Ultimate Guide: What Mistakes to Avoid When Printing Custom Stickers

Integrating custom stickers into your business and marketing approach is a fantastic idea.

This tool can cost-effectively help you personalise products, boost brand visibility, promote services, make a statement, and more.

The overall appearance of stickers and labels is crucial to make a first and lasting impression.

According to a report, 80% of small businesses agree that designing their branding and marketing materials is crucial.

To ensure these meticulous details, you have to look for a reliable sticker printing expert you can rely on.

Moreover, you also need to be mindful about avoiding mistakes when sending your artwork for printing.

In this guide, we will discuss the most common mistakes in printing stickers and how to avoid them.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Printing Custom Stickers

 

Uploading Low-Resolution Images

 

A low-resolution image can create a blurry, jagged, and rough printing result. This is why we recommend uploading images or artwork with high resolution. We accept all file formats with a resolution of 300 DPI or higher.

However, our most recommended file format for printing is AI, PDF or vector files. This way, you can achieve a precise and crisp printing result, plus the resolution does not change no matter how big the print is. The next time you need to print stickers, remember not to send a low-quality image with visible pixels around the artwork to avoid blurry and pixelated results.

Picking the Wrong Sticker Material

 

Custom stickers come in assorted materials, from paper to vinyl. Picking the wrong material can lead to poor adhesion, appearance, and durability. Before choosing, it pays to know where the stickers are intended.

Paper stickers are intended for indoor use only as they are nonwaterproof. While vinyl stickers are more versatile, durable, and a bit expensive. This material is waterproof, weatherproof, UV-resistant, and can endure harsh weather elements.

It is always advisable to consider the nature or environment of where you plan to use the stickers.

Incorrect Colour Matching

 

Consistency in branding colours is crucial as they also represent your brand identity. Incorrect colour matching can ruin your brand's visual appeal and cost you more than a penny to reprint. So, always understand that RGB colour mode is used for digital designs like televisions, smartphones, computer screens, digital billboards, and more.

Meanwhile, the CMYK colour mode is recommended for printing, as it helps the printing machines reproduce the colours more accurately. What you see on the screen differs when it is already printed. You can ask for colour proof and view the design across different screens to see if the colours are accurate.

There might be colour discrepancies, but having a reference helps us ensure that the printed colours are closer and more accurate to your brand.

Overlooking the Bleed Area

 

The bleed area is crucial, as it is the extra space beyond the edges of your sticker design. It allows slight custom sticker printing errors without cutting into the design and other essential elements or information. Overlooking the bleed area might result in trimming the design off.

Our recommended bleed area is usually a 2-4mm margin from the cutline. This can help prevent the crucial elements of your artwork from being cut out.

Exaggerating the Design

 

When designing a sticker, adding many texts, colours, and images can be tempting. Exaggerating the design can create a cluttered look that is hard to read and ruin the message you want to convey to the audience.

How can this be avoided? Always keep the sticker design simple and straightforward. Use simple, clear text, and do not overcrowd the design with too many elements. Remember that more than 4 pt is the safest font size for your labels to ensure the content is easier to read.

When working on text-heavy artwork, we recommend using regular fonts for better readability. Use an 8pt font size or larger than that for best results.

Skip Proofing

 

Skipping the proofing stage would be a huge mistake. This process is crucial to help you see unwanted errors, which are only noticeable once the stickers are printed. You don't want this to happen, as it can be costly to reprint again.

To prevent this, request digital proof before the final print run. Double and triple-check for typography, colour accuracy, and alignment issues. 

Inappropriate Sticker Size

 

Sticker size matters regardless of where you intend to use them. You do not want to use inappropriate stickers or label sizes, as it might look poor and unprofessional. You can ask your sticker provider about the size that suits your needs. 

This gesture can save you a lot of hassle and stress. You can also tell your provider where you plan to use the stickers. They can give you a specific size to ensure they meet your standards.

Final Thoughts

Printing custom stickers is one of the cost-effective ways to promote your brand, label products, and express creativity. But just like any other design, it requires keen detail. Avoiding the common mistakes mentioned above ensures your stickers turn out precisely as you envisioned. Every step matters in the sticker printing process. Following the tips above, you can create custom stickers that boost brand visibility and impact your business.