We have many different custom printed self-adhesive products, ranging from full colour custom stickers with either a gloss or matte finish, or paper stickers for indoor use. We also produce custom bumper stickers, custom window stickers, car stickers and pretty much any other kind of vinyl sticker you can think of.

We have many customers that want to buy custom stickers for the very first time. What can start off as quite a simple task often becomes quite complicated. Do I choose between a paper or a vinyl material? Is the vinyl going to be waterproof? Will the printing fade over time? Do I need to laminate my stickers? These are the type of questions we are asked.

To answer these questions and more we have decided to dust down our keyboard and write a few words to assist you in your purchase.

How long will the printing last before my custom stickers fade?

Unfortunately, the answer is not straightforward. The durability of your vinyl stickers depends on a number of factors, not least how much exposure the stickers will get to direct sunlight. Since it is the harmful UV rays that come from the sun that is responsible for the fading, much will depend upon where the vinyl, once applied, spends its life on this earth. The printing on vinyl that is stuck to a rock in the middle of the Sahara Desert will fade much quicker than if it is stuck to a lamp-post in the heart of Scotland (no offence to the Scots, but there really is not much sun in Scotland). Since there has never been a paint or ink that is completely resistant to UV light, this rule applies to all self-adhesive vinyl, no matter which technology was used to print it.

Therefore, if someone guarantees you that the printing on self-adhesive vinyl will last for a minimum number of years then that person is either lying or does not understand the concept of fading or the effects of UV light.

That being said, the custom stickers produced by Edge Signs all are printed using inks that have the maximum possible UV stability. You can be confident when purchasing stickers with our company that you are getting the very best technology can provide. None of the printing methods that we use are anything like the water based printing you would use at home. On the contrary, our inks can easily last for up to 3 years in every day outdoor conditions without showing signs of fading. Of course, this is an average. Actual time may be longer or shorter than this.

Do I need to laminate my custom stickers?

It is often thought that custom stickers need to be laminated in order to survive outdoors, or that by laminating they then become waterproof. Both of these beliefs are incorrect.

All of the inks used in our vinyl printing are UV stable and suitable for outdoor use. These inks are either mild solvent based, UV cured or resins, meaning they are not water based and will not wash away with rain. Since the vast majority of our custom stickers are printed on self-adhesive vinyl they are also waterproof. The only non-waterproof custom sticker that we manufacture is our self-adhesive paper one. Our economy sticker is for short-term outdoor applicatons (3-4 years), whereas our premium vinyl has a outdoor lifespan of 7 years.

So, if my printed stickers are fully waterproof, and the inks UV stable then why would I laminate them?

The answer is when they are likely to be scratched.

Because most modern printing methods have only a superficial penetration of ink on the surface of the media, our custom stickers will always be susceptible to abrasion, scuffing and scratching. In addition, solvent-ink printed stickers also can have the inks wiped cleaned with a solvent cleaner. In these scenarios, the stickers should be laminated. To give specific examples, custom-made stickers should always be laminated if they are going on vehicles, bikes, skateboards, wake-boards, heavy industrial machinery, or any situation where they might be cleaned with a solvent cleaning fluid.