If you’re wondering whether it’s possible to print your own stickers – the answer is a definite yes!
You can use a variety of printable sticker paper, printable vinyl, and decal paper to print on your inkjet or laser printer at home.
Printing your own DIY stickers from home is almost as easy as printing on a normal sheet of paper, with only a couple of small differences that we’ll discuss in this article
Table of Contents
Materials needs to print your own stickers
To print your own DIY stickers you will only need a few items:
- Inkjet or laser printer (depending on sticker paper being used)
- Printable sticker paper
- Scissors or cutting machine (i.e. Cricut Explore Air 2)
Types of printable sticker paper
There are a variety of printable sticker paper materials on the market.
Some sticker sheets are made of vinyl, commonly referred to as printable vinyl sticker paper, which is more durable and water-resistant.
Here are a few types of printable sticker medium you can choose from:
- Printable sticker paper sheets
- Printable vinyl sticker sheets
- Printable labels
- Waterslide decal transfer paper
There are many brands and types of printable vinyl and sticker paper you can use for other use cases, which we highlight in this blog post.
How to make your own printed stickers
Making your own stickers is a simple process. After gathering the above materials follow these steps:
- Design your image. Software you can use range from simply copying and pasting an image into a Word document to creating your own digitally drawn sticker with Procreate, Canva, or by using Cricut design space or Silhouette Studio.
- Adjust your printer settings. Depending on the sticker paper being used you will want to adjust your printer settings accordingly. For glossy sticker paper choose “Glossy Photo Paper” and the highest quality setting available.
- Feed one sticker sheet at a time – preferably using the rear feeding tray to avoid jams.
- Print your stickers out. Allow them to dry for up to 5 minutes.
- (Optional) – laminate or seal your stickers with a spray such as those offered by Krylon or Mod Podge
- Cut your stickers out. You can use a pair of scissors, a safety knife, or a fancy cutting machine if your budget allows.
What kind of printer is best for making stickers?
In general inkjet printers are more commonly used and recommended as opposed to laser printers.
This is because inkjet ink tends to print more vibrantly and the ink is cheaper to use.
Laser printer toner can both be more expensive and less vibrant when printing on sticker paper or printable vinyl.
We recommend reading the packaging on the printable sticker paper before printing.
If you try to use printable vinyl for inkjet printers in a laser printer for example- the toner and heat of the printing process may melt the vinyl or worse- damage your printer!
You can read more about the best type of printer for stickers here.
Bonus tips and best practices for printing stickers
- Print a test sheet on a normal sheet of paper before printing on your sticker paper. This way if mistakes are made you can save your sticker sheets
- Also adjust printer settings for the specific type of sticker paper. This may be the difference between printing a sticker that looks amazing and a sticker that runs, is misaligned, or mutated.
- Laminate over your printed stickers. This will make them waterproof, dishwasher safe, and more resistant to UV rays and fading in the sunlight
If you’re looking for a new pack of printable sticker paper or laminating sheets, check out our Royal Elements shop page to browse our selection.
Happy crafting!
Michael from Royal Elements
