Labels vs. Stickers: What’s The Difference?

Choose the right one for your next product

As a new business you may have tested out stickers as a form of packaging.  Perhaps you slapped a few stickers on a bottle or two. Having  great success, right? People love that clean look and modern labeling. Before putting in your next order, make sure you know the terminology. What is the difference between stickers and labels. You may have noticed two different terms floating around in the sticker world: “roll labels” and “sticker sheets”. 

The first thing you should know is labels are stickers. If you want to get technical, labels are stickers that are meant for packing purposes and labeling products in large quantities. Stickers can be decorative and for individual small orders. Both roll labels and sticker sheets are adhesive and can have add-on custom specialties like embossing and foil stamping. In fact, the answer to the question: “what is the difference between roll labels and sticker sheets?” is how they come when you order them. 

What Are Sticker ?

Stickers come as individually cut stickers (cut to size) that are printed on a sheet or backing. 4×6 rectangular, but individually as flyer (cut to size). You can order an 8.5 x 11 sticker sheet of rows of stickers, or you can order just a few stickers individually at time. All of our individual cut stickers are printed on our premium vinyl material. Gold Image Printing offers stickers printed on sheets that are great for handing out one by one or in pairs at concerts, expos and tradeshows. We offer full color printing and various specialties such as White ink stickers, Circle stickers, Colorplan stickers, Emboss stickers, Foil stickers, and Oval stickers. Use these high-quality stickers to get your brand name out there.

Die cut stickers

Individually cut stickers can also be cut to any shape you like with our top-of-the-line die- cut capabilities. Die-cut stickers are stickers that come with no room around the sticker for a clean, stand-alone look. Your customers can easily peel off the back of the sticker and stick it on any flat surface.

Kiss-cut stickers 

Kiss-cut stickers are stickers cut in a particular shape with a bit of visible backing surrounding the sticker for more ease when peeling the sticker off. 

Should I Order Sticker Sheets?

Well, our question to you would be, what is the purpose of these stickers? Are you doing a small run of  just a few stickers to try out this labeling? Are you hoping to hand them out individually or slip them into your presentation folders at your conference? Maybe you’d like to hand out individual stickers as prizes or mementos for customers to better remember your brand. Then order sticker sheets. Sticker sheets also allow you to order short runs for the holiday season or short term promotionals. Maybe you want to change your labelling to gold and red colors for the Christmas season?  Then individual stickers are for you. Order sticker sheets for short runs and for individual sticker handouts. For any large runs or mass labeling turn to roll labels.

What are Roll Labels?

Order oval roll labels to quickly label your big orders!

Roll labels are stickers that are printed on a strip of backing and wrapped around a roll. The backing has no edge around the sticker, only space enough for the sticker itself. This type of sticker was created for ease of labeling. Place one of these rolls on a label application machine and your 10,000 bottles of perfume or jars of honey are labeled in no time. Think mass production here. If you are working with a distributor, like a bottling company, that is doing your manufacturing, they will often specify roll labels because that is the only type they can work with. Gold Image Printing offers roll labels on our high-end, BOPP material, which is the perfect material for such stickers. Roll labels also have the advantage of easy storage. You easily buy bulk roll labels and keep the extra rolls on the shelf for the future. Roll label perforated option

Should I Order Roll Labels?

Roll labels are perfect for large orders, orders that are going to distributors. You won’t be able to tear off a sticker with its backing from a roll label to hand out. Roll labels are not just for your distributors, though. Use roll labels in your place of business when you need lots of labels and fast. Are you a restaurant? Set your roll labels by the food counter to slap on a beautiful circle  roll labels or oval roll labels as the seal on your bags of coffee beans or your wrapped sandwiches. Extend your brand image by quickly sticking labels on every purchase that leaves your checkout counter. 

Sizes and Specialties of Roll Labels

Almost all of our customers ask for roll labels 5”x5” or smaller. This is because most sticker labels are labeling smaller items. Yet we are always prepared for the special order for a larger size. We have the capacity to print roll labels of any dimension. Submit your specialty order with us on our custom quote and our system will find you the best prices. 

Specialties

The specialties Gold Image Printing can offer you rivals any other print shop. We have printers with white ink capabilities or clear labels, where the label itself melts away from view and only the text and images stand clear.

Foil Colors

Did you know you can get roll labels with foil colors that have a fascinating metallic shimmer? Imagine square roll of labels with rose gold foil lettering! For more modern companies selling fitness drinks or cannabis products, order foil roll labels with foil accents that show through the sticker, to highlight your logo or product name. 

Foil Emboss Roll Labels

We can also alter the surface of your sticker to give a more tangible feel to your stickers. We are one of the only online printing companies around that offers the exclusive foil emboss roll labels. With this technique, our printers transfer the foil to the surface of your label. Next they create a 3D look by raising portions of your sticker (perhaps the logo or the product name). Try this exclusive roll label on wine bottles or labels on top of cake boxes, for a glamorous look and feel. Keep in mind foil emboss is only available on roll labels. 

Roll labels with Gold Image Printing have endless possibilities. Whatever you are hoping for in your next order of roll labels, give us a custom quote and we got you!

More Questions?

Want to hear more about the specific material your label will come on? Hop over to our Sticker Material post where we break it down for you. Find the answers to your other sticker questions on our post I Have Some Questions About Sticker Labels.