Large, papery, low-quality stickers like stop-a-douchebag has?

January 3, 2018 8:28 AM

I want to make stickers similar to those used by Stop Xam.

The salient details of these stickers are that they:
* are large (5"x5" or greater)
* made of paper
* rip easily
* can be removed w/ the help of water
* have a custom design

All of the sticker services I have looked at specialize in better quality stickers, especially vinyl and coated paper, and are generally too expensive for my purposes. I also looked at labels (as opposed to stickers) but these are generally too small.

I saw these parking violation stickers, which are similar to what I want in terms of quality, and which offer a "permanent adhesive", but which do not offer custom designs (beyond a standard template).

What company will do this kind of printing?

posted by beerbajay to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

Have you looked into "hi-tac" (high tack) / "permanent" stickers? I found this and this. I also am finding permanent vinyl decals in my google searches.

The first link has 139.5mm (i.e., 5.4") round stickers at 100 labels for £94.50 (127 USD), which seems pretty reasonable (~~1$/pop). Is that reasonably within your budget?

Thanks for the link to the great youtube channel....!
posted by vert canard at 3:59 PM on January 3, 2018

You possibly want a label making service rather than a sticker printing service.

My first thought was if you're doing small quantities, you can print them at home with OfficeDepot/Staples/Avery sticker paper, but googling for a proper product page, I saw that Avery has a printing service.
posted by itesser at 6:16 PM on January 3, 2018

For the DIY version, possibly...the kind of matte paper stickers used to address envelopes and ship packages, commonly referred to as 'Avery Labels', come in full-sheet sizes. You could use the whole 8 1/2 x 11" sheet, or print your message 2 or 4 times per page via home/office printer and cut them in halves or quarters. US $10 for a box of 100.

The question would be about the adhesive; whether they can be soaked off with water or if you gotta get in there with nail polish remover and a razor scraper and elbow grease. But the ubiquity and cheapness of Avery Labels should let you test out your theoretical application easily.
posted by bartleby at 7:50 PM on January 3, 2018

Would wheatpasting work? Can remove with water and patience, suitable for large-scale stickers in whatever paper/design you desire, but I don't know a way to have them be stickers rather than paper + glue.
posted by momus_window at 2:13 PM on January 4, 2018