. Verified on the printed label, not on screen.
- Roll direction and core
- Set to your applicator: the wind direction, the core size and the number of labels per roll. Send the machine model.
- Application temperature
- Cold or damp surfaces need a specific adhesive. A standard permanent applied at 2°C often does not stay on.
Not sure your numbers are right? Send the product dimensions rather than the box dimensions and we work the box out — the full method is in our guide to measuring for a box.
Interactive · five steps · no sign-up
Spec your Die Cut Stickers
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a face stock and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about die cut stickers? The answers below cover what we get asked most. If yours is not here, send it with a brief, message us on WhatsApp, or call +1 503-461-4788 — we reply the same working day.
What is the minimum order?
100 stickers, any shape, cut to your artwork.
Do I have to supply a cut line?
No. We draw one just outside your artwork and send it for approval before anything is cut.
Will they survive outdoors?
On vinyl with a UV laminate, for a long time. On paper, no — paper is for indoor and short-life use.
What is the smallest shape you can cut?
Small is fine; thin is the problem. Anything with a point under about 3 mm tears when peeled, whatever the overall size.
Kiss-cut sheets or loose singles?
Singles for giveaways. Sheets or a roll for anything applied in a warehouse — peeling loose singles from a pile is slower than it sounds.
Can I run several designs in one order?
Yes, and on digital print it costs almost nothing. The minimum applies to the order, not to each artwork.
Do I have to supply a cut line?
No. If you do not, we will draw one just outside your artwork and send it for approval before anything is cut.
Will these survive a dishwasher or outdoors?
On vinyl with a UV laminate, yes for a long time. On paper, no — paper is for indoor and short-life use.
What is the smallest shape you can cut?
Small is not the problem; thin is. Anything with a point under about 3 mm will tear when peeled, whatever the overall size.
Can I have several different designs in one order?
Yes, and on digital print it costs almost nothing to split a run across designs. The minimum applies to the order, not to each artwork.
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