What are the different types of stickers?

There are many different types of stickers including digitally printed, screen printed, bumper stickers, clear vinyl stickers, off-set printed stickers, paper stickers, decals, vinyl die-cut stickers and more!

With so many different types of stickers available it can sometimes get a little confusing as to what type of sticker you need. In this blog post, we talk through some pros and cons of the different types of stickers you can buy, highlighting what we see as the top 5 main differences.  These 5 key factors are a good starting point to consider when analysing the different types of stickers available, to help make your mind up a little easier about what sticker is right for you.

Key factor #1 – Sticker Quantities

The number of printed stickers you need is a good starting indicator to help determine the right sticker manufacturing process.

If you need a small number of stickers, (up to 100-200 or so) or a few large full-colour stickers, then a custom digital print sticker is the best. Digitally printed stickers are priced on area, so the larger the sticker the more expensive they get. We typically quote you on a couple of sizes so you can get an idea of the differences. There is also a minimum charge of $170+gst for digital print jobs.

If you need a large number of custom sized stickers (500 plus) then a screen printed sticker is probably the best option.

If you need a large number and can work with set sizes and shapes, then a presized sticker is probably best.

Key factor #2 – Sticker finish

We digitally print our custom digital stickers with a CMYK process. We can also digitally print white ink on clear stock, with a special machine. Digital Print stickers have a couple of side effects. Firstly, if printed on clear stock, there is an element of transparency – that is some light shows through. We can get around this with a new process which prints white under your colours to reduce the transparency, but this does add some extra cost.  Secondly, the finish in some cases is not as sharp as a screen printed sticker.

If you need a solid ink finish, especially on clear, then you should look in the direction of the screen printed sticker.

Key factor #3 – Custom shapes for your stickers

If you need a custom shape (kiss cut) on your sticker then a custom digital print sticker or a screen printed sticker is your best option. We can kiss cut the digital print stickers, and make custom shapes with the screen printed stickers. Presized stickers are unable to be custom shaped – with these products you must select your size and shape for a pre-set suite of options.

Key factor #4 – Budget

In this day and age, everyone is budget conscious. So heres the guts. Short run stickers, i.e. small volumes, use a digital print sticker.  These start at $170+gst.  The most economic stickers for a budget of $300-$400 is from our presized range. If you want thousands of stickers then the screen printed option is the one – the more we run here the cheaper they get per unit, and quickly.

Digital Print stickers and Presized stickers typically have NO SETUP COSTS. Screen printed stickers usually do, but when printing large numbers the cheaper costs per unit more than cover it.

Key factor #5 – Number of colours

If you’re just looking for a sticker in a single colour, then a vinyl die cut sticker (also known as vinyl decals) could be a great option.  These are a high quality, hand finished product which work great for simple logos and text.  These can be custom made to order in small or large quantities and pricing varies greatly depending on the complexity of the artwork and size of the sticker.  These work great with a single colour but we can also make these with two or three colours – but this will add to the cost due to the extra labour that is involved in making these masterpieces.