Stickers are a fun way to customize anything from a notebook to a car! Everyone loves stickers, because they're cute, small, and affordable. An easy way to support your favourite artist- that's why visitors at conventions love to get them from their favourite booths! Handling production yourself, you could save time, test out different design ideas, and not comply with the limits that printing companies may have, such as size or quantity. I love making my own stickers, because I have control over when I get them ready, exactly how I want them to look like, how many and what size I want them.
In this article we'll go over what you would need to make your own stickers at home, and a few different ways to go about it.
1. Start with an idea!
First of course you need to come up with a design idea that you love, and visualize it. I recommend drawing it digitally, but if you prefer making a traditional illustration and turn it into a sticker, that is also possible - you just need to either scan it, or take a high quality picture of it. Once your image is digitalized and isolated, you are ready for the next step - printing!
This is very crucial because printing quality can make or break your whole project. You would want your image to be clear and vibrant. How to prepare for printing?
2. Print it out!
You would need to have a printer, or at least access to one. Usually an inkjet printer would be an adequate option, if you're in a process of researching printers make sure to watch some reviews on Youtube of people using the model you're looking at for that exact purpose. I have an Epson L805 that I bought quite recently- it is on the budget side of photo printing printers, but it does really great job for art prints and stickers and I'm quite happy with it. Inks also last a very long time, it has wireless connection and is overall pretty easy to use.
3. Choose your material!
Then comes time for your choice of paper. Would it be vinyl or paper, waterproof or no? If your stickers are to be used outdoors, it would be best to choose vinyl sheets, since the material is very durable and can sustain harsher conditions than paper. Biggest size my home printer could use is A4, so I bought some vinyl sheets in that size and they turned out pretty neat. I used the matte vinyl sheets from PPD , they also come in packs that have 20 sheets of glossy and 20 sheets of matte, and I kind of wish I've gotten those because that would offer more variety. Anyway, they work well with the inkjet and are of great quality. For stickers that I've made for planners and textbooks, I would use high quality sticker paper since we don't need them to endure the outdoor world.
Some of the most popular finishes for stickers are:
Vinyl or glossy
Holographic
Matte
Holographic glitter
Mirrored
Clear
Prismatic
You can have some fun choosing a finish that would add a cool effect to your design and really have fun with it!
4. Now we CUT!
Now that your stickers are printed, what is left is cutting them out. You can go the old-school way- grab a pair of scissors, and cut them out one by one. Make sure they're as identical as you possibly can, and avoid sharp edges. It's a tedious task, I know but it has to be done! Use sharp scissors so the cut lines are defined and don't turn out jagged. We'll need the final cut sticker to look nice and tidy.
Or, if you are like me, and your patience is just out of the window, you would start thinking about getting a cutter. There are few popular brands, but I chose the Silhouette Portrait 3 . I know that many people got the Silhouette Cameo since it is bigger and has more options, but my printer can only do A4 size so I wouldn't need it. The Portrait 3 works perfectly for me. Even tough the software is really user friendly, it still took me some time to get to know how to perfectly work it. I am planning on making a separate blog post about working with the Silhouette Cutter. What's really cool is that with a cutter you could also make sticker sheets! I've been wanting to make some for a long time, and customers love them! They're always a hit when I bring them at artist markets. I also like to cut out the rounded edges, makes the whole sheet look extra cute.
This is how I started making my own stickers and sticker sheets. You could also get some nice baggies, and make sticker packs! Customers love a good package deal. There are many different materials you could use, depending on the purpose of your stickers. I have linked the technology and paper that I've used, so I hope this was helpful to you! If you don't have a printer or can't afford one just yet, it is always okay to outsource this process, but please make sure your provider uses high quality materials so you wouldn't disappoint your customers.
If you are looking to open your own art shop or an Etsy account, or whatever platform you have chosen to sell your crafts, stickers is a must in my opinion. It is one of the most searched words on Etsy and there is a big demand for such products. At art markets it is also a good idea to have them in your inventory, because most people are not looking to spend a lot of money, but might still want to get something from you, and stickers are a great solution for that!
All the best,
Clementine
Can't wait to try! 😎