There are two key factors that you must consider when selecting the most suitable finish for your product or promotional sticker. Firstly, how will your sticker be used? How could the printing finish support the functionality or application of your sticker? Secondly, what impression do you want to create? What should potential customers think and feel about your business and your offering based on the look and style of your sticker label?
With so many finishes available, it can be difficult to narrow down the field and find the best printing technique to use on your design. To help you make the most appropriate selection, here are 5 printing finishes that could be the perfect solution for your sticker requirements.
Option 1: Matte Stickers
If you have ever purchased house paint, foundation makeup or photo paper for your home printer, it’s likely that you have been offered an option with a matte finish. Sticker printing is no different, with a matte look resulting in a flat and smooth surface that diffuses the light, rather than reflecting it.
Given its minimalistic look and uncoated feel, a matte finish can suggest that a product is natural and unprocessed, making it a fitting choice for brands that promote ideals such as clean and healthy living, environmental care and the use of organic ingredients.
A matte finish is also appropriate when important information needs to be displayed on an item. As the sticker won’t produce shine or glare when exposed to light, the detail will always be legible.
What’s more, as a matte finish is subtle and simple, it can be used to contrast with and draw attention to other parts of your sticker design that may use a more decorative finish, such as foiling or embossing.
Option 2: Gloss Stickers
When any material is offered in a matte finish, there will usually be at least one other alternative, and it’s almost always a gloss or satin finish. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a gloss finish has a bright and shiny surface with a soft sheen that will catch the light.
Bathroom and beauty products often like to use transparent stickers that give the appearance of being printed directly onto a plastic or glass container. Transparent designs also increase the visibility of the contents of the product. With a glossy finish, these stickers will seamlessly blend with the surface of the packaging, enhancing the desired effect.
If your custom sticker boasts a vibrant pop of colour, you can use a gloss finish to further brighten the design and help your product stand out on a crowded shelf. You can also customise the level of sheen, with semi-gloss and high-gloss options.
Option 3: Embossed Stickers
For a sophisticated, high-end look that promotes elegance and professionalism, you could opt for an embossed finish. By engraving the design on the back of the sticker material, the details of the text and imagery will become raised on the front of the sticker.
Embossing can be applied to specific details of the sticker to accentuate a logo or a pattern and the effect is usually polished with a metallic finish. While gold, silver and bronze are the most common choices, some sticker printing companies will offer more unique colour options for embossing.
Option 4: High Build Stickers
High build coating takes an embossed sticker finish to the next level by creating a textured, braille-like effect. It can be used to raise the entire sticker design, causing all of the elements to jut out from the background. Alternatively, it can be applied sparingly to only lift certain details.
If you have a premium or special edition product, you may want to consider using a high build sticker printing finish. The tactile properties of the coating will allow you sticker label to become distinctive and memorable.
Option 5: Foiling Stickers
An alternative to embossing that provides an equally prestigious effect is foil printing. By applying heat and pressure to metallic paper, foiling creates a shiny surface that can highlight specific aspects of a custom sticker design. It is often used on typography to emphasise a title, logo or name.
Foiling is a far more versatile technique than embossing as it can use a much wider variety of colours. Gold, silver and bronze shades may be popular choices, but foiling can also be used to create holographic and pearlescent effects.
While there are many other sticker finishes to choose from, it all depends on what you’re looking to achieve. It’s best to contact your sticker printing company as early as possible to discuss your finishing options so that you can take this into account during the design process.
The Label Factory has been providing sticker printing services to Perth for more than 25 years. For all your custom sticker needs, contact our friendly team of experts today.
