What size should a sticker be? Sizing stickers to the object and the text
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A sticker’s size is set by two checks: it has to fit the face of the object it goes on, and its smallest text has to read at the finished size. With our 3 mm safe margin, the safe area of a round sticker is 6 mm smaller in diameter than the sticker — a 45 mm round sticker leaves a 39 mm safe-area circle — and a rectangular sticker loses 6 mm from both its width and its height. There is no single sticker size that suits every object and design, so the reliable method is to measure the face, subtract the margin, and check the actual artwork at that size. We print vinyl stickers and labels die-cut or kiss-cut to any shape; materials, finishes and ordering are on the sticker printing page. This page covers choosing the size before you send the artwork.
Written by Maciej Antosz, Production Manager at Silver Image London ·
Sticker requests often arrive with a size that is a rough guess, or with a box and no size at all, or ask what a normal sticker size is. The right size sits between a limit set by the object and a limit set by the text, and both can be checked before anything prints.
How big does a sticker have to be for the text to read?
Sticker text has to be checked on the actual design at the finished size, because the minimum depends on the lettering size, the typeface and the contrast, not only on the number of lines. Our Instax Mini case study shows the scale of the difference. For that artwork — a logo with two lines of small type — the customer first proposed 55 × 40 mm, and at that size the logo would have printed but the text would not have been readable, so we advised at least 80–90 mm across; the logo on its own would have read at around 40 mm. Those figures belong to that design, not to stickers in general.
Sticker artwork needs 150 dpi at the finished size, measured on the printed piece rather than in the file; vector artwork carries no resolution at all, so a vector logo stays sharp at any size. Why the finished size is what counts is in our DPI guide. Where text is read at an angle or under a shop light, a matt laminate keeps it readable.
How much of the sticker can the design use?
On our sticker specification, text and detail sit 3 mm inside the cut path, so the safe area is the cut shape pulled in by 3 mm all the way round. For a circle that makes the safe-area diameter 6 mm smaller than the sticker; for a rectangle, the safe area is 6 mm narrower and 6 mm shorter; for a custom shape, the boundary follows the whole outline 3 mm inside it. The cutter has a tolerance, and a letter placed on the cut line is the most common reason a sticker comes back with part of it clipped.
| Finished size | Safe-area size |
|---|---|
| 35 mm | 29 mm |
| 40 mm | 34 mm |
| 45 mm | 39 mm |
| 50 mm | 44 mm |
| 80 mm | 74 mm |
The safe area is the boundary text must stay inside, not the length available to every line: on a round sticker, a line of text near the top or bottom of the circle has less room than a line through the centre.
What sets the largest size a sticker can be?
The object sets the upper limit: a sticker has to fit the face it sits on, or it overhangs the edge. On the Instax Mini job the readability advice said bigger, and then the purpose came out: the stickers were going on the backs of Instax Mini photographs, and an Instax Mini print is only 53 mm wide. The edge won. The sticker was set at about 70 mm along the back of the print, the largest that fitted without overhanging, and the customer chose the back rather than the narrow white margin on the front. The full account is in the kiss-cut stickers for Instax Mini photos case study.
Send the object as well as the size. “Instax Mini” told us more than “55 × 40 mm” did, and the same holds for a box, a jar lid, a cup or a laptop: the measurement of the face, and which face, decides the sticker. Product labels are printed vinyl sized to a container or a seal, so for packaging, jars, boxes and tamper seals the container’s dimensions are the brief, and they are specified for sheltered use.
Round, oval, rounded corners or a custom shape?
Stickers can be cut to any shape, to a cut path you supply or one we draw from the artwork, so a round, oval or rounded-corner sticker is a cut-path decision, not a different product. Round stickers are sized by their diameter and oval ones by their width and height. Rounded corners are worth choosing on purpose: very sharp internal corners are where a sticker starts lifting in use.
On a custom shape the cut line should run at least 3 mm outside anything that has to survive, because a shape cut tight to the lettering leaves no room for the cutter’s tolerance. Die-cut goes through the vinyl and the backing, so every sticker is a loose piece. Kiss-cut goes through the vinyl only, so the stickers stay on a sheet and the backing protects hairline serifs and narrow points until the sticker is used.
How the sticker size meets the print sheet
On the same usable sheet area, with the same sticker shape and spacing, reducing the sticker size can allow more stickers per sheet. On the Instax Mini job, 100 kiss-cut stickers were imposed 21-up on SRA3, a 320 × 450 mm sheet, which made 5 sheets with five spare positions; that order was paid at 11:48 and the stickers were ready at 17:17. That is one job’s timeline, not a turnaround promise — the ready time for any sticker order is confirmed at quotation. SRA3 is listed in our paper stocks guide as an oversized sheet, so artwork can run past the trim.
Curved surfaces, outdoor use and windows
For a sticker going on a curved surface, send the surface’s measurements, shape and material with the artwork. On our sticker specification, cast film is the film for curves and slight compound shapes. Vinyl adhesive needs a clean, dry, smooth, non-porous surface. For anything going outside, say so with the artwork: the laminate is the layer that protects the print.
A window decal is a printed sticker supplied for you to apply and is sized like any other sticker. Window film fitted on site is a separate product, set out on the window vinyl page, and letters cut from vinyl with no printing at all are covered under vinyl graphics.
What goes in the file once the size is set
Sticker artwork should be built at the finished size with a separate cut path, 3–5 mm of bleed beyond the cut path and text 3 mm inside it. What each file format does is in our file format guide.
| Requirement | What we need | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cut path | A separate vector path, named, on its own layer | A cut line drawn as part of the artwork gets printed. Without one we draw it from the shape and confirm it first |
| Bleed | 3–5 mm beyond the cut path | Stops a white sliver showing if the cut drifts |
| Safe margin | Text and detail 3 mm inside the cut path | Stops a clipped letter if the cut drifts the other way |
| Resolution | 150 dpi at the finished size | Stickers are read close up, so resolution shows |
| Colour | CMYK, with Pantone references for brand colours | Bright RGB blues and greens print duller than they look on screen |
| Fonts | Outlined | Removes any font substitution |
| File format | PDF preferred — but send what you have | We check every file in-house before production |
Checklist before you ask for a sticker quote
- The object — what the sticker goes on and which face, with its measurement.
- The size — diameter for round, width and height for oval or rectangular.
- The shape — round, oval, rounded corners, or a custom cut path.
- The text — kept inside the safe area, 3 mm in from the cut all round.
- Die-cut or kiss-cut — loose pieces or stickers on a sheet.
- Matt or gloss, and whether the sticker is going outside.
- The surface, if it is curved or is not glass or painted metal.
- Quantity per design, and the time the stickers have to be in your hands.
Questions that come up after that
Is there a standard sticker size?
No single sticker size suits every object and design. The size follows the face the sticker goes on and the smallest text it carries, and with our 3 mm safe margin a round sticker’s safe area is 6 mm smaller in diameter than the sticker.
What size should a round sticker with a logo and one line of text be?
No honest figure can be given without the artwork and the surface, because the lettering size, typeface and contrast decide it. Send both, and we will tell you the largest sticker that fits and whether the text will still read at that size.
Will you check the size and cut line before printing?
We check the cut path before anything goes on the cutter, and every file is checked in-house before production. A proof is available on request; when we design the artwork you always get a final proof to approve.
How quickly can stickers be printed?
Printed vinyl stickers and labels are produced as same-day work, with the ready time for each order confirmed at quotation: artwork approved in the morning is normally ready the same afternoon, and files sent in the evening are printed overnight. Files and payment received by 21:00 go into overnight production for delivery before 9am the next morning, subject to that night’s capacity and confirmed at quotation. How deadlines are worked out is in our urgent print jobs guide, and how the finished job reaches you is in the print delivery guide.
Size, shape, quantity and finish all move the figure. Every job is quoted on its specification on the sticker printing page, what drives print prices generally is in how much printing costs in London, and labels and stickers are standard-rated, as set out in our guide to VAT on printing. Stickers are printed, laminated and cut at our 24/7 London print shop, and the heaviest sticker and label runs go to the studios, breweries and small-batch producers around Shoreditch. The overnight route is on the 24 hour printing page.
Send the artwork and the object
Send the file with the object the sticker goes on, the size, the shape, die-cut or kiss-cut, matt or gloss, the quantity and the time you need them. We come back with a firm figure and a date, and we tell you the largest sticker that fits and whether the text will still read.
Production runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Files and payment by 21:00 go into overnight production for delivery before 9am, subject to that night’s capacity and confirmed at quotation.
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