Artwork
How to Set Up Artwork for Custom Stickers
Most sticker problems are file problems, and all of them are avoidable before you order.
Sticker printing goes wrong for about five reasons, all of them decided before the order is placed. Ten minutes on the file saves reprinting five hundred of something.
File formats, in order of preference
Vector: SVG, AI, or vector PDF
Scales to any size without softening. Required for foil, because foil follows a cut path rather than a printed image. If you have a vector file, send that.
Raster: PNG at high resolution
Works for standard printing. Needs to be 300 dpi at the final printed size, not at screen size. A 500 pixel logo printed at 2 inches is 250 dpi and will look soft.
What not to send
A screenshot, a logo pulled off a website, or a JPEG with a white box behind it where transparency should be. All three are common and all three print exactly as badly as they sound.
Bleed and safe area
Cutting has a small tolerance, usually under a millimetre, and these two margins absorb it.
Bleed
Extend your background about 3 mm past the cut line. Without it, a slight cut shift leaves a white sliver on one edge.
Safe area
Keep all text and important detail at least 3 mm inside the cut line, so nothing important sits where the tolerance lives.
Color
Screens are backlit and print is not, so bright screen colors print slightly duller. Deep blues and vivid oranges shift most.
If color accuracy matters
Give us a Pantone reference rather than a screenshot. The Pantone matching system is what printers work from.
Rich black
Pure black on a small sticker is fine. Large black areas benefit from a rich black mix, which we will handle.
Transparent stickers
White does not print on transparent stock by default, so anything white in your design will disappear and show the packaging beneath. Tell us if you need a white underbase.
Sizing your design
Design at final size, not scaled up. A design built at 6 inches and shrunk to 1 inch keeps details that become invisible, and often illegible text.
Browse custom stickers for shapes and finishes.
If your file is not ready
Send it anyway. We prepare files for print and foil at no design fee, and we will tell you before printing if the resolution will not hold rather than after.
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Related reading
FAQ
1. What file format is best for custom stickers?
Vector formats: SVG, AI or a vector PDF. They scale without softening and are required for foil. A 300 dpi PNG at final size works for standard printing.
2. What resolution does a PNG need to be?
300 dpi at the final printed size. A 500 pixel logo printed at 2 inches is only 250 dpi and will look soft.
3. What is bleed and do I need it?
Extend your background about 3 mm past the cut line. It absorbs the small tolerance in cutting so you do not get a white sliver on one edge.
4. Why does my white design disappear on transparent stickers?
White does not print on transparent stock by default. Tell us if you need a white underbase behind the design.
5. Will printed colors match my screen?
Not exactly. Screens are backlit so print reads slightly duller, and deep blues and vivid oranges shift most. Give a Pantone reference if accuracy matters.
6. What if my file is not print ready?
Send it anyway. We prepare files at no design fee and will flag resolution problems before printing rather than after.