Stickers & Labels FAQ

The two main sticker and label materials in the industry are some form of plastic (such as polypropylene vinyl), or paper. Each one has these main characteristics: 

Polypropylene vinyl (or other plastic) - Waterproof, tear-resistant, non-absorbent and generally much more durable. This is the best choice if you require longevity from your stickers or labels, or there's a risk of them becoming dirty or getting wet.

Paper - This isn't as durable and isn't as resistant to liquid, but it is generally cheaper. Our stickers and labels have a lower price when paper is chosen as the material. It's also biodegradable. 

Which one to choose?

The main factors to keep in mind are how long each sticker or label will need to be used, and how likely they are to be touched or exposed to contaminants. 

If you make a permanent sticker for a piece of equipment for example, some kind of waterproof vinyl will be key, as it may have to last for many years and also needs to be cleanable as dirt accumulates over time.

However, if a label is designed for temporary use, say on a disposable product, it may only need to stay clean for a few days during use. You may therefore be able to use paper and save money.

What about product labels?

For product labels, whether vinyl plastic or paper is best often depends on the type of product. 

Take a bottle of wine for example. It might get stained from the wine during pouring, but if a bottle only lasts a few hours (or less) before being disposed of, it's really not much of an issue.

If you're labelling supplements or cosmetics however, while the risk of staining is lower, these products can often last for weeks or months before being disposed of, so paper likely won't be in the best condition by the end. These products would also be repeatedly picked up, leading to the accumulation of dirt and oils from fingers in the paper fibres. 

There are other considerations too. If you want your stickers or labels to be biodegradable for example, paper is the only choice. Whereas if liquid contact is guaranteed (like stickers being used outside) then polypropylene vinyl or some other plastic is crucial. 

Yes, we offer eco-friendly stickers and label materials, and also take measures to reduce waste in our production process.

• FSC-certified paper and textured paper come from responsibly managed forests, and are biodegradable 
• Polypropylene vinyl material isn't biodegradable, but it is recyclable.

As for us: 

• 100% of our material production waste is recycled through the BPIF Zero to Landfill scheme
• We use carbon-neutral printing presses and energy-efficient equipment to lower emissions.

There are typically 5 shape options including custom shape, which allows for a completely unique shape to suit your design or use case.

Rectangle

Ideal for landscape or portrait layouts which have one side that's wider than the other. Common applications include product labels (especially wrap-around) as well as stickers that have a lot of text, as the width allows for more words per line.

The main benefit of a rectangle is it offers 100% of the available height and width for design content, as the sticker or label goes right up into all four corners for maximum surface area. This gives you more space to utilise compared to circles or ovals.

Square

Ideal for designs of the same height and width. Common applications include partial wrap-around product labels, as well as stickers that will be placed on square surfaces or items.

Like rectangle, square shapes also offer 100% of the available height and width for maximum surface area to allow more content. However, if you have a lot of text, each line will typically be shorter versus a rectangle, and as it's a square, you could quickly run out of height if you have many short lines of text.

One benefit is that it suits some designs better, especially when they're minimalist and centralised with a logo and short bit of text.

Circle

Circle stickers and labels are a very versatile shape of the same height and width, but fully round. Common applications include promotional stickers, logo stickers, and packaging stickers to seal up products.

One downside of circles is you aren't going to get the full surface area available from the measurements you've entered, as the edges curve around without corners. For example:

• 10x10cm square = 100 cm² surface area
• 10x10cm circle = 78.54 cm² surface area

However, they are very aesthetically pleasing if you have a centralised design, and if you don't have a lot of content (such as images and text), the loss of area isn't an issue. This is why they're one of the most popular shapes. 

Oval

Ovals are rounded like circles, but with different height and widths which mean you can 'stretch' a circle either horizontally or vertically. Common applications include some types of product labels (such as wine labels), as well as promotional stickers and helmet stickers.

Ovals are a good middle ground between circles and rectangles, because you get the aesthetically pleasing round shape like a circle, but with more width for longer lines of text. They also look particularly good with a design that has a centralised logo and then two short snippets of text on either side, as the shape frames them wonderfully.

They work well the other way around too, with a longer height if you like the shape of a circle but just need that extra bit of height for a particular use (say for product sealing labels).

Custom shape

Custom shape stickers and labels allow for any shape you can think of, as they typically use laser cutting to create a fully unique cut line. Popular uses include:

• Contouring intricately around a design
• Creating a shape for a specific need (such as an arrow or speech bubble sticker)
• Allowing for other types of less common shapes (like a triangle or diamond)
• Creating shapes for certain applications (like a jar lid sealing label, with a circle for the lid and a narrow tab to stick down onto the jar)
• Having holes or other shapes cut out out of the inside of the sticker (where buttons, knobs, lights or other elements could be poked through to remain accessible) 
• Adding unusual artistic elements to a standard shape (like a rectangle with wavy edges)

As the shape can be perfectly suited to your needs, there's no real disadvantage when it comes to the shape itself. However, they are typically more expensive as there's extra work involved in creating and proofing the cut line. 

Permanent adhesive

For stickers, permanent adhesive is usually best when it'll be used for long-term or permanent applications. It provides an extra-strong hold, but can still be peeled away if required (particularly if you choose a plastic material like polypropylene which is tear-resistant). 

Even long-term use (such as years) can suit permanent adhesive, because even though you may remove the sticker one day, the permanent adhesive is stronger and will therefore be more resistant to damage and peeling over time, so you don't have to replace it prematurely. 

However, with permanent adhesive there's a higher risk of glue residue being left behind after removal. Check out our product care FAQ for more information on how to remove this. 

It's also recommended for heavy-duty use (such as outdoors) due to the stronger adhesive bond, but only if the risk of leftover residue isn't a concern.

Removable adhesive

Removable is best for short-term applications where you expect to remove the sticker in the near future and don't want to deal with any leftover residue.

However, by making the sticker removable, the adhesive bond won't be as strong by design, so keep this in mind if the sticker does need an extra-strong hold (such as outdoor use or where it could experience a lot of friction). 

What about labels?

For labels (such as those going on products or packaging), permanent adhesive is usually the way to go. This is because there's very rarely a reason to remove a product label (especially on the outside of disposable packaging), and the stronger adhesive will provide a better hold through the product lifespan to resist peeling.

However, sometimes removable adhesive can be a better choice, particularly if it's a product (such as a ceramic plate or cookware) where the label needs to be removed before the product can be used.

The main difference between stickers and labels is their use-case, which also influences various factors such as size, material, finish and design.

Stickers

Stickers are used for artistic, decorative, promotional and branding purposes. 

This is why they're often:

• Smaller than labels
• Cut on sheets or as loose individual singles (to give away)
• Have simpler, more graphic-focused designs (such as logo stickers) with less text overall.

As for the material, this can vary depending on the expected lifespan. A waterproof material could be best for permanent use (such as a door, laptop, QR code or health & safety sticker), whereas paper can be preferred for temporary or more cost-effective usage (such as event and pricing stickers).

Labels

Labels are used for identification, informational and product packaging applications. 

This is why they're often:

• Larger than stickers
• Cut on rolls for easier large-scale application
• Have more complex designs with more text overall (such as a product label).

For the material, like stickers, this can vary depending on the lifespan. However, as labels are more likely to be permanent, a waterproof material such as polypropylene is commonly used as it can resist-long term use, as well as exposure to friction and liquid which can damage the label. On the other hand, many prefer paper labels, as they're recyclable usually cheaper, so they're more cost-effective when the packaging will be quickly discarded once opened. 

This isn't always the case for any of these factors, but ultimately, if it's going to be used for identification, information or to put on product packaging, it's most likely a label. 

The two main types of printing in the sticker and label industry are lithography and digital.

Lithography printing (i.e. offset)

Lithography uses printing plates, one for each colour, that are made unique for every design that's printed. This is then applied with the assistance of a series of rollers.

Advantages:

• Cheaper on a per sticker/label cost for orders with very large quantities, as the cost of the printing plates is small compared to the other costs involved (like materials and ink).
• Can sometimes provide better quality than some types of digital printing.

Disadvantages:

• Higher costs, as there's the initial cost of producing the plates before printing even starts
• Higher minimum order values, again due to the cost of tooling the plates
• Much less flexibility with designs. If you need to change a design or spot even a tiny error that needs fixing, the printing plates need to be made again from scratch!

Digital printing

Digital printing uses technology to transfer ink dots directly onto the material, similar to a normal office printer but on a much larger scale.

Advantages:

• Cheaper for small to medium label runs, as there are no tooling costs involved in creating unique lithographic printing plates for every order, which would get extremely expensive! The design is simply uploaded and it starts printing.
• Much lower minimum order values, especially as with lithography, every CMYK colour requires its own printing plate, so this makes the up-front cost even higher before the first sticker is even printed.
• Much easier to tweak and adjust designs, as a new one can be printed just as easily as the previous one.

Disadvantages:

• For very, very large label runs, it's not as cheap on a per-unit basis as lithography
• It's not as fast as litho, which can increase production costs and turnaround times (but digital can still be faster overall as no plate tooling is needed in advance)
• Lithography often has the edge in terms of quality.

A mixture also exists for the best of both worlds

Take for example the printing machinery we use here at Discount Sticker Printing, the HP Indigo 6000 Digital Press.

This uses Thermal Offset Transfer technology. This is where the design is printed digitally onto a photoconductor printing plate, and then transferred directly from the plate to the sticker/label material via lithography-style offset printing.

This gives, as HP themselves say, a better "offset look-and-feel", but with the lower setup cost and flexibility of digital! Safe to say, we love it. 

For waterproof stickers or labels, it's vital that you choose a plastic material (such as polypropylene vinyl) as this doesn't absorb water.

For outdoor use, a protective laminate layer is also strongly recommended to add extra durability for the printed design. This will ensure weatherproof properties. Permanent adhesive is also the best choice as it'll provide a strong bond to resist the elements.

For more information, check out our waterproof and weatherproof stickers product.