Stickers are a useful and effective marketing tool, but that’s only if you have them ready. There’s nothing worse than needing to bring 500 stickers to an event in two days, only to realize you never made the files or sent them to the printer. Getting same-day stickers from printers in the L.A. area is possible, especially if you follow these tips to get your images ready ahead of time.
Use SVG files
The problem with printing stickers quickly isn’t the actual printing process itself. Issues that cause delays usually stem from problems with the files themselves, and what is being printed. JPG and PNG files may work fine for your website or static prints, but using those same images in a sticker will usually require the image to be shrunk down to fit the style and size of your sticker sheet.
SVG image files ensure that your picture scales properly when it’s resized, so you don’t gain any unsightly pixels along the way. If you keep all your logos, art, or other images in SVG files, resizing and arranging them on a sheet or for a roll becomes a quick and easy job, getting your stickers ready for printing in no time.
Reimagine Your Images in CMYK
The default for most image-creating software is RGB (red, green, blue) for colors. RGB shows up best on computer screens, as that is how they filter all the other colors. But printers use four-color filters, CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). If you’re in a rush and don’t think to change the settings, your stickers can print out looking very discolored as the machine tries to print on a different set of colors.
If you make sure your images are already set to CMYK to start, then you won’t have to worry about trying to remember to change them beforehand. It’s always best to keep two versions of each logo or art piece you have: one that’s in RGB and scaled to fit websites and other computer needs, and one that’s in CMYK and scalable to work for any printing need you may have. Just make sure you label them properly!
Know What You Want
The worst part about getting stickers ready for printing is deciding what kind of stickers you want. Do you want a roll of stickers that’s just your logo? Would you prefer a sticker sheet that’s a sample of all your art? Or maybe a sticker book that can be used for long car trips? If you’re looking to print something quickly, you’re best off getting a single roll of stickers or using a sticker sheet that is compact and uniform. Otherwise, you may spend too much time designing your stickers and not enough time printing them.
You can get your stickers printed the same day you need them. But to make sure they come out on time and look the way you want, keep your image files organized. By using SVG files set to CMYK, you’ll get the best stickers printed out each time, whenever you need them.
