Best Laminate For Vinyl Stickers (Tips from a Professional)
Hi everyone! Rosie here and today I will share what professional grade vinyl laminate I use to laminate my stickers.
Laminate is necessary for weatherproofing and increasing the integrity of your stickers. It acts as a protective layer that may resist scratches, water damage, and potential UV protection.
Do you need to laminating your stickers?
If you want to increase the quality of your stickers, definitely consider laminating them. It’s easy, inexpensive, and dramatically increases the quality.
Adding a laminate over your stickers can help them fade less and even make them waterproof.
As an individual who makes waterproof stickers for my business, I will share my all time favorite laminating sheets and what I use.
Cold or Hot Laminate?
First, there are two types of laminating procedures. Hot and Cold lamination.
- Hot Lamination requires heat from a lamination machine (you can get an inexpensive one from Amazon).
- Cold lamination uses no heat at all and is usually just an adhesive layer that you can put on yourself (no machine needed).
So which one is right for you? Personally I like to use cold lamination for vinyl stickers as they are typically more durable and don’t damage the integrity of your sticker paper.
Regardless of which you prefer, I will be going over both hot lamination and cold lamination.
Method 1: Hot Laminating (With Laminating Machine)
With hot lamination, you will need a laminating machine. I got mine on amazon.
The Scotch Thermal Pouches are a great choice for many reasons.
These laminating sheets are durable, they really do protect your stickers from short contact with water and scratches. They also are super easy to use; you get a lot for what you pay for.
With the heat lamination pouches, I liked how sealed my stickers were. The laminate was very sturdy.
It protected them from small exposures of water and limited fading.
In my experience though, for my bigger vinyl stickers, the heat did tend to warp my stickers a bit.
This method is good for small scrapbooking stickers that don’t need a lot of protection.
In my opinion, I think cold laminating would be a better option for printable vinyl stickers that will be used for laptops, water bottles, outdoor use, etc.
Pros:
- Scratch Resistant
- Waterproof
Cons:
- No UV protection
- May warp your bigger stickers with the heat
Method 2: Cold Laminating (Self-Adhesive Sheets)
Here is my favorite method for lamination.
Cold lamination is a process where no heat is involved and you just essentially stick on the laminate right onto your paper.
The one I use is the Oracal UV Laminating Film – Oraguard 651 (Glossy Finish).
For this method, having a squeegee is a must!
There are a lot of different squeegees you can get pretty much anywhere, just pick your favorite and you’re good to go. The reason you need a squeegee is because you need a tool that will press the laminate on your sticker sheets very close to ensure there is no air bubbles.
The hard part about adhesive laminates is putting it on without getting any air bubbles.
If you want to see my full tutorial on how to put the laminate on stickers, check out my tutorial with pictures!
So what is the best laminate for vinyl stickers?
Hands down, the best laminate for vinyl stickers is the Oracal Laminating Sheets 651.
They are specifically made for car stickers, water bottles, and other printable vinyl creations.
Pros:
- Scratch Resistant
- Waterproof
- UV Protection
- Thick
Cons:
- Takes practice to apply perfectly
Honorable mention: The Avery self adhesive laminating sheets are also a good choice for beginners too! They are good quality and easy to use.
Method 3: Holographic Laminate
I wanted to mention this cool way of laminating your stickers– Holographic laminate!
Holographic laminate is such a cool way to make your stickers beautiful and unique!
You can get this laminate pattern on amazon. They work the same way you would put on any other adhesive laminate (cold lamination).
Not only does the holographic laminate make your stickers prettier but they also add an extra layer of protection.
Pros:
- Scratch Resistant
- Thick
Cons:
- No waterproofing
Method 4: Protective UV + Waterproof Spray
This is a good method if you don’t necessarily need that much protection but still want to increase the integrity of your stickers.
I used the Krylon UV spray to protect against my car decals.
I would set my finished stickers on a tray and spray away! I would recommend spraying 3 to 4 coats of this for maximum effect. Make sure to wait for each coat to dry before spraying on the next.
You can get a Glossy Finish or a Matte Finish from Krylon.
This spray is a nice finishing touch for something like car decals that don’t need much protection since they are heavy duty already, but could use the extra protection.
Or you could use this on stickers that just need a little more protection but it isn’t too important.
Pros:
- Inexpensive
- UV protection
- Slightly water resistant
Cons:
- Not scratch proof
- No added thickness
Conclusion
Those were 4 of my favorite ways to laminate vinyl stickers, or any kind of sticker for that matter!
If you’re also interested in what kind of sticker paper I use, check out my article, “Best Vinyl Paper For Sticker Making“!
Note: Your stickers will not be completely waterproof if the ink you use isn’t waterproof. At the end of the day, the type of ink and quality will determine your sticker’s true integrity. The laminate will only add as a protective layer, but cannot completely make them waterproof and UV fade resistant.
*Note: I do receive a small portion from purchases made through the links in this article which helps fund our small business. I will never recommend a product or service I don’t have 100% faith in.
Happy Laminating!