Custom UV DTF Stickers — Waterproof, Permanent, Printed in Canada
- No minimum order
- Waterproof
- Any shape
- No heat press needed
Why these are not vinyl stickers.
| Vinyl sticker | UV DTF transfer | |
|---|---|---|
| What ends up on the object | A printed plastic film with adhesive | The printed ink itself |
| Feel | You can feel the edge of the film | Slightly raised print, no film edge |
| Removable | Yes, eventually peels or is peeled | No — intended to be permanent |
| Edge lifting over time | Common, especially on curves | Not a failure mode — there is no film to lift |
| Water and scratch resistance | Varies by laminate | High |
| Typical minimum order | Often 50–100 | One |
| Custom shapes | Die-cut, sometimes an upcharge | Standard — transparent areas simply do not print |
- The carrier film peels off and goes in the bin.
- No film edge to catch or lift.
- Waterproof and scratch-resistant.
- Custom shape is the default — transparent areas do not print.
- Minimum order: one.
- A printed plastic film with adhesive stays on the object.
- You can feel the edge, and it can lift over time.
- Water resistance depends on the laminate.
- Die-cut shapes are often an upcharge.
- Minimums commonly 50–100.
What they stick to.
Stainless steel, powder-coated and acrylic tumblers, bottles and travel mugs. The most common use by a wide margin — and a genuine business for a lot of small sellers.
Branding jars, tins, containers and bottles for small-batch producers. Because there is no minimum, you can label a first run of twelve.
Candle vessels, mason jars and glassware. On clear glass, consider double-sided so the design reads from both directions.
Smooth plastic and hard cases take UV DTF well. Grippy silicone cases are much less reliable.
Asset labelling and crew identification on metal and hard plastic. Clean the surface thoroughly first — equipment is oilier than it looks.
Painted signage, sealed boards and finished timber. Raw, porous or unsealed wood will not hold the transfer.
Any shape, any size up to 22.75" wide.
There is no sticker shape catalogue to choose from. Your artwork is the shape: anything transparent in your file does not print, so a logo with a complex outline comes out as that outline, with no rectangle or border around it. Circles, custom die-cut looks and irregular shapes are all the default rather than an upgrade.
Sizing works the same way as our fabric transfers — you set the width and height and pay for the printed area. Ordering a range of sizes of the same design is normal; each size becomes its own line. More on sizing →
What they survive, honestly.
Yes. Applied to a clean, dry surface they handle regular moisture and hand washing without lifting.
We recommend against it. Sustained heat, harsh detergent and long saturation are a different problem from being splashed, and we would rather set the expectation now than have you find out across a batch of customer tumblers.
Good resistance — considerably better than a paper or uncoated vinyl label. Deliberate abrasion will still damage any printed graphic.
Colours fade under prolonged direct UV, as they do with every ink. Indoors and in normal outdoor use they hold up well; a sticker on a south-facing window all summer will shift over time.
This is the real determinant. Almost every failure we hear about traces back to a surface that was not properly cleaned and dried before application.
Common uses.
Candle, soap, sauce and cosmetics makers branding jars and bottles without ordering a thousand labels from a label printer.
Full-colour designs on blanks, with no press, no sublimation setup and no minimum. Test a design on one before ordering fifty.
Asset tags, safety markings and crew identification that will not peel off a toolbox after one season.
Sticker questions
- How are UV DTF stickers different from vinyl stickers?
- A vinyl sticker is a printed film with adhesive on the back — it sits on the surface and can be peeled off. A UV DTF transfer leaves the ink itself bonded to the surface, with the carrier film peeled away and thrown out. The result feels like it was printed onto the object rather than stuck onto it, and it is not designed to come off.
- Is there a minimum order?
- No. Order one sticker or five hundred at the same per-square-inch rate. Most sticker printers require 50 or 100 minimum; we require one.
- Are they waterproof?
- Yes. Applied to a clean, dry surface, UV DTF is water-resistant and holds up to hand washing and everyday moisture. We recommend hand washing rather than a dishwasher for drinkware.
- Can I get custom shapes?
- The printed artwork defines the shape — there is no rectangle or border around it unless your design has one. Transparent areas in your file simply do not print, so a die-cut look is the default rather than an upgrade.
- How much do custom UV DTF stickers cost?
- $0.0249 per square inch of printed area, the same as every other transfer we print. A 3" × 3" sticker is 9 square inches. Full-colour costs the same as one colour.
- Will they stick to a textured surface?
- Smooth surfaces are much better. Lightly textured plastic usually works; heavily textured, porous or unsealed surfaces do not, because the adhesive cannot make continuous contact. When in doubt, test one.
- Can they go outdoors?
- They hold up well to weather on a properly prepared surface. As with any printed graphic, prolonged direct sunlight will fade colours over time — that is true of every ink on the market, ours included.
Also available
The overview — surfaces, application and how it differs from fabric DTF.
For clear glass and acrylic, where the design has to read from both sides.
Per-square-inch rate with worked examples and add-ons.
For anything made of fabric — heat-pressed rather than burnished on.
Order one sticker or five hundred.
Same rate either way, and no minimum. Upload your design before 2 PM ET on a business day and it prints this afternoon.
No minimums · Waterproof · Any shape · Printed in Ontario