Sticker Materials

Every material below prints in our shop in Rockland, Massachusetts. Here is what each one is, what it is good for, and where it is the wrong choice.

The everyday two

Most stickers should be one of these. Both print on the same 3.4 mil calendered vinyl — a premium film with a permanent acrylic adhesive, rated for up to four years outdoors and a service range of −40°F to 180°F.

Both are laminated as standard, and we never ship them without it. The laminate is the layer that takes the UV, the water and the scuffing so the print underneath doesn’t.

Glossy Vinyl

Smooth, high shine, the most saturated color of anything we print. Reds stay red and blacks stay black. This is the default for a reason — if you’re not sure, pick this.

Best for: laptops, water bottles, packaging, giveaways, anything where you want the color to punch.

Matte Vinyl

Same film and same laminate, satin instead of shiny. Colours read slightly softer, there’s no glare, and it photographs better than gloss because there’s no hotspot from the flash.

Best for: product labels, anything being photographed, packaging where you want a quieter look.

Speciality films

Vehicle Grade

A high-performance vehicle film, laminated as standard. 3.1 mil, rated up to five years printed, and built specifically for vehicles, fleet graphics and window work.

Two things make it different from the everyday vinyl. The adhesive is long-term removable, so it comes off paint cleanly years later instead of taking the clear coat with it. And the air-egress liner means it repositions while you’re placing it — you can lift and slide it rather than getting one attempt.

Best for: cars, trucks, trailers, boats, exterior equipment, shop windows.

Worth knowing: it handles flat surfaces and simple curves. Deep recesses and rivets need a cast film, which is a different order — ask us.

Holographic

A rainbow shift that moves as the light angle changes. The effect is in the film itself, not printed, so it works from every angle and never fades the way a printed gradient does.

Best for: band merch, skate and music, anything sold on a table where it has to catch an eye from six feet away.

Worth knowing: holographic works best when your artwork has open areas that let the film show through. A design covering every square inch hides the thing you paid for.

Clear

Fully transparent background. Only your ink shows — no white edge, no visible sticker outline. On glass or a painted surface it reads as if the design was applied directly.

Best for: shop windows, growlers and bottles, car glass, anywhere a white background would look like a sticker stuck on rather than part of the surface.

Frosted

Semi-opaque, like etched glass. Light passes through but you can’t see detail behind it.

Best for: office glass, privacy panels, door graphics, window lettering with a soft look.

Removable Polyester

Low-tack adhesive that peels off cleanly with no residue. It holds firmly while it’s on, and leaves nothing behind when it comes off.

Best for: laptops and electronics, asset tags, rental equipment, seasonal promotions, anything on a surface you don’t want to scrub afterwards.

Eco-Friendly Paper

Plastic-free, biodegradable, fully recyclable. A paper sticker rather than a vinyl one — it will not survive water, so it’s for indoor and packaging use only.

Best for: packaging seals, mailers, product labels on boxes, any brand where a plastic sticker on a recyclable box is the wrong message.

Anti-Slip Floor Vinyl

Textured non-slip PVC with a fabric-reinforced adhesive, made to be walked on. The texture is the point, so it is never coated over.

Best for: floor graphics, wayfinding, aisle markers, entrance and lobby decals.

White ink, and why it matters on clear and holographic

Printing ink is see-through by design. On white vinyl that doesn’t matter, because the material behind it is already white. On clear or holographic film there’s nothing behind your ink, so whatever the sticker is stuck to becomes part of your artwork — a red logo on a blue bottle turns purple.

The Studio handles this for you. Turn on white underbase and we lay a layer of white ink beneath your artwork only, so your colors stay true while the transparent areas and the border keep the film’s shimmer. Leave it off and the material shows through everything, which is sometimes exactly what you want.

You’ll see the option automatically when you pick a material where it applies. It won’t appear on opaque films, because there’s nothing for it to do.

What is laminated, and what isn’t

Gloss vinyl, matte vinyl and the vehicle film are laminated as standard, every time. They are never shipped without it.

Nothing else is. Holographic, clear, frosted, removable polyester, anti-slip floor vinyl and eco-friendly paper all ship as the bare film, so choose those for what the material itself does rather than for outdoor life.