For the last 2 years here at UNUM, 90% of our revenue has come from sticker sales. Throughout this journey, we have tried about a dozen different online sticker printshops, we even tried to do it ourselves, but lamination proved to be a tedious process. By testing out all these different vendors, we came to find our go-to printers, our guerilla marketing printers, and also had a couple of bad experiences along the way that made us not want to work with some other printers in the near future.

As an effort to bring resources to our fellow small art business community – or to anyone that’s looking to order high-quality stickers online, really – we decided to order sticker samples from a variety of sticker printers and review them thoroughly so you can make informed decisions and hopefully save some time and money.

Also, to save some money, we just ordered from 5 different print shops we already use; we already have a couple more on the list to try out for future installments of this guide in which we will try to find some hidden gems and try other small printers.

Let the review begin!

THE PRINTSHOPS

We will test and compare five different custom printers for this first installment.

• Sticker Mule
• Sticker Ninja
• Zug Monster
• Sticker App
• Sticky Brand

THE EXPERIMENT

We ordered the minimum order quantity possible from each of the vendors. All sticker printers we used for this comparison accepted PDF files – kind of. More on that later –  and since our illustrations are made with vectors, this file format works perfectly.  We sent the same file and opted for their default sample size or a standard 3x3in sticker option from their menu of options. Matte lamination was chosen. They were shipped with the least expensive option available. We requested 1 design revision in all of them and accepted the revision on the first try.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

This original artwork is inspired by Ari Aster’s Midsommar horror film – one of our favorites! As you may have noticed, we love possums so there was no way we disguised this cute little fella as the May queen.

We do have this sticker for sale on a XL 5in version and also on a 3in version.

WHAT ARE WE COMPARING?

BEFORE ARRIVAL

• What’s the minimum order quantity?
• How much was the final order price?
• Are there any other lamination options?
• What’s the price (with tax)?
• What’s the shipping price?
• What’s the sticker thickness?
• How long did the first proof take?
• How long did the second proof take after a revision was requested?
• How long did the sticker production take?

AFTER ARRIVAL

• How many stickers actually came in the order?
• Are there any defects?
• Color accuracy and quality.

MISC.

• Extras and inserts
• Customer service
• Other

SHORT VERSION OF THE RESULTS

You can visit our Data Sheets with all the details here.

If you want to read a little bit more in-depth information about the results, please continue scrolling. We did an intensive review of all of them.

Sticker Mule

Sticker Mule is a crowd favorite. If you’re into sticker printing, you have most likely already heard about them. As a matter of fact, we are amazed if you have not heard about them before. For a long time, they gave out $500 every time they tweeted as a marketing stunt. Heck, they just released their own social media platform.

The minimum order quantity on Sticker Mule is 10 units in a 3in size. You can find them in their Samples section. Interestingly, they do not do gloss laminate stickers, only matte laminated stickers; however, in this section, you can order samples from most of their products, including holographic stickers, clear stickers, and magnets, among others.

We paid a total of $9.72 after tax setting the unit price to $1.03. It is important to mention that they offer free domestic shipping on all orders.

Sticker Mule provides proofs fast, and when we say fast, we mean FAST. We sent the file at 10:22 pm and received the proof at 11:38 pm – less than an hour. As a matter of fact, there have been times we receive the proof in less than 20 minutes. They also provide the option to skip proofing if your file is high resolution or if you have an account and want to place a re-order. It is important to note that this was late at night, and they were still able to provide a design proof.

The artwork we provided was not exactly 3x3 in. The production artist adjusted it to 3x2.98”.

The next morning, we asked for a simple change. We asked them to make the outline smaller. This time they took 37 minutes to return the second proof. These guys promise all proofs under four, so we assume that they’re working 24/7.

Thirteen business days later, we received a small branded bubble mailer with our stickers in it. Inside the package, we found 3 branded stickers, 1 insert for the social media platform we mentioned before, and our custom stickers sealed in a clear plastic bag. Instead of the 10 stickers we ordered, we received 12 units. From experience, we can say that receiving extras is something usual with most sticker printers. After inspecting the stickers we found out that there are no factory defects on them.

Sticker Ninja

Sticker Ninja was recommended to me by another fellow sticker maker (Check out Mariam’s work here). Sticker Ninja carries a couple of materials that I’ve not seen anywhere else. Their Vaporwave material has a subtle holographic effect that’s unique. They can also do localized effects as they have the equipment necessary to print on white ink to cover those areas on which you don’t want the glitter or the holo effect to show. Check out these Mob Boss Sponge Bob, and Crying Togepi stickers we made with Sticker Ninja. As an additional note, if you don’t know which material to choose, they have a “Choose for me” option that will make material recommendations from their production artists for your specific artwork. That’s how our Fake It Til’ You Make It Chamaleon sticker was made.

The minimum order quantity on Sticker Ninja is 10 stickers for matte or glossy or 5 stickers for anything else (holo, glitter, clear, etc). You can find it in their Custom Samples section.

Their website states, “All samples come in a 3×3″ size or 9 square inches. Need something different? Reach out and we can talk! Turn around time is roughly 3 business days from proof approval. 1-2 business days available during check out.  We ended up paying $20 after tax with free shipping, setting the price per sticker at $2; the most expensive per unit of the bunch.

We sent the file at 10:33 pm on June 6th and received the proof at 12:03 pm the next day. Sticker Ninja sends you a PDF with the proof and a small comment from the production artist. Usually, they say cool things about your design. We requested a change at 12:30 pm the same day we receive the proof and got the response almost an hour later at 1:26 pm.

We must add that a couple of days after our proof was approved, they sent us a heads-up email. Sticker Ninja had a lot of pending orders in queue, so production may take a little longer; however, they sent us a 20% off your next order coupon to make up for the delays.

Ten business days later, we received a package in a flat rate USPS envelope. Inside it, it contained 3 glossy Sticker Ninja logo stickers and our stickers on a sealed plastic bag. We ordered 10 stickers but received 18 in total. That means we received 8 extra stickers that, in theory, reduced the price per sticker to $1.11/ea. We assume that they have a vinyl roll where they print their samples, and they fit as many as possible from edge to edge. 

After inspecting the stickers, we found out that there are no evident factory defects on them.

Zug Monster

We stumbled upon Zug Monster on Instagram. What’s Zug, you ask? We don’t know, and their site has no clear explanation. What they have those other sticker printers we’ve tried don’t is local pick up; if you happen to be in Santa Ana, California you can pick them up in person and save in shipping. They also have some special materials to pick from, such as wood stickers and Raised Spot UV stickers. In the past we’ve tried their sticker sheets for our Careless Bears Collection, Sailor Moon Collection, and DIY Spiderverse.  We must say that their pricing is pretty competitive.

The minimum order quantity on Zug Monster is 10 stickers for any of their materials. You can also pick the option to add a free “Easy Peel” tab. You can order the samples through their regular sticker ordering section. We ended up paying $27.17 for 10 matte laminated stickers on their 6mm material. It’s important to note that the stickers were $15.99, but their least expensive shipping option was an $11.18 Priority Mail option. This brings the price per sticker to $1.60.

Zug Monster offers free shipping to order over $49.

Zug Monster has an option to provide an instant proof if you upload a PNG or a PDF file. We attempted to upload the same PDF file we’ve used with everyone else, but it did not seem to go through. We decided to export the file as a PNG and uploaded it just to see the instant proof, it all looked good. Nevertheless, we still decided to skip the instant proofing, and emailed the same PDF file every other printer received. We sent the file at 10:46pm on June 6 and received the first proof 4 days later at noon. So far, the slowest of them all.

We requested an outline change as we’ve done with everyone else and received a second proof 2 days later. Eleven working days later, on June 21st, we received a package that contained our sticker with no inserts on a custom Zug Monster resealable bag; HOWEVER, the design had some flaws. The eyes of the possum were completely black. It looked like a raccoon. Also, somewhere in the process of retrying the file upload, we choose gloss laminate instead of matte. We returned to the proofs they sent us, and we discovered it was our fault. For some reason, the same file that we’ve sent to everyone else came out differently on their system, and we did not notice. We decided to re-do the process and instead of sending the regular PDF, we sent a PNG. Now everything seemed right. This time whole process – proofing, printing, and shipping – was completed in 10 calendar days.

We used this opportunity to compare both the flawed stickers and the new order. For the flawed order, we received 12 units instead of 10. For the correct order, we received 5 extra stickers and a Zug Monster insert. We’ve no clue why they sent more extras this time. We did not provide details of our issue. After inspecting the stickers, we found out that there are no evident factory defects on them.

Sticker App

StickerApp is a particular printer to go to. They’re based in Sweden – coincidently the same place as the movie Midommar our sticker was inspired by –, but that doesn’t stop them from proving competitive pricing and a variety of materials. A couple of our best-seller stickers, like our see-through Gameboy Trio stickers, were made by them.

We’ve to point out that their design wizard is amazing. You upload the file, and you’re able to adjust the cutline thickness, the color, add extra details, and pick the material. You have to see it to actually believe how well-thought it is. In case your proof doesen’t look exactly like you expect it, you can always leave a comment and StickerApp’s production artists will handle it for you. That said, we uploaded the same file and were shown an instant sample; hence, we did not have a chance to request a revision as we saw exactly what we asked on the screen.

The order was submitted on June 6 at 10:51pm and received in 7 working days – June 15. The fastest of them all. Just take into account that to make a fair comparison, take into account we did not have to request changes and wait for a second proof.

The minimum order quantity will depend on the final size of your sticker. For the size of our sticker (3” on the longest side), the minimum was 26 units. We end up paying $28.15. Free shipping on all orders, by the way. That brings the unit price to $1.08.

Inside the package we received, we had a sticker sheet insert that showed what we think is their metallic finish also worth mentioning is that this the only sticker printer that we know of that’s able to print on the back of stickers. That’s the greatest level of customization we’ve seen for stickers. The order was packed in a thick resealable bag with a custom print on top. It doesen’t end there. It also had its back printed with some funny details. After all these bells and whistles, we finally unpacked the stickers. Out of the 26 units ordered, we received, 35. That means we got 9 extra stickers. We must add that the print and material quality in these is noticeable different. The laminate made the stickers grip each other quite strongly, and the details on this intricate design look sharp. As expected, after inspecting the stickers we found out that there are no evident factory defects on them.

Sticky Brand

Last but not least in our list of sticker printers, we’ve Sticky Brand. Based off Vermont. They claim to use eco-friendly ink and recyclable sticker materials. Although we’ve not tried all of their materials, they have a couple that catches our eye; their neon vinyl stickers and their glow-in-the-dark material that we’ve used for our I Want to Believe Mr. Burns and our Gengar stickers. As well they take pride in their signature Bombproof™ material.

Right off the bat, their website states that the minimum order quantity is 25 units. We sent the PDF and placed the order. The total was $40.70. Out of the amount paid, $6.95 was the shipping cost. Cost per unit comes out to $1.35. Not the most expensive per unit of the printers that are being compared, but definitely the most expensive order over all. They do offer free shipping for orders over $99.

The order was placed at 10:58 pm on Monday, June 06. The proof was received the next morning at 9:40 am. We requested a change and the next day at 2pm we got our second proof. After approval, we received the package 10 working days after.

The package received contained only the stickers. No inserts. Out of the 25 stickers ordered, we received 30. It is important to note that the laminate has a peculiar grainy finish.