Blog.Stickercutting.com - Custom Vinyl Stickers to Custom Ideas

Proven Materials, Staff and Machinery = High Quality Products!

Our #1 goal is to provide a high quality product to our customers.  One of the ways that we ensure this is by using high quality, name brand products.  Our Inks, Machinery, Vinyl, Laminates Banner Materials and Magnetic Sign materials are proven in the Industry to perform the way that we claim.  We have also done internal testing for years to backup these manufacturer claims. 

With names like Oracal (Vinyl and Laminate), Avery, Roland Eco Sol Max Inks, Ultra Flex and Magnum Magnetics, you can ensure that your custom products are created from high quality base materials.

With great base products, comes the need for great machinery to take a blank canvas and turn it into a masterpiece.  We are constantly keeping up to date on the best machinery available to keep our production process as cutting edge as possible.  Our current Roland machinery is the best money can buy, and we'll continue to update these machines as soon as they are available.

With our constant stock available for your custom products, we can ensure that we will never run out of materials in the middle of your rush print job.  With years of experience, we understand what we need to have on hand at all times of production.  When a printer goes down, we're proud to say our customers will never know it.  We have mutiple printers on site working daily,  plus the ability to fix 99% of the problems that could go wrong. The chances of a delay because of a printer going down are very slim.  We've never encountered multiple printers going down at once.  If the worst ever arises, we're ready to ensure your job won't be delayed.

Our ability to be flexible, understanding and maintaining our high level of customer service have all been main aspects of keeping our customers coming back.  We have the ability to change orders on the fly, turnaround orders in a short time and enjoy "saving the day" many times a week when "other" printers simply can't get the job done on time, or correctly.

When you need one on one service, a high quality product and want a company that you know will get the job done correctly, contact us, we'll be glad to prove it to you!

- Nathan / Stickercutting.com

Some of our customers from the past month.

I've randomly selected some of our customers from the past month and posted pictures of their completed stickers.  We've been so busy, our blog has gotten thrown to the side in exchange for keeping up with all aspects of production.

All of these stickers are digitally printed onto white vinyl and then contour cut to a custom shape.  We truly enjoy seeing what our customers design and send to us for production.  Seeing the artwork going from digital to physical sticker form is still great fun for us, even after thousands of stickers and countless loyal customers.

Look for these applied to an energy drink packet, the back of a car or on the side of a motorcycle in your area!  You never know, you may just see something we've created! 

- Nathan / Stickercutting.com

Two years and still going! Our stickers put to the test..

We're based in West Virginia, a place where weather isn't exactly pleasant at all times.  We have a great mix of the four seasons, with winter seeming to last the longest.  We feel like this gives our products the best chance to be exposed to a variety of outdoor conditions.  This includes 95 degree temperatures in the summer and sub zero temperatures in the winter. 

We guarantee our digitally printed stickers to last 3-5 years outdoors.  We know they will last this long based on our inks, laminate and vinyl ratings, but we enjoy putting our own products through the test just to see for ourselves.

We applied a few customer stickers to an uncovered outdoor surface a little over 2 years ago and are happy to report that they still look as good as the day we applied them.  I don't notice any fading, lifting or deterioration.  We've had many of our laminated products out with customers for well past this length of time, with no issues to report from any of them.

We enjoy keeping our customers updated on our product testing and welcome you to do your own testing in your own conditions.  We always have samples ready to go for you to see, test, attempt to destroy, etc.  Durability is a main focus with our products and doing our own internal testing makes us confident that you will be able to use our products to the fullest in almost any condition. 

- Nathan / Stickercutting.com

Keepin' it going for 2009.

Yes, we've made it to 2009 and so have you!  Congratulations! It seems like just yesterday we were running Stickercutting.com and it looked like it had been created by a 5 year old and then sent through a battlefield.  We've come a long ways and we sure are proud all of our customers have stuck by our side for this long.  Sure, we didn't have the most beautiful website back in the day, but we had the same mentality, the same dedication quality and the same drive for satisfaction we have now.

So, what's new for 2009?

We're testing a new material that can be applied to the surface, removed, and then reapplied seamlessly.  We think you'll like it when it gets through the testing phase.  This will allow you to do temporary graphics that look like their permanent, then wallah - easily removed for another day or another event.  It's not static cling, and we're still debating on a catchy name for it.  These will be great for the weekend racer guys who don't want to have a painful removal every weekend just to make their vehicle beautiful for the track.

Overall, 2008 put is in such a happy place with our products, design, printing, shipping, etc. that we feel like if we change it for 2009 too much, we'll be messing up a good thing.  We'll tweak things here and there just to keep you on your toes.  Staying idle isn't our thing, so we won't bore you with that.

Bookmark this page, we'll update it as things come up!  We plan on doing some customer spotlights as well, so you can see just how creative some of our customers are with our products!

- Nathan / Stickercutting.com

Merry Christmas from Stickercutting.com!

It's another year of celebrating the Holidays and we're as excited as you are to see Grandma and her creative caricature Christmas sweaters!  We have a few new products up our sleeve, which you'll have to stick around and see for 2009!  Materials are getting more and more advanced every year, which means we are too.  Grandmas sweaters may stay the same from year to year, but we are always changing.  We appreciate everyones support making 2008 so great!  With the loyality from you, we'll have another great year working through more creative projects with each and every one of you. 

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from Stickercutting.com!

- Nathan / Stickercutting.com

Business Card Stickers - A creative way to keep in touch

Our customers are always looking for new, fresh ideas to advertise.  Sure, business cards aren't a new concept by any means, but they are a proven way to keep your customers in touch.  With our digitally printed vinyl stickers, we can take your business card artwork and print it onto vinyl.  Because of the durability of the vinyl, they will last great in a wallet or they can easily be applied to any smooth surface. 

The custom sticker concept allows you to take your advertising creativity to the next level by giving your customer to apply your company information anywhere!  With our contour cutting technology, we can also contour cut your logo and allow the customer to peel your logo and apply it elsewhere.  A custom business card sticker will allow your company to stand out from the rest!

As with all of our digitally printed stickers, we can produce any artwork that you can design in exact detail!

- Nathan / Stickercutting.com

Vinyl Sticker Application - Just Peel and Stick, Right?

Application of a vinyl sticker can be a tricky ordeal without some tricks of the trade.  Many simply peel and stick their sticker and assume it will be just fine.  This isn't the case.  Surface preparation is the most important part of vinyl application.

We recommend applying vinyl to a smooth or relatively smooth surface.  This surface should be painted if it's applied to wood, or at least sealed in some manner.  Chipping paint or potentially chipping paint won't make for a good application down the road.  Latex paint is a good choice for wood, while enamel paint is great for metals.  Any smooth surface on a car is just fine.

To clean the area for application, wipe down the area with isopropyl alcohol (very fast drying) to ensure that no grease or grime is present.  Isopropyl alcohol can be found in the pharmacy isle of any department store. We always clean the surface twice to ensure we hit all areas as well as possible. 

 Applying a small sticker is as easy as peel and stick.

 Larger stickers, can be more difficult to apply when fighting air bubbles.  We recommend putting 2 drops of soap into a spray bottle filled with water.  Any dish soap is fine, stay away from the moisurizer style soaps.  As you peel the sticker from the backing, spray the sticky part of the sticker.  Apply the sticker in it's final position and squeegee out the water.  As you push out the water, the air will go with it.  You will see the sticker start to apply and get smoother.  We work from the center out to ensure we hit every area of the sticker.  If application tape is present on the sticker, this can be removed slowly to ensure you don't lift the sticker from the surface. 

The remaining water will evaporate and the sticker will adhere to the surface perfectly, with no harm to the adhesive.  Be sure the adhesive is a solvent based (not water based) or the water will harm the adhesive.  We only use solvent based adhesive vinyl to ensure this application will be successful each and every time.

Please e-mail us if you have any questions about your application.  This is just a brief overview to get your feet wet in vinyl application.

- Nathan / Stickercutting.com

Question us, we're quick to answer.

With many of our customers being first time buyers of our prodcts, we know that questions will arise.  Using the latest web based chat technology, your questions can now be answered instantly.  This chat button is at the top right hand corner of every page and with one simple click, we can clarify any questions that you may have.  We're by a computer creating your beautiful products from 9am to 5pm Monday - Friday (EST) so stop on by.  We'd enjoy hearing what you think of the site, what we could improve or anything else that you'd like to vent to your neighborly Stickercutting.com staff.

  

Many customers use our chat for basic questions that come about when reading our website.  We're bound to miss something in relation to your custom project, so we're glad to clarify these issues instantly, instead of wasting time sending a full e-mail to us.

- Nathan  / Stickercutting.com

We solve the mystery for you - how our digital vinyl stickers are made.

We enjoy watching the show "How it's made" on the Discovery channel probably just as much as many of you do.  We wanted to create our own version of this to show everyone just how our printed products are made.  

The video only shows one printer, but we actually have two of the biggest and baddest print and cut machines on the market today.  We use these for our event banners, vinyl stickers, magnetic signs and large format prints.  With this process, we can guarantee duplicate prints on a wide variety of materials.

What the video doesn't show is the trimming process after the vinyl portion of the stickers are cut by the computer controlled cut head.  We cut all of the stickers by hand into individual stickers from their larger, 54" x 39" sheets down to your individual stickers.  Your actual stickers are computer cut, we simply cut the paper in between the stickers to make them into individuals.  We wouldn't attempt to cut the vinyl itself, that wouldn't result in very consistent products!  Because we cut them by hand, it's easy enough for us to cut your stickers into a certain number on a sheet.  You can simply peel the sticker from the sheet as you need it.

- Nathan / Stickercutting.com

I notice you don't print onto clear vinyl, why not?

1/31/12010 Updated:  We now print onto clear vinyl, see our new product here:  http://www.stickercutting.com/index.php?source=clear

 

We currently only print onto White vinyl with our digital printing process, but often get requests for printing onto clear vinyl.  Yes, we “can” print onto clear vinyl, but it doesn’t look good enough for us to provide it to our customers. The ink with digital printing is notoriously transparent, making your sticker very difficult to view if you apply it to anything other then a white surface.  A sticker printed onto clear vinyl, will look washed out if you applied it to glass. To create a product that has eye popping color, the clear vinyl needs a layer of white to be printed before the color is printed. 

 

There are a few other options that may work for you, such as our die-cut stickers, which may (depending on the detail of your image) allow your image to be cut out of the vinyl, instead of being printed into clear.

 

We can also print your sticker with a background color, such as black.  When applied to a window, the black background will all but disappear, giving you nearly the same effect as clear vinyl.

- Nathan / Stickercutting.com