StickerYou Blog

Plenty of sticker materials don’t hold up well when exposed to water. If not made for it, the sticker will peel, run, fade, and lose its quality immediately when wet. This limits where you can apply your sticker and sabotages its longevity.
So that you can place your stickers on your water bottles, lunch boxes, cars, and any other object that will be exposed to wet conditions, they need to be waterproof. Waterproof stickers give you the confidence that they will retain their quality even when frequently wet or tossed in the dishwasher.
You can waterproof your existing stickers by adding a protective laminate on top of it, or take it a step further and create your own with waterproof paper, solvent ink, and a strong waterproof seal.

Step 1: Create Your Design
First, you need to create your design. If you’re making stickers for personal use, you can simply grab a free-to-use image from royalty-free platforms online or make your own using tools like Canva. This design platform has tons of images, text, and other features that make it easy for you to create a design for your stickers.
If you are making waterproof stickers for a business, on the other hand, you’ll need to make your own design or licensed art. Procreate allows you to draw your own design digitally, coming with a range of features that are beginner-friendly. You can also create your design on paper and then scan it to save it on your computer.
When your design is ready, make sure to save it as a PNG file. This makes the background transparent, allowing you to easily cut around your sticker with your cutting machine.

Step 2: Print Out Your Stickers
Now it’s time to print out your stickers. For this, you’ll need the right sticker paper and a high-quality printer. Since you’re going for a waterproof finish, use printable vinyl paper. This sticker material holds up well against water exposure and prints your design with a more vivid color.
The printable vinyl paper will come in either matte or glossy finishes. While you can choose the finish that suits your design best, matte vinyl paper has stronger waterproofing potential.
When it comes to the printer you should use, the most important thing is to make sure it’s compatible with printable vinyl. Your paper’s packaging will typically have instructions telling you what type of printer is best for it.
You should also consider the type of ink you use. Solvent ink is best for waterproof stickers as it can hold up well to water exposure. However, it’s worth noting that this ink is expensive. If you’re not using the stickers for professional use, any ink can be a good start.
When your printer, ink, and paper are all set up, you’re ready to print your stickers. Make sure to adjust the printer settings before hitting the “print” button. Some settings you have to adjust include the presents, media or print quality, and media or paper type. Most importantly, ensure that “bleed” is turned off.

Step 3: Laminate Your Stickers
Laminating your stickers is a necessary step to make them truly waterproof. This adds an extra layer of protection on top of your sticker so it doesn’t get damaged when washed or exposed to rain and other wet conditions.
There are two ways to laminate your stickers: cold lamination or hot lamination.

Step 4: Cutting Your Waterproof Stickers Once you’ve laminated your printed sticker sheets, you’re ready to cut. If you’re only producing stickers in small quantities, you can cut them by hand using a pair of scissors. But for larger production runs, you may need the help of a cutting machine, which can also ensure a more seamless and perfectly shaped outline.
If you’re using a cutting machine like Cricut, you need to adjust the settings to achieve the perfect cut. For this, you’ll be working on the Cricut Design Space platform. Make sure to edit the material settings, adjusting them according to your sticker type.
We also recommend using a cutting mat to help grip your sticker sheet into place while the machine cuts through the laminate. We recommend using a mat with a strong grip so the edges are held securely in place. The Cricut Design Space platform will have a Mat Preview screen that shows you how to position your sheet onto the mat for the best results.
When you begin cutting using your Cricut machine, keep in mind that there may be cases when the blade doesn’t cut the sticker all the way through. This is because of the thickness of the laminate. Before lifting the sticker, run another cutting process using the same settings and as many times as needed until the machine cuts the stickers completely.
When that’s done, you can proceed to remove the stickers from the mat — but take extra care doing so. To prevent pulling off the backing paper, peel the extra sheets around the stickers first and then lift each individual sticker with a sharp tool.

Cold lamination does not require heat or a laminating machine. Instead, you use sheets of adhesive laminate, stick them over your sticker with a squeegee, and then cut the excess off. You can also use a laminating machine for cold lamination, running the sticker sheets through the machine in the “cold” setting to get that extra press.
Hot lamination, on the other hand, requires the use of a laminate machine. Here, you put your sticker in between a pouch of laminate paper and then feed it through the machine, which then seals the laminate using thermal heat. While doing this, make sure the pouch is stretched when you insert it so it doesn’t come out crooked.
Hot lamination is most preferred because it’s able to seal your sticker in place better, giving it more waterproofing potential.