Want to learn how to make vinyl stickers? It’s a lot easier than you think to make your own custom stickers right from your home. In this guide, we’ll show you how to get started, even if you don’t have a fancy cutting machine.
What Are Vinyl Stickers?
Vinyl stickers are stickers that are printed on a durable vinyl material, or PVC. Vinyl has become a popular material for stickers because, depending on where they’re applied, they can last 5-10 years.
The beauty of vinyl stickers is that you have so much creative freedom, and they have so many applications. You can choose from hundreds of colors, and even create unique shapes for your stickers. Stick them on your bedroom walls as decoration, or use them for commercial purposes to promote your brand.
The possibilities are endless with vinyl stickers.
And the best part is that it’s so easy to make these types of stickers at home – with or without a machine.
How To Make Vinyl Stickers with Cricut
If you have a Cricut machine, creating vinyl stickers is as easy as creating a design and clicking “print.” In fact, vinyl stickers are one of the first projects that Cricut recommends trying with their machine.
For those of you who don’t know, Cricut is a machine that can cut a variety of materials, from vinyl to paper, iron-on transfers, card stock and more. You can use it to cut just about anything you would cut with an X-acto knife or scissors, but the machine does it at lightning-fast speed.
With Cricut, you can either cut vinyl stickers right from the machine, or you can print colorful designs on your home printer and then have Cricut cut them out for you.
In just a few steps, you can create your very first vinyl sticker with this handy machine.
Along with your Cricut machine, you will also need:
- Smart vinyl or printable vinyl sticker paper for inkjet printers
- True Control knife to cut out your stickers from the paper
Here’s how to make vinyl stickers with a Cricut machine.
Step 1: Open Design Space
The first step to making your vinyl stickers is to place your design in a blank canvas in the Design Space program.
If you’re just learning and don’t have any designs of your own just yet, you can experiment with different clip art you find, the assets from Design Space or even your own photos if you want.
If you need a little more help with learning how to use Design Space, here’s a great tutorial.
And if you want some more designs to play around with, here are some free printable downloads to try:
Step 2: Add and Adjust the Offset
Once you’re happy with your design, the next step is to add and adjust the offset. The offset feature is still relatively new to Cricut, but it’s really helpful for sticker designs.
Play around with the width of the offset to find the setting you like best. Make sure that you adjust the color, too. Most people prefer white, but you can choose any color you want for the offset.
One thing to note: you may need to use the Weld tool to fill in any gaps in your sticker shape.
Once you’re happy with the offset, you can place the image back over it and flatten the image to prepare it for printing and cutting.
Step 3: Click “Attach”
If you’re ready to start printing and cutting, click the “attach” button. The “attach” function lets the machine know that you want it to cut exactly as it is on the canvas.
Step 4: Print
Next, follow the prompts to send your design to your printer and wait for it to print (if you’re printing and then cutting).
Step 5: Cut
Once your printer has finished, the next step is to load the sheet onto a mat on your Cricut. The machine will start cutting automatically and follow the sensor marks your printer printed on your design.
If you have multiple stickers on your canvas, you can either leave them all on one sheet or use your True Control knife to cut them out.
That’s all there is to it! The final step is to start placing your stickers wherever they want to go.
Best Vinyl Sticker Printer
Regardless of whether you use a Cricut to print your stickers, you’re going to need a quality printer for this craft project.
Ideally, you want a printer that’s capable of not only printing your stickers, but also handling other printing tasks you may need.
When choosing a printer for your stickers, consider:
- What types of paper it can print on
- Whether you also want a scanner and photocopying feature
- The size of the paper you will be using
- Whether you’re going to be printing in large or small volumes
- Your color accuracy and print resolution needs
For sticker printing, most people will want to use an inkjet printer rather than a laser printer. The colors are more vibrant with inkjet printers.
With all of this in mind, let’s look at some of the top-rated printers for printing vinyl stickers.
Epson Expression Premium XP-6000
The Expression Premium XP-6000 is a wireless printer that also has a scanner and copier function. It can print photos in as little as 15 seconds, which makes it a great choice for quick sticker printing.
And with its compact size, this printer is a great option for smaller spaces.
HP ENVY Inspire 7255e
The HP ENVY Inspire 7255e is an all-in-one printer that’s great for printing stickers, photos and more. This printer has a print speed of up to 10 ppm for color and connects using self-healing Wi-Fi.
HP also includes six months of Instant Ink as a bonus.
Canon TS9521C
The Canon TS9521C is an all-in-one printer that says it’s designed for crafting. The printer has five individual inks that are ready for your crafting projects, and you can print from any one of your devices. The TS9521C supports paper of up to 12 x 12, so if you want to print big sheets of stickers, this printer is a great option.
Best Vinyl Sticker Paper
If you want your stickers to look professional and polished, you also need quality vinyl sticker paper.
When choosing your paper, there are a few important things you need to consider, including:
- Whether you prefer a matte or glossy finish
- If you want your stickers to be waterproof (or at least mostly waterproof)
There are so many sticker paper brands out there, but some of the top-rated options are:
- JOYEZA Premium Printable Vinyl Sticker Paper (vibrant colors)
- Homsto Vinyl Sticker Paper (scratch and water-resistant)
- Limia’s Care Printable Vinyl Sticker Paper for Inkjet (glossy, self-adhesive)
- Koala Vinyl Sticker Paper (designed for cutting machines)
These are some of the best-selling vinyl sticker papers, but there are so many options out there. Experiment with different ones to see which paper you like best.
Are Vinyl Stickers Waterproof?
Many people use vinyl stickers to decorate indoor and outdoor spaces or objects. So, naturally, one of the first questions you may have about these stickers is whether they are waterproof.
Vinyl stickers aren’t waterproof, but they are water-resistant. All sticker styles will have the same level of water resistance.
How To Make Vinyl Stickers Without a Machine
What if you want to make vinyl stickers, but you don’t have a Cricut or another special machine? The great news is that you can still make your own stickers as long as you have an inkjet printer that can print on sticker paper (spoiler alert – most will!).
How To Make Custom Vinyl Stickers at Home
It’s easier than you think to make your own vinyl stickers without a fancy machine. Here’s how to make vinyl stickers at home:
Step 1: Design Your Stickers
First, you’ll need to choose a design program to either import your sticker designs or make them from scratch. Fortunately, you have many options here, including:
Step 2: Print on Vinyl Sticker Paper
Once you have your design, you’re ready to start printing. Make sure that your sticker size is appropriate and that you’ve loaded your vinyl sticker paper into your printer.
Click “print” and wait for your stickers to finish printing.
Step 3: Cut Your Stickers
The final step is to cut out your stickers so that you can start using them. You have a few options here as well, and the right one for you will depend on the size and shape of your stickers.
- Paper trimmer – best for stickers with a straight edge.
- Craft knife and self-healing mat – best for kiss cuts (the top layer has been cut so that you can easily peel away the sticker from the paper).
- Craft scissors with non-stick blades – best for intricate designs.
For more details on when and how to use each of these methods, check out this helpful tutorial:
Where To Download Vinyl Sticker Designs
The great thing about making your own vinyl stickers is that you can experiment with different designs.
But what if you’re not really into the idea of designing your own stickers? Great news – you can find lots of vinyl sticker designs online. Check out our SVG designs here or sublimation designs here.
Here are a few more excellent sources:
Now that you know how to make vinyl stickers, it’s time to start designing, printing and having fun! Whether you want to make stickers for personal use or to sell them, you’ll find that the process is a lot easier than you think.
