DIY sticker

Stickers are a fun way to connect with people, market your brand and decorate your belongings. Learning to make your own stickers provides a way to save money and get the exact image you want in sticker form. From the expert designer to a small child, these three methods of sticker making cover a wide range of skill levels. Use these tutorials to create your own unique adhesive art.

Children love stickers, and showing them how to make their own adds extra excitement and a chance to bond. This first method of sticker making is also the simplest. It requires a few supplies that you probably already have around the house and is a great way to pass time with the kids. The supplies you will need are scissors, wax paper and a few rolls of tape in fun colors and patterns. Optional supplies include markers, crayons, glitter and paint. You can use practically any kind of tape for this project, but masking tape works best. To make your stickers, tear off strips of the tape and affix them so that they overlap onto a length of wax paper. Use shape templates or craft punches to cut out the desired shape from the wax paper. You can also use plain white tape to have your children create their own designs and colors. The end result is cute stickers to use for crafts or play.

It is also possible to make your own stickers with your favorite picture or brand logo. This method requires a special kind of paper called release or backing paper. This paper is made especially for sticker making and has a sticky back that can be peeled off. To make these stickers, simply print the desired image on quality cardstock. Carefully cut the image out taking care not to leave any negative space outside the image. At this point you can use a tiny drop of craft glue to adhere the image to the release paper. Use a piece of thick, transparent tape, and place it on top of the image. Use a thin piece of plastic to completely smooth out the tape and to eliminate any air bubbles. Cut out your sticker leaving a margin of release paper around the edges. The result will be a high quality sticker that can be used for a variety of purposes.

Many small businesses make stickers to save money and promote their brand. Making professional looking stickers requires a little more skill, but it is well worth the results. If you have a design program installed on your computer, you can create an intricate sticker template. You can also just use a basic word processor and import a photo or design. As soon as you have the desired image, print it out on vinyl sticker paper using an inkjet printer. Using the inkjet printer with the vinyl sticker paper makes a crisp, clear image that looks amazing as a sticker. The ink on the vinyl will be prone to wear and may quickly rub off unless laminated. Laminating the sticker also gives it a professional looking high gloss finish. To laminate the sticker, you can either use a clear laminate or you can use a clear coat spray. These stickers make perfect free gifts at trade and craft shows.

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Steps to a piece of sticker

Before You Begin To Design Your Sticker..

Think About Your Purpose in producing promotional stickers. What's your goal.. building identity.. advertising a specific event or product.. telling people about your web site? Where do you ideally see the promotional stickers being applied.. to cars.. to helmets.. to computers? How will you be distributing the stickers.. in the mail.. hand out at trade shows.. co-op with another company?

Your answers will effect the size and design of your stickers - be as specific as possible. You don't want to have finished stickers before you realize "oh no, it won't fit in the envelope" or "oh no, the adhesive isn't holding the stickers on our equipment", etc.

Look Around / Research. What are other people in your industry using for promotional stickers? What isn't being done that may be effective? What stickers do you see out on the highway.. why are they there.. why do they work? How can you do something powerful and unique while still effectively tying in with your other marketing efforts?

When You Design Your Sticker.. 

Keep It Simple! A sticker needs to convey a message quickly, clearly, and often from a distance. Beware of small details, intricate graphics, more than three colors, and more than one simple message/image. Stickers are not newspaper ads. View them as very small billboards - stick with a clear logo or a "headline".

Bigger Isn't Always Better. The bigger the sticker, the easier to see ...right? True.. but a promotional sticker won't be seen by anyone if it is never applied. Put big stickers on your company vehicles.. but give the public a sticker that they are willing and apt to apply somewhere.

Consider Die-Cutting. A sticker's visual appeal and impact increases when graphics are complimented by a shape other than rectangular. Circles often have no added cost, and any custom shape is possible with the use of a die. A die is usually well worth the inexpensive one-time fee.

Think In Reverse. Just because you are printing on white vinyl doesn't mean the background of the sticker needs to be white. For a one-color sticker use a printed color as the background and leave the copy white for a more effective and appealing image.

Consider Back copy. If you are creating a promotional sticker, don't waste the white space on the back of the sticker. Use it for advertising, coupons, news, postcard copy, coop ads.. any information you want to get into the hands of your prospects and/or customers.

Make It Clear? If you are designing a sticker on clear material for application to windows, it needs white ink! White reflects light (more visible) while darker colors are translucent and blend with the dark window background. White vinyl is more visually effective than clear polyester in 90% of the cases.

How Sticky Do You Want It? Depending on your purposes, stickers can come with ultra-removable adhesive on up to a super aggressive adhesive. Static decals have no adhesive - although for the added price, and limited applications, these are seldom necessary. We also do not recommend stickers with adhesive "on the face" for inside window applications. These have more limited applications, are harder to apply, and usually not necessary.

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