Cheap Sticker Printing Tips: How to Save on Your Orders

Cheap Sticker Printing Tips

Today, we’ll cover six tips for ordering "cheap sticker printing." By reducing waste and making a few method adjustments, you can easily cut costs.

We hope these tips will be helpful for manufacturers who use stickers and labels, as well as for those who are considering placing an order.

Order Directly from a Sticker Printing Company

Many people assume that any printing company can handle stickers and labels, but in reality, there are different types of printing companies.

Printing companies can be categorized into several types, such as publication printing, commercial printing, form printing, and special printing. Within these categories, companies specializing in sticker and label printing fall under special printing.

In any industry, it is common to outsource projects that cannot be handled in-house to partner companies. The printing industry is no exception, and such outsourcing often involves additional fees ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands of yen.

Therefore, it's usually more cost-effective to place orders directly with a company specializing in stickers and labels. These specialized companies can offer cost-saving material recommendations, expert advice, and flexible responses to delivery schedules.

For instance, consider using specific keywords like "sticker printing company" or "label printing company" in your search.

Choose Standard Shapes and Sizes

The final finishing of stickers and labels typically involves cutting them into the desired shapes using tools like Thomson blades or corrosive blades (also known as "cutting dies"), except in cases where cut finishing is not used. To reduce the cost of the cutting die, we recommend opting for standard shapes and sizes.

Most sticker printing companies keep a range of cutting dies in various dimensions, such as standard sizes like 100×100mm, 120×60mm, and Φ150mm.

When requesting a quote, you may be able to have the cutting die cost waived by asking, "Can we use any of your existing cutting dies?" A cooperative printing company will likely agree, so don't hesitate to make the inquiry.

Using existing cutting dies can save you between $1,000 and $8,000, depending on the dimensions.

Opt for Letterpress Printing

There are many methods for printing stickers and labels, including letterpress printing, offset printing, silk printing, on-demand printing, and flexo printing, each with its own uses and strengths.

At our company, we recommend letterpress printing if you're looking for an affordable option. Letterpress printing is widely used in Japan's sticker and label printing industry (not to be confused with the name of a printing company).

Letterpress printing is an analog method that transfers ink from a plate to the printing material. Recent advancements in plate making and printing machines have improved its quality, making it almost as clean as offset printing.

The main advantage of letterpress printing is its cost-effectiveness and attractive finish. However, it struggles with reproducing gradients.

Offset printing remains the best method for high-quality reproduction. It is ideal for producing premium stickers and labels. The downside, however, is the high cost. Many designers still perceive offset printing as the gold standard, which often leads to specifying this expensive option.

If you have concerns about letterpress printing quality, it’s a good idea to request free samples from the printing company. Seeing the actual results can help ensure you’re satisfied.

Letterpress printing can save you several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars compared to offset printing.

Opt for Spot Color Design

Sticker printing can be more cost-effective if you reduce the number of colors used. Four-color printing involves plate costs, as high-resolution CTP plates, which offer excellent print quality, have low durability and are used only once. This makes plate costs a recurring expense, which can be wasteful.

On the other hand, a simple spot color design can be printed using durable, cost-effective plates with letterpress printing. These plates can be stored and reused, so the plate costs are incurred only the first time.

Additionally, printing with DIC or PANTONE colors can produce more vibrant results than four-color printing. Instead of blending CMYK colors, using specific inks allows for finer color adjustments, resulting in higher-quality prints. For example, using three PANTONE colors instead of four-color printing can make your labels cheaper and more visually appealing.

Opting for a spot color design and reducing the number of colors can save you several thousand dollars in printing and plate-making costs.

*Note: In some cases, four-color printing might be cheaper depending on the printing company. Since each company has different pricing structures, it's best to inquire directly.

Choose Not to Laminate

If cost is a higher priority than quality, consider skipping lamination based on your usage needs. Lamination is an optional process where a transparent film protects the surface. While it might seem essential, lamination is not always necessary.

Lamination is important for durability, but most label printing uses UV ink, which is highly durable. UV ink is a special type of ink that cures completely with ultraviolet light, making it resistant to peeling from friction. Therefore, lamination might be unnecessary for labels that are not exposed to outdoor conditions, wet environments, or frequent handling.

Try requesting quotes for both laminated and non-laminated options to see which best fits your needs.

Allow Ample Time for Delivery, Order in Advance

For example, with online printing, the cost increases as the delivery time shortens to 7 days, 5 days, or 3 days. (In the case of international orders, shipping time will be added.) This is because the printing industry has recognized that charging the same price for "users who order well in advance" and "users who need quick delivery" is not fair.

Printing companies manage their schedules based on the order of incoming requests. When a project with a tight deadline arises, they must rearrange their schedules to accommodate it. If you specify a longer delivery time, such as "a week is fine" when requesting a quote, you might receive a more affordable price.

We recommend planning your projects and placing orders in advance to avoid the extra costs associated with short delivery times.

Summary of How to Order Cheap Sticker Printing

・Find a specialized seal and label printing company on the internet.
・Design with standard rectangular or circular sizes.
・Opt for letterpress printing.
・Choose a spot color design.
・Skip lamination if possible.
・Place orders with ample time for delivery.

How did you find these six ways to create cheap seal printing? When requesting a quote from a printing company with specialized content, it also forces them to respond with appropriate pricing. We hope you can effectively reduce unnecessary costs.

In addition to price, there may be other criteria for your decision. We recommend referring to Biz's article on "printing companies specializing in seal printing."