Boosting Your Brand with Custom Labels, Stickers and Decals
A label is your packaging's hardest-working square of space. A sticker seals a parcel, brands a plain bag or ends up on a laptop. A decal puts your brand on the glass, the wall, the floor, the machine or the bakkie door, surfaces that signage cannot reach. They are the cheapest way to put your brand in more places, and the difference between one that lasts and one that lifts is the vinyl, the laminate and the cut. This guide explains which to use where.
Match the vinyl to the surface and laminate anything that gets handled, washed or walked on. Product labels on gloss, matt or clear vinyl, laminated for fridges and wet hands. Stickers kiss-cut on sheets for the packing bench, or die-cut individually for handing out. Window decals printed or cut, inside or outside the glass. High-tack vinyl for walls and machines, floor-grade laminate for floors, cast or polymeric vinyl for vehicles. Supply a vector PDF with 3 mm bleed and the cut line on its own layer.
Label, sticker or decal?
| Product | Goes on | Vinyl and finish | Cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product labels | Bottles, jars, tubs, candles, pouches, buckets | Gloss, matt or transparent vinyl, laminated; optional spot UV | Circles, rectangles or die-cut to your design |
| Stickers on sheets | Packaging seals, bags, boxes, jars | Gloss, matt or transparent vinyl | Kiss-cut, several to a sheet |
| Die-cut stickers | Giveaways, laptops, events | Durable vinyl, optional gloss or matt laminate | Cut individually to the shape of your logo |
| Window decals | Shopfronts, glass doors, showrooms | White, clear or removable vinyl; reverse-printed for inside glass | Full coverage or contour-cut; cut vinyl lettering |
| Contravision | Shop windows, office glass, vehicle rear windows | Perforated one-way vision vinyl | Printed to each pane's size |
| Frosted vinyl | Boardrooms, offices, partitions, shopfronts | Sandblast-effect film, plotter-cut or printed | Full panels, bands, logos cut in or out |
| Wall and machine decals | Painted walls, powder-coated panels, textured plastics | High-tack and hard-surface vinyls, laminated | Contour-cut graphics or cut lettering |
| Floor decals | Tiles, sealed concrete, vinyl and laminate floors | Floor-grade laminate, or economy easy-peel | Any shape, up to 2 m floor stamps |
| Car decals | Doors, tailgates, bonnets, rear windows | Cast and polymeric vehicle vinyl, printed decals laminated | Cut lettering or printed and contour-cut |
Product labels
- Front and branding labels: full colour on gloss, matt or clear vinyl, gloss or matt laminated, optional spot UV
- Back and information labels: crisp small text for ingredients and directions, barcodes and batch panels that scan
- Made for real products: laminated vinyl stands up to moisture, handling, fridges and ice buckets
- Shapes: circles and rectangles, or die-cut labels that follow your design, from dropper bottles to buckets
Tell us what the label is going onto and where the product will live. Chilled products, wet hands and oils need a laminated vinyl label. A transparent label gives a printed-on-the-bottle look on glass and clear plastic. Matt suits natural and premium brands; gloss makes colour pop on the shelf. Measure the flat label area of the container and allow a few millimetres clear of curves, seams and edges.
Stickers on sheets and die-cut stickers
- On sheets: kiss-cut on a backing sheet, several to a sheet, fast to peel at the packing bench or the counter
- Die-cut: cut individually to the outline of your logo, with optional gloss or matt lamination, for handing out
- Vinyl: gloss, matt or transparent, printed with durable inks for long-lasting colour
- Cut lines: keep the outline simple with a small border; thin points and fine gaps do not cut or peel well at small sizes
Stickers work hardest on packaging, sealing tissue paper and branding plain boxes and bags; as giveaways people keep on laptops, bottles and notebooks; and as asset labels, thank-you stickers and seasonal messages that keep a corporate look consistent. For standard shapes and sizes you can also order online from our standard range.
Window decals, Contravision and frosted vinyl
Your windows are some of the most visible space you own, and three different products put them to work.
- Window decals: full-coverage prints or contour-cut shapes on white, clear or removable vinyl, applied outside or reverse-printed for inside the glass; cut vinyl lettering for logos and trading hours
- Contravision: perforated one-way vision vinyl, a solid graphic from the bright side and a view out from inside; also for vehicle rear windows
- Frosted vinyl: the etched-glass look for privacy without darkness, cut into logos, bands and patterns, or printed
- Fitting: measured per pane, installed by us or supplied ready to apply with application tape
One-way vision depends on light: the printed side must be the brighter side, which is why Contravision works so well on shopfronts and vehicles by day, and reverses at night when the lights are on inside. Frosted vinyl bands at eye level screen a room while keeping the glass open above and below, and make large clear doors visible.
Wall, machine and floor decals
- Wall decals: cut vinyl lettering for logos, values and slogans, or printed high-tack wall vinyl with a matt laminate
- Machine decals: printed, laminated and cut to the panels of your machine, matched across a whole fleet of equipment
- The right vinyl: painted walls, powder-coated panels and textured plastics each need a different adhesive
- Surfaces: clean, dry and free of dust or grease; new paint fully cured before vinyl goes on
- Promotional: full colour under a floor-grade laminate that takes shoes, trolleys and cleaning; an economy easy-peel option for a weekend
- Wayfinding: arrows, footprints, queue markers, walkways, and cut vinyl tracks for showroom floors
- Shapes: contour-cut to any design, from small markers to floor stamps two metres across
- Floors: best on smooth, sealed indoor floors; rough, unsealed or outdoor surfaces need a different material
Car decals
- Cut vinyl decals: logos, lettering and contact details cut from solid colour vinyl with no background, for doors, tailgates and rear windows
- Printed decals: full-colour logos and graphics, laminated and cut to shape, for doors, side panels, bonnets and tailgates
- Vinyl: cast and polymeric vinyls made for vehicle bodywork, with printed decals laminated against sun, washing and road grime
- Fleets: identical branding across every vehicle, and new vehicles matched to the original set
Keep the message simple: a logo, what you do, a phone number and a website are what people can read in traffic. We position decals around door handles, mouldings and body lines and send a layout to approve, then apply them at our premises, on site for fleets, or supply them with application tape. We specialise in car decals and panel branding and do not offer full vehicle wraps. For branding you can take off, magnetic signs peel on and off flat steel panels.
Artwork, cut lines and barcodes
How we make labels and decals in Cape Town
Labels, stickers and decals are printed on wide-format roll presses onto the vinyl the job needs, laminated where they will be handled, walked on or washed, and contour-cut on plotters that follow your cut line exactly, so a die-cut sticker peels cleanly and a machine decal fits its panel. Cut lettering is weeded and supplied with application tape for accurate positioning. For windows, walls, floors and vehicles we can install for you, through our own team or our Cape Town installation partner, or supply everything ready to apply.
Tell us the size and shape, the surface, the finish, how you want them supplied and the quantity, and send your artwork. Your quote states the timeline, and agencies and print brokers can produce the whole range through our Reseller Partner Programme.
Frequently asked questions
Which label material do I need for bottles that get chilled or wet?
A laminated vinyl label. It stands up to moisture, fridges, ice buckets, wet hands and oils, and stays vibrant on the shelf.
What is the difference between kiss-cut and die-cut stickers?
Kiss-cut stickers stay on a backing sheet, several to a sheet, and peel off quickly at the packing bench. Die-cut stickers are cut individually to the shape of your logo for handing out.
Can a window decal be applied from the inside?
Yes. Decals can be printed in reverse on clear material and applied on the inside of the glass, protected from the weather and passers-by.
Does Contravision give privacy at night?
No. The one-way effect depends on the printed side being the brighter side. At night, with the lights on inside, people can see in, so use frosted vinyl where privacy matters after dark.
Will a decal damage my wall or my machine when it comes off?
Not if the vinyl matches the surface. Painted walls, powder-coated panels and textured plastics each need a different adhesive; the wrong one lifts or damages the surface on removal. Tell us what the decal is going onto.
How long do floor decals last?
An economy easy-peel decal suits a weekend promotion; a laminated decal on a smooth, sealed indoor floor suits a longer campaign. Rough, unsealed or outdoor floors need a different material.
Do you do vehicle wraps?
No. We specialise in car decals and panel branding: cut lettering and printed, laminated decals on doors, tailgates, bonnets and rear windows, applied at our premises or on site.
Ready to put your brand on it?
Tell us what the label, sticker or decal is going onto, the size and shape, the finish and the quantity, and send your artwork. We will match the vinyl to the surface and cut it to your design in our Cape Town factory.
Request a quote