Custom Vinyl Stickers
Custom vinyl stickers cut to your shape on a film that survives rain, sun and a dishwasher, from 100 units. A laminate over the print so it does not scratch, an adhesive chosen for where the sticker will live, and a backing that peels clean — the sticker people put on things they own.
The sticker that goes on a laptop, a bottle or a truck and stays there
- Film
- Calendered PVC, cast PVC, PVC-free PP, clear, metallic, holographic
- Laminate
- UV gloss or matte; dishwasher-safe, 3–7 years outdoors by film
- Adhesive
- Permanent, removable, high-tack for low-energy plastics
Get a price for Vinyl 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.
The film, and what it survives
The laminate over the print is what makes any of them last. Unlaminated vinyl fades in a year and scratches under a fingernail; a UV-blocking gloss or matte laminate takes it to the film's rated life and makes it dishwasher-safe.
| Calendered PVC, 3 mil | The standard: 3–5 years outdoors, conforms to gentle curves; the everyday vinyl |
|---|---|
| Cast PVC, 2 mil | Thinner, conforms to compound curves, 7+ years; vehicle and helmet work |
| PVC-free polypropylene | No chlorine, 2–3 years outdoors; the sustainability-driven choice |
| Clear vinyl | Transparent film, print shows on the surface behind; windows and bottles |
Adhesive, chosen for the surface
Permanent acrylic adhesive holds to painted metal, glass, plastic and laminated paper for the life of the sticker and takes the paint with it if it is pulled off a wall. Removable adhesive holds for months and lifts clean, for a sticker that is a campaign rather than a marking. A high-tack adhesive is for low-energy plastics — polyethylene and polypropylene — that a standard adhesive slides off. We ask where the sticker is going and match the adhesive to it; the surface, not the sticker, decides. The paper equivalent, for a label that lives on a box rather than an object, is on our address labels for paper and board surfaces page.
Vinyl needs 24 hours to reach full bond. A sticker put on a bottle and washed the same day comes off; the same sticker washed the next day does not.
Cut to the shape
- Die-cut — the sticker and its backing are cut to the shape together, with a small border; the individual sticker format on our die-cut stickers cut to any outline page.
- Kiss-cut — the sticker is cut, the backing is not, so stickers peel from a sheet or a roll.
- Contour with a border — a white or colored edge around the artwork, which hides small registration errors and reads as a sticker.
- Full-bleed rectangle — no contour, the cheapest, for a label-style sticker.
Print, and the white layer
Vinyl is printed by UV inkjet or latex in full color, and on a clear or a colored film a white ink layer is printed under the color so it does not go transparent. That white layer is the difference between a clear sticker that reads and one that vanishes on a dark bottle. Metallic and holographic films take the same print with the white layer used selectively, so the film shows through where it should. Artwork for a contour cut needs a cut path and a bleed, which our guide to setting up artwork for print explains for stickers as well as boxes.
Vinyl 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
- Film
- Calendered PVC, cast PVC, PVC-free PP, clear, metallic, holographic
- Laminate
- UV gloss or matte; dishwasher-safe, 3–7 years outdoors by film
- Adhesive
- Permanent, removable, high-tack for low-energy plastics
- Cut
- Die-cut, kiss-cut sheet or roll, contour with border, rectangle
- Full color UV or latex with white underlayer
- Sizes
- 0.5 in to 24 in on the long side
- 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 vinyl 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: vinyl 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 Vinyl 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 vinyl 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.
Are they waterproof?
Yes — the film is waterproof and the laminate seals the print. They survive rain, a dishwasher and a pressure wash once the adhesive has cured for a day.
How long do they last outdoors?
3–5 years on calendered vinyl, 7 or more on cast, 2–3 on PVC-free film — all with the laminate. Without it, about a year before the print fades.
Will they come off clean?
On removable adhesive, yes, for months. Permanent adhesive is permanent; on a painted wall it takes the paint.
Do they stick to plastic bottles?
Yes, with a high-tack adhesive for polyethylene and polypropylene. Standard adhesive slides off those plastics.
Can they go on a car?
Yes — cast vinyl for a curved panel, calendered for a flat one, both laminated. A bumper sticker is the calendered film.
Can I have a clear sticker?
Yes, with a white ink layer printed under the color so it reads on a dark surface. Without the white layer the color goes transparent.
Die-cut or kiss-cut?
Die-cut for individual stickers handed out or packed; kiss-cut for sheets or rolls that are peeled at speed.
Is there a PVC-free option?
Yes, a polypropylene film with 2–3 years outdoors. It is the choice where PVC is a concern, with a shorter life.
What is the smallest size?
About half an inch. Below that the contour cut loses accuracy and the sticker is hard to peel.
What is the minimum order?
100 stickers per design. Vinyl is printed digitally, so there is no plate and small runs are practical.
How long does production take?
Digital print runs fast. We give a date with the quote once we know the film, the cut and the quantity.
Will you send a proof?
A digital proof with the cut line shown, and a printed sample on request so you can stick it and wash it before the run.
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