Best sticker material guide: Top choices & expert tips | Blog

From the custom vinyl sticker on your laptop to the price tag on a book, stickers are all around us and vary not only in size and color but also in the material they're made of. This is exactly our topic for today.

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Does the material my sticker is made of matter? You bet. The material determines what you can use your sticker for, how long it's likely to last, and even how eco-friendly it is. Join us as we explore the main sticker types, their uses, and some pros and cons.

Types of sticker materials

Let's begin by looking at the main types of sticker materials and their pros and cons.

Vinyl stickers

The most commonly used type for both personal and commercial uses, vinyl stickers are made from a thin layer of PVC that makes them waterproof and generally more resistant than other kinds of stickers. They can adhere to almost any surface, including metal, glass, wood, and plastic.

Popular uses for vinyl stickers include car decals, laptop stickers, office signage, and product labels.

What are the pros and cons of vinyl stickers? Let's take a look.

Pros

• Vinyl stickers are waterproof, sunlight-proof, and fairly weather-resistant in general.
• They last longer, are harder to tear, and can be washed together with the surface they're on.
• Given their flexibility, they adhere easily to curved materials and thus have the best adhesion of any type of sticker.
• Vinyl stickers are easily customizable in a variety of colors, sizes, and die-cut shapes.

Cons

• Although recyclable, vinyl stickers are not the most environmentally-friendly option, as they are not biodegradable.
• They tend to be somewhat more expensive than other materials.

Paper stickers

Paper stickers can be a more budget-friendly option that you can still customize with a variety of finishes, including matte and uncoated. Good for indoor use, they're often used as product identifiers or labels and are often applied to materials such as paper, wood, glass, metal, and plastic.

Paper stickers have their own pros and cons.

Pros

• Price (cheaper than vinyl and other materials).
• Biodegradable: unlike vinyl, paper decomposes quickly and completely.
• Easier to print: paper stickers don't require high-tech printers for their production.

Cons

• Poor durability: even coated paper stickers have lower durability than their vinyl counterparts and will typically fade and become illegible under external weather conditions.
• Don't deal well with dirt: unlike vinyl stickers, they can't be washed.
• Tear easily (they're paper, after all!).

Polyester stickers

Polyester stickers are the most durable of the bunch. Slightly thicker than vinyl stickers, they can withstand sun, rain, snow, dirt, harsh chemicals, extreme temperatures, and other elements — and come out looking just fine.

That's why polyester stickers are often used for very long durability purposes, such as product labels that need to remain legible for the full lifetime of a product.

Pros

• Extreme durability against all manner of weather and elements.
• High level of tear resistance.

Cons

• Print quality tends to be lower than that of vinyl stickers.
• Cost: polyester is typically somewhat more expensive than vinyl.
• Eco-friendliness: unlike vinyl, polyester is a non-recyclable material.

Holographic stickers

Holographic stickers can be made of either paper, vinyl, or polyester, but what sets them apart is the unique iridescent glow added to them (usually through an extra vinyl layer).

The holographic light-catching effect is a great way to set your stickers apart and also makes for some special uses — holographic ID stickers for your car's front window, for instance, are harder to replicate than normal stickers.

Pros: Create a unique visual style and are harder to replicate.

Cons: Tend to be more expensive and require more advanced tech to make.

Factors to consider when choosing sticker material

As you see, each type of sticker has its pros and cons. To know which to choose for your company or personal uses, consider the following factors:

Intended use

Are your stickers meant for indoor or outdoor use? As seen above, paper stickers tend to be suitable for indoor use, while the sturdier vinyl and polyester stickers are more suitable for outdoor applications.

Surface type also plays a role. If you intend to place your stickers on a curved or round surface, the extra flexibility of vinyl stickers will be a good plus; for surfaces more likely to become grimy or oily, polyester stickers are the superior choice.

Durability

How long should your stickers last? If you need them to stick around for quite a while, both vinyl and polyester are good choices — they'll usually hold up well in any weather and deal well with dirt and high humidity.

You may also want to look for additional features such as UV coating (to ensure your stickers won't fade quickly when exposed to direct sunlight) or resistance to repeated washing and higher temperatures (as in the case of mug stickers).

Print quality

For intricate designs that will be inspected up close, vinyl and paper tend to be the best options. Polyester is a challenging material to print on, and although it can hold beautiful designs and a variety of colors, it's more suitable for large decals meant to be visible from a distance, rather than for close inspection.

The difference between vinyl and paper tends to be more about color vibrancy. Vinyl lends itself to more vibrant printouts (both glossy and matte), whereas paper will naturally be more on the matte side.

And, of course, for a supremely vibrant and eye-catching design, you can't go wrong with a good old multi-layered holographic sticker.

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Cost and budget considerations

Cost may or may not be one of your primary considerations, but it makes sense to factor it in — especially when bulk ordering. Paper stickers can be significantly cheaper than their longer-lasting counterparts and can also be printed on most home printers.

On the other hand, higher-quality designs tend to pay for themselves, which means vinyl stickers almost always give you excellent value for money — especially if you take advantage of bulk-order discounts such as the ones offered at Sticker Mule.

Environmental concerns

Some companies pride themselves on being ecologically conscious, which is not only good for the environment but also a lucrative niche. As of 2020, 45% of US consumers showed interest in buying from sustainable or environmentally-friendly brands.

With that in mind, from paper (biodegradable) to vinyl (recyclable) to polyester (non-degradable, non-recyclable), there's a decreasing scale of environmental-friendliness you might want to consider if you've been looking to make your packaging more eco-friendly.

Tips for selecting the best sticker material

So, what are some good tips for selecting the best material for your stickers? With the above information in mind, we recommend you:

• Assess your needs. Start by determining how you'll be using your stickers and your needs in terms of print quality, durability, weather resistance, waterproofing, etc.
• Test different materials. You can benefit from ordering small custom samples.
• Consult with professionals. You don't have to do all the work yourself. Ask a professional at a printer. At Sticker Mule, we're always happy to answer your questions.
• Consider eco-friendly options. After all, if it's good for the environment, it's good for you — one way or another.

Conclusion

Highly flexible vinyl stickers with great print quality, sturdy polyester designs that withstand the elements, cheap and simple paper stickers, or fancy shiny holographic ones — there's something to recommend about each type of sticker. They all have their purpose.

So, just make sure you know what you're getting yours for, test with a sample, and you won't risk ending up with the wrong sticker material for your designs.

If you've read this far, you're either (incredibly) bored or (almost certainly) looking for stickers. So why not try out Sticker Mule's vinyl and holographic stickers? You know you want to!

When it comes to craft beer label design, here are the top five things to keep in mind: color, shape and size, typography, style and imagery, and copy.

Color

A pop of color is often the first element that attracts attention. Color can be powerful enough to evoke memory, emotion, and even seasons — have you seen a pumpkin beer that doesn’t incorporate some hue of orange or red? We often associate warm reds, oranges, and yellows with the hefeweizens and marzens popular in the fall while bright pastel greens, light blues, and lilac purples go with Maibocks and Blonde ales of spring. Color is a shortcut for you to prepare the consumer for the beer inside.

“I start with the artwork and the artists to come up with something with a great color scheme to pop off the label and catch your eye,” says Corcoran.

Color is a teaser, a way of setting consumer expectations. And if you’re using bottles, be sure to think about the colors of the bottles, too. A brown, green, or clear bottle, as well as the color of the liquid inside, will affect the color of your label.

Label Shape and Size

Do you want a traditional shape and size or something custom? Going the custom route might make your label stand out, but it could also increase the printing costs.

For example, the popular Brooklyn-based brewery Other Half specifically uses labels designed for 12oz cans on 16oz cans. The smaller wrap gives their beers an iconic look that stays consistent across all of their beers.

Generally, label shapes fall into three categories: partial wrap, full wrap, or custom shape.

Partial wraps come with two separate labels, one for the front and another for the back. This is a common label type with bottles specifically, typically sized at 3.5” by 4”. The most important consideration here is to make sure that your printer can accommodate front and back labels on the same roll.

Full wraps mean your label goes around the whole bottle. With these types of labels, you’ll have more room to design and add important details. But remember — with your bottle or can sitting on a crowded shelf, most likely the consumer will only see the first third of your label. You can have the most intricate design in the world that wraps around your whole can, but unless the front causes someone to pick it up, they’ll never see all that beauty on the back. Corcoran says that he had to learn this lesson the hard way. He actually recommends printing out your proof and wrapping it around your can because the 2D image on a computer screen can look very different in real-life 3D.

Similarly, Andrew Boyd, President of Blue Label Packaging, an all-digital packaging printer based in Lancaster, Ohio, always tells his clients to print out mockups first.

“I’m a big fan of testing things out before you commit,” he says. “There is no reason to gamble with something this huge. Always get a mock-up that’s color correct. Check the colors out in real life because things look very different on the screen than in the physical world.”

Finally, custom shapes can be a really fun, easy way to make your beer label stand out. Just make sure that it will actually fit on your bottle and can. One easy step here is to take a regular piece of paper and cut out the mock shape you’re going for. Wrap it around your bottle or can to get an idea of the space you have to work with while also checking for general fit. You can measure this final shape to share with your printer.

Whatever you decide, make a decision based on your overall brand identity. If you’re an edgy, contemporary brewery focusing solely on spontaneous fermentation, maybe you’ll want to go the route of a custom shape. But if you’re a traditional lagerhaus, a standard full wrap will probably serve just fine. Figure out your budget, stick to your brand, and go from there.

For reference, here’s a handy chart from Blue Label Packaging that lays out the most common label sizes.

Typography

Much like color communicates feelings and emotions, typography can indicate your brand style and personality. A classic Serif font (one that contains little feet at the end of letters) says your brewery is more traditional, while a sans-serif typeface comes across as more modern. Similarly, different creative fonts evoke other things. Insider tip: remember that consumers and the TTB need to be able to read the words on your label!

Style and Imagery

Nowadays, craft beer labels have become a form of art. Labels on beer cans cover the gamut from cartoon-style illustrations and comic panels to handcrafted masterpieces and work commissioned from local artists. At Channel Marker, Corcoran works with an artist in a studio next to the brewery to design custom oil paintings that are then turned into digital impressions and placed on their can labels. It’s a laborious process that often takes six to eight weeks, but the incredible art reflected on their unique can labels is paramount to the brand’s identity. Channel Marker also employs one of their front-of-house servers who is also a graphic designer.

“The number one thing for me is the artwork,” says Corcoran, whose labels almost always play into a nautical theme and feature vibrant colors. “We enjoy telling a story of some kind with our beer labels. When people come to buy cans, they always ask about the labels. It’s reassuring that people are noticing we’re putting in the time to make something cool and special and it makes me want to keep putting in the time and effort even if it costs more time and money.”

Words

Last but not least, the first words that people read on the label will be important. Let your consumer know what your beer is! If it’s an imperial stout, write that. If it’s an IPA (see notes below), indicate that. The most helpful step here is to build a huge word bank that you can whittle down to the most important names that your designer can use to create the art.

Seem like a lot? Well, the good news is that the beer industry isn’t held to the same standards as many others.

“There are many different ways to make a ‘good label,’” says Tanaka. “But one of the things we find fun about label design in the beer world is that a lot of rules for classic good design are completely broken. If you look at some successful beer labels and try to apply them to someone making soup or granola it would never pass. But our world is fun and exciting to explore.”

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