Personalized stickers are printed in a variety of ways. It is important to note that you, as a company or customer, do not generally dictate how your order prints. Instead, you place your order and any specifications on the quality and durability you need in your stickers. The printer will then print your order on whatever machine or with whatever method they have that will best match the facestock, delivery method, quantity, and finishings you require.

Despite this, we believe it is valuable for eco-conscious companies to understand printing methods and the types of inks used within each printing methodology. Many thoughtful clients will ask, “are sustainable inks used”? We believe a more holistic and helpful question is, “can you tell me what printing methodology and printing inks will be used for my order?”

Digital Printing

Digital means that an electronic image file is converted directly into the image, and the printer lays down dots and pixels to create the image you see on a screen. Digital printing is most often used for low-volume quantities though the definition of “low-volume” differs based on a print shop’s setup. In a diversified print shop, a run for a single art file of more than 10,000 or so units will result in the order shifting from a digital press to an analog press. Digital printing requires no real setup and allows for quick turns from one art file to the other. Because of this, many printers will gang-run their orders meaning they will group all orders for a single sticker size together, and the software will change over the art throughout the run.

Digital Dry Toner: This is similar to a toner printer you would have at home but, in most commercial establishments, would be done at a much larger scale. These printers use dry toners that are pigments encapsulated in resin (tiny plastic particles) instead of liquid ink. This pigment fuses onto the surface of the substrate using heat.

Despite the resin, toner printing is, in some ways, very eco-friendly because it emits no toxins into the environment and has a high-efficiency transfer rate. Very little waste is created, and there is no ink to discard at the end of the process. Almost all the pigment is used for artwork, whereas other printing inks have a carrier that evaporates during the process. Toner ink can be de-inked by recyclers and repulpers making it a suitable ink for products destined for recycling. Additionally, toner cartridges are typically collected by their manufacturers and reused.

Ink(s) used: Dry, digital toner pigments (no carrier).

Digital Liquid Toner: i.e. HP Indigo ElectroInk. This printer, which is becoming increasingly common in print shops, combines the concept of offset printing technology with digital toner technology. With the HP Indigo press, ink is transferred to a heated blanket which melts and blends the ink particles into a smooth film. The ink is then transferred to the facestock. The machine uses proprietary HP ElectroInk which contains charged pigmented particles encompassed in resin within a liquid carrier that is diluted with water or oil.

Ink(s) used: Resin encapsulated dry toner pigments immersed in a liquid carrier (water and/or oil).

Digital Inkjet: Inkjet is a common form of home printing, but it is not used frequently for commercial sticker printing. Ink sprays out from the printhead and absorbs into the facestock while some of the carrier evaporates. This printing method differs from toner, where pigments fuse into a facestock. Given this difference, inkjet printing may result in a slightly more faded look than toner.

Ink(s) used: Water-based pigment or dye inks.

Analog and Conventional Printing

Analog or conventional printing involves an electronic image file converted into a printing plate or screen. The printing press is set up with the plate or screen and the printing substrate. Ink is transferred to the plate and then onto the substrate. This type of printing typically produces higher-quality prints and closer color matching than digital printing.

Two types of analog printing, flexographic and offset, are extremely fast, making the per-unit cost lower than digital. However, the setup times are higher (often significantly high), making this printing less cost-effective for small runs. Flexographic and offset printing are used by many label companies (and a small set of sticker companies) for high-volume orders. Screen printing is typically reserved for a small subset of orders that require extremely high quality, finish, and durability.

Flexographic: An image is converted into a flexible, photopolymer plate that is an exact mirror of one color of the printed image. This plate is wrapped around a printing cylinder. Ink is then transferred from the ink well, onto an anilox roller, and onto the printing plate, which then prints directly onto the substrate.

Ink(s) used: Water or solvent-based inks. Additionally, innovative, eco-friendly inks such as Algae Inks are available, allowing for a renewable pigment.

Offset: Ink is transferred onto an aluminum printing plate, which prints the complete wet image onto a blanket, which then transfers the ink onto the substrate.

Ink(s) used: Solvent, soy, or vegetable-based inks. Additionally, innovative, eco-friendly inks such as Algae Inks are available, allowing for a renewable pigment.

Screen Print: An image is burned onto a screen. Ink is placed on top of the screen and scraped down, letting ink transfer onto the substrate below only where the image has been burned onto the screen.

Ink(s) used: Water, solvent-based, or plastisol inks. Additionally, innovative, eco-friendly inks such as Algae Inks are available, allowing for a renewable pigment.

Learn more about inks on our blog: What is the Most Sustainable Ink? | How Algae Printer Ink is Changing the Industry

UV Varnish Finish

UV Varnish is a tough, typically matte, plastic-free clear coat for eco-friendly protection and durability while enhancing the brilliance of the ink colors and protecting them against sunlight. This finish is recycle compatible when used on paper stickers and those stickers are placed on corrugated and paper products because the varnish disintegrates during the paper recycling process ensuring a clean recycling stream.

EcoEnclose varnish paper stickers are recommended over laminate paper stickers because the coating is plastic-free, making them an ideal option for a plastic-free packaging strategy.

Laminate Finish

Laminate is a glossy or matte plastic film for increased protection and durability while adding sheen and vibrancy to its ink colors. This finish is recycle compatible when used on paper stickers and those stickers are placed on corrugated and paper products because the laminate is skimmed off and discarded during the paper recycling process and the base of the sticker is recycled with the substrate. However, the laminate film may not always be removed completely and therefore is a potential contaminant to the recycling stream.

EcoEnclose laminate paper stickers are recommended over varnish paper stickers when you're looking for a paper sticker with more durability against moisture.

Holographic Finish

A hologram is a 3D image which is typically formed when multiple lasers or comparable light sources interfere. Something that is holographic involves multiple colors or light frequencies interacting with each other; so a hologram will typically produce a holographic image or reflection. Holographic stickers with a gloss finish provide the maximum holographic effect while matte finish has a more subtle holographic effect (Source: Sticky Brand)

Glitter Finish

A glitter finish on a sticker can be simulated with a foil hologram, or actual glitter flakes can be used, typically a super fine transparent metallic glitter. The latter can be left uncoated for a grainy texture or laminated for a glossy or matte finish that would preserve the longevity of the glitter and sticker.

A release liner is a material that carries a substrate with a pressure-sensitive adhesive until that adhesive is ready for its next step. It is sometimes called a backing or carrier.

Silicone-coated supercalendered virgin paper is the material traditionally used for release liners. The silicone coating gives the liner its release properties. Release liners can also be plastic film-based or made with metalized papers and foils as their base. All of these materials are either not recyclable or extremely difficult to recycle. A handful of manufacturers in the US have the equipment needed to recycle standard silicone-coated liners by separating the silicone from the paper so the paper can be recycled. More often than not, the landfill is where sticker release liners typically end up due to the materials used for most release liners on the market today.

EcoEnclose is proud to offer a unique and innovative release liner - the Zero Waste release liner - made with 100% post-consumer waste material and is curbside recyclable with paper products.

Learn more about release liners and why recycled release liners are important on our blog: What Are Release Liners?

Our stickers are designed for recyclability, but not in isolation. Select a facestock to support the recyclability of the substrate.

Many sticker companies offer disingenuous claims that their stickers are biodegradable, compostable, or recyclable. We say disingenuous because stickers rarely meet their end-of-life without being stuck to something. That something - whether it be a piece of paper, a shipping box, a plastic water bottle, a paper mailer, tissue paper, a laptop - is considered the primary package. When considering the end-of-life of a sticker, one must ask how stickers will impact the end-of-life of their primary packaging.

As long as stickers do not represent a large portion by size of their substrate, they will not change the end of life of that substrate. However, they do introduce some contamination that - if they represent too large of a portion of the substrate by weight - could cause degradation of the reclaimed material.

For example, if a poly mailer is covered end-to-end with paper stickers, reclaimers will find it more challenging to re-pelletize that poly material. If a large poly mailer contains a single 4x6" shipping label, the shipping label will have a negligible impact on the reclaimer's ability to pelletize the poly mailer.

For stickers that get placed on permanent items - like car bumpers or telephone poles - the question might be, how will this sticker behave exposed to the elements long-term? These stickers typically need to be made with a durable plastic facestock. However, durable plastic facestock is not going to biodegrade over time. The best hope for these stickers is that they remain intact long-term until their substrate is discarded, typically into the landfill.

Even though appropriately-sized stickers do not typically impact the end of life of their substrate, some facestocks are better than others. In most cases, a paper facestock sticker will have the most minimal impact on the substrate's end of life, though they offer the least durability. BOPP and vinyl are the most durable, but they will bring in the highest level of contamination to a recycling or composting stream.