Where would be a good place to have some stickers made? I have a small (2x3) JPG graphic that I created in Photoshop. I’ve been printing these out with my printer on label paper, but unfortunately they don’t stand up very well to the elements (the ink seems to run). I think what I need is much more akin to a bumper sticker or commercial sticker.
Anyone know a place that’ll take my JPG and make me some stickers? This is just for fun so I’m not really looking to spend a whole lot on each one. Obviously I’ll have to have a bunch made.
Find someone who has a color laser printer, and then get some laser-compatible sticker material. This would make a cheap and relatively durable sticker.
www.Rippedsheets.com has waterproof laser and inkjet stickers I use for labeling jars of herbal extracts (water and alcohol, which will dissolve most any ink on a regular label, and then the label itself). Please don’t ask me how an inkjet sticker can be waterproof; it’s a mystery.
It’s not a mystery - it’s science!
I don’t know about the ones sold at the site you listed, but I do know that some waterproof “paper” isn’t paper at all. It’s a combination of polyethylene and silica. The silica gives the “paper” opacity and enables it to take up ink (with the help of a proprietary surface coating). The plastic makes the whole shebang waterproof - there’s no trees involved at all. As an upshot, these synthetic papers also take well to laminating, being nearly impossible to delaminate. They’re popular with ID card manufacturers, menu printers, and for decorative applications from snowboards to toilet seat lids. They’re being used (or about to be used) by the US government for passports. In addition to being waterproof, they’re tear-resistant in the cross direction (although not in the vertical, or “machine” direction)
The only downside that I’ve seen thus far is that they become brittle with age after the polymer degrades, but that’s on the scale of several years.
National Geographic markets some of it as “Adventure Paper” for use with their map printing software, but that’s not sticky. I wouldn’t be surprised if the waterproof sticker paper is the same material.
The other suggestions are fine. But you might just try what you’ve been doing, only spray the label after it’s finished with a light spray on clear coat. (The Krylon low-odor clear latex looks interesting.)
Yep. The plastic in the laminate stays flexible and it keeps the synthetic printing sheet from bending enough to crack. It’s the substrate of choice for the new RFID passports. It’s already in some state’s driver’s licenses because it makes it next to impossible for people to peel them open and alter the info.
I use local print shops (check your yellow pages), so I can get a proof from them to make sure my colors are correct, and see the quality of them before the whole batch gets done.
That being said, if you are using cmyk rather than one or two pantone colors, it will be laser printed on vinyl. Laser printed stickers will last in the elements about 6 months usually (for example on a bumper sticker).
If your art is one or two pantone colors, you can get silkscreened stickers on vinyl - these will last almost forever outdoors.
