4 Tips for Printing Great Stickers

Stickers are more than just an aesthetic design item—they’ve evolved into tools that can fulfill different purposes. For instance, businesses now use stickers by imprinting QR codes which can lead to online menus, social media channels, ordering systems, or even review sites with a quick scan. On top of that, businesses have also used stickers to label their products, boost their brand recognition, and attach important notes. But apart from being great business tools, stickers are used most of everywhere else—as rewards in the education sector or as a form of self-expression in the art scene. Given this, it’s important that you produce high-quality prints for your stickers. To do that, here are the tips that you need to follow:

Consider the Design of the Sticker

First things first, you need to consider the sticker design before carrying out the printing process. A sticker design with vivid colors needs to involve cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (CMYK) processing on printers for proper color layering. Another good option is to use Pantone colors since these tones will deliver more accurate hues and overall consistency. You should also consider the purpose of your product. Stickers that are for aesthetic purposes may not need printer inks, processes, and sticker materials that can lead to their longevity and durability. On the other hand, you may need to invest in more tools if you want a sticker that will remain vivid and strong for a long time.

Use Good Quality Sticker Material

To create a high-quality sticker, you need to invest in materials that would be compatible with the design you’re envisioning. Look for sticker paper that can serve as a great foundation for the design that you want. For instance, printable vinyl is a suitable material for colorful sticker designs because it can absorb multiple hues in just one printing process. This saves a lot of time and resources since you won’t have to roll multiple pieces of vinyl or layer different colors. If you want durability and longevity, however, you can choose a biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) material since they are usually resistant to fading, heat, and other factors.

Invest in an Efficient Printer

You also need to choose the right instrument for your product since printers consist of different internal components that can affect the quality of your stickers. An efficient printer consists of a multi-board design that enables various functions to carry out a smooth printing process. This internal component design allows the device to work at a faster speed and provide better color accuracy. As such, our guide to Cricut printing recommends the HP Envy Pro 6455 for its instant ink subscription. Another great option is the Canon Pixma TS9521C because it can print on multiple paper sizes and handle Print Then Cut projects.

Do a Test Run for the Stickers

After considering the design and choosing the right tools, you have to do a test run for your stickers. This step is crucial since it helps you gauge the product quality so that you can make the necessary changes in the process. One common problem in stickers is the misalignment of the design itself. In this case, you will need to re-adjust the template or manipulate the page margins so that the print will have the right layout. You can even try to just print the template onto a blank paper and hold it up against a sample product to a sticker that would be suitable for the product that you’re using it on.