FAQ

Why are your prices so damn cheap? We keep our prices low by printing in gang runs. We take all of the week's orders and run them together on one sheet. This means that the film, screens, and set up fees are waived. Can I split my order of 250 stickers into two designs? No, our minimum order is for 250 stickers of a single design. Since we need to add 250 sheets per gang run, there's no way to split orders into smaller quantities, thus the minimum order of 250. Can I split my order of 500 (or more) stickers into two designs? Yes, but it would be more expensive. Instead of placing a single order for 500 stickers, you would need to place two orders for 250 stickers each. Even if your art files are identical in size and shape, due to the gang run process we need to treat them as seperate stickers if there are any artwork differences. Is there a price difference for 2 Color vs 4 Color? No, there is no price difference. The reason we can offer such a good rate is that we print 4 color CMYK gang runs, so there's no difference if your design uses 1 color or 10 colors. Could you send me some samples? Yes, simply Send Us your address and we'll mail you some samples as soon as possible. How do I get linked from "Design Services"? Step One. Please be a professional designer or an artist who offers work for hire. (We love creative people of all types, but this section is a collection of firms, designers and artists who offer sticker art for hire. As such, no myspace, flickr or public domains will be linked - for those domains, check above under "How do I get linked from "Friends of the Robot"?) Step Two. Make sure to have a link to Sticker Robot somewhere on your site. We are now partners after all. Step Three. Submit your banner. (175x175 static). Can I see a prototype / sample/ printed proof of my sticker before production? Unfortunately with a silkscreen press you cannot print one-off samples. Since we create a custom product with several days of setup (multiple films, multiple screens, and dozens of unique sticker files per gang run), we aren't able to provide physical proofs of your stickers before we print them. We can however provide a digital pdf proof of what your sticker will look like, just add a request in the "Comments" field when you place an order. How do I set up my file? Remember to design your file in CMYK at 300 or greater dpi and 100% print size. Include any special instructions in a separate file or separate layer. And don't forget the bleed and safety areas. Indicate die lines, hole punches, and kiss cuts on separate layers. Here's an example to help you understand. What is a back print? Back printing is black and white (grayscale) printing on the paper backing that peels off of your sticker. It can be used for additional artwork, or additional information such as your domain name or whatever information you'd like to share. What is a bleed? Artwork must bleed an 1/8" beyond the sticker size on all sides. The die cutting machine can shift up to 3/32" so the bleed are ensures your stickers will still look good when the blades shift a bit. A bleed does not count towards your final sticker size — you do not pay for a bleed because it is cut off. As an example, if your sticker size is 4" x 4" then the file you submit should be 4.25" x 4.25". What is the safety area? All sticker artwork should have an 1/8" safety area. This is the space between the sticker size and the inner "live" area of your sticker. Keep all text and graphics within the live (safety) area. As an example, if your sticker size is 4" x 4" then any important text and graphics should be within 3.75" x 3.75". What is a kiss cut? A kiss cut is a blade that "kisses" the surface of the vinyl and cuts through the sticker but not through the paper backing. The kiss cut allows that part of the sticker to be peeled off, leaving the rest of the sticker on the paper backing. Remember when creating a kiss cut to indicate it on a separate layer and to leave 1/8" inside the kiss cut to allow for a safety area. There should also be 1/4" between all cuts (between kiss cuts and the edge of your sticker and between multiple kiss cuts). Do you offer back splitting? In order to keep our weekly gang run costs as low as possible, back splitting is currently only available as an option for custom quotes (typically over 25,000 stickers). What is a clothing hang tag? A clothing hang tag is basically a vinyl sticker with a hole punch (for hanging on t-shirts, etc). The 110 lb. sticker backing is printable (for sizes, web addresses, etc). Often times people use custom shapes and/or kiss cuts to make the designs more interesting. What is a sticker business card? Sticker face business cards are vinyl stickers printed onto a 110lb. backing paper. Your company info can be added to either side. A new spin on an old classic. Sticker face business cards cost between $158/1000 - $178/1000 (depending whether you print on the backing paper.) You can get pricing for sticker business cards using our pricing calculator. They cost the same as regular stickers — the size is up to you. Are your stickers waterproof, weatherproof, and fade resistant? All of our stickers are made of an outdoor-caliber, durable, waterproof, industrial strength vinyl with an aggressive permanent adhesive. Our stickers have a 3-5 year effective capability against any weather. Before the stickers are cut, we add a 100% clear gloss UV coating. Do you have a standard pre-sized die we can use? Due to the gang-run process a unique die must be created for each print run, therefore for 1,000 stickers we have to charge $40 for a circle, oval, or rounded corners and $50 for a custom shape. Do you offer black and white printing? We do offer black and white printing, but it costs the same as 4 color due to our CMYK gang run printing process. Do you offer custom printing (Pantone colors, etc.)? Yes we do, but in general custom runs cost approximately 4 times as much as our gang run printing. With our gang runs film, screens, and set up fees are waived while a custom run would incur all of those charges. Additionally, we normally only offer custom runs in quantities over 15,000 stickers (unless the stickers are very large, in that case sometimes we can custom run smaller quantities). Contact us for a quote. We want to produce a sticker faced postcard. What is the size range and cost? We can print any size sticker or sticker postcard up to 20" x 27". You can use the Instant Quote Calculator, otherwise here's pricing for various sized 4 color sticker face postcards with B/W back print.
- 3.5" x 5.5" small size postcards will be $459 / 1000 (with B/W back print)
- 4" x 6" standard size postcards will be $560 / 1000 (with B/W back print)
- 6" x 8" jumbo size postcards will be $1100 /1000 (with B/W back print) What is the difference between "Flexo" and Screen Printed stickers? Here's some info about Flexo vs Screen Printing.
- Flexo-Printed materials are not weather proof, therefore only indoor use is recommended.
- Flexo-Printed materials effective outdoor capability is measured by weeks. Silkscreened materials are measured by years.
- Flexo-Printed inks will vary slightly in color from standard screen printed inks.
- Screen-Printed materials are weather proof and waterproof. They may be used indoors and outdoors.
- Screen-Printed materials effective outdoor capability is 2000-3000% higher than Flexo materials.
- Screen-Printed ink is generally 10X-20X thicker than Flexo inks. What's your turnaround time? Stickers ship roughly 2-4 weeks after we receive your payment and press ready artwork, but can take longer. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee shipping dates. If you do not receive tracking information from us within 4 weeks after we receive your payment and press ready artwork then please contact us. Can I get rushed shipping? You can upgrade your shipping to FedEx Overnight (or similar Express service) which may help meet your deadline. Rushed shipping does not affect the turnaround time of 2-4 weeks for printing. Do you ship internationally? Yes, we ship internationally via FedEx Express. Please contact us for a shipping quote. Can I contact you via the telephone? We are a small company and do not offer phone customer service. We are more readily available via email using our Contact Form. If you have a question about pricing, check out our Instant Quote Calculator. If you have a question on timing, read our section about turnaround time.