Transfer Decals

This material applies best to smooth, non-porous surfaces such as windows, painted metal, plastic, laptops, and cars. It bonds well and maintains its hold over time when applied correctly.

Our standard vinyl transfer decals are made from ORACAL® 651 intermediate film, a 3.0 mil thick vinyl available in a wide variety of solid colors. It’s durable, easy to apply, and designed for clean, background-free transfer applications.

Standard vinyl transfer decals are rated for up to 6 years of outdoor use. The material is UV-resistant and weatherproof, making it ideal for vehicles, signage, windows, and other long-term applications.

Our etched glass vinyl material is a specialty textured film designed to simulate the look of sandblasted or frosted glass. It's a 3.0 mil thick vinyl that provides an upscale, etched finish and is ideal for indoor or outdoor use on glass and windows.

Yes, etched glass vinyl is rated for both indoor and outdoor use. It's weather-resistant and can last up to 5 years when applied to clean, smooth glass surfaces such as office windows, doors, or storefronts.

No, this vinyl is not laminated. The material itself is engineered for durability and color stability without needing an additional protective coating.

Once applied, etched glass vinyl gives the appearance of frosted or sandblasted glass. It diffuses light without completely blocking visibility, creating a professional and elegant look that’s popular for business signage or decorative privacy applications.

This specialty material is used for transfer stickers, vinyl lettering, and vinyl numbering. Each design is cut from etched glass vinyl and applied using transfer tape for a clean, no-background finish.

To measure a transfer decal, use the outermost points of the design. Measure both the width and the height, then multiply these two numbers to calculate the total square inches of your sticker.

Standard vinyl is used in our transfer decals, vinyl lettering, and custom vinyl numbers. Designs are cut from solid-color vinyl and applied with transfer tape for a seamless, professional look.

It is not uncommon for the transfer tape to separate slightly from the decal backing in a few places during shipping. This is normal and easy to fix. Simply pull the transfer tape away from the backing about halfway across the decal. Then replace it slowly, smoothing the area with the flat part of your hand from the middle of the sticker out to the edge. Then repeat this process on the remaining side.

For a demonstration, please watch the video below.

Standard vinyl is pre-colored and used for cut decals without backgrounds, making it ideal for clean, single-color designs. Printed vinyl starts as white and allows for full-color printing, which is better for detailed artwork or multi-color graphics.

Etched glass vinyl is translucent but not transparent. It lets light through while obscuring detailed visibility, which makes it ideal for decorative privacy or semi-private window applications like office partitions or glass doors.

The majority of the stickers we make have 20 or fewer picks. If your custom transfer decal has more picks, an additional charge will apply based on the number of picks. Below is our pricing guide for transfer decal picks:

To ensure we create the best possible transfer decals for you, please follow these guidelines:

• Each line of text must be at least 0.25 inches tall.
• transfer decals should be measured by the overall width multiplied by the overall height. Learn more about measuring transfer decals.
• Strokes, line weights, and art elements should be at least 0.0625 inches thick.
• An additional charge may apply if your uploaded artwork has more than 20 picks. Learn more about counting picks.
• If you would like a proof before your sticker goes into production, you may request one in the special instructions box.

We also offer printable application instructions for transfer decals.

Transfer tape, also known as application tape, is a clear plastic film used to make applying stickers easier. It allows the installer to see exactly where they are placing the sticker on the substrate, which is the material or surface the sticker is being applied to, such as a window, car door, or plastic sign.

At Carstickers.com, we use high-quality clear plastic transfer tape for our transfer stickers. This clear tape is perfect for cut-out stickers with multiple parts, as it maintains the positions of all the letters and artwork in your design, ensuring precise placement.

Our clear transfer tape is made from non-porous plastic, which is why it's important to apply the stickers on a clean and dry surface. The transparency of the tape allows for easy placement, as the surface beneath, such as a car windshield or laptop, remains visible during application.

Here's a step-by-step process of how we produce transfer stickers:

Step 1

After selecting one of our premium graphics, uploading your own design, or creating something new using our custom sticker maker, you'll choose the color and size of your transfer sticker.

Step 2

Our Graphic Design team then prepares the design for processing, ensuring it will look great when printed and cut.

Step 3

Our skilled processing team runs a sheet of your selected vinyl color through a plotter, a machine that cuts the vinyl to match your design's shape.

Step 4

Once the graphic is cut, our team carefully weeds the excess vinyl using specialized tools. Weeding involves removing the small pieces of vinyl from the spaces between letters or intricate designs, called picks. For more information on picks, visit our Counting Picks on a Transfer Stage page.

Step 5

After weeding, we apply our high-quality clear plastic transfer tape over the graphic, sandwiching the sticker between the vinyl backing and the transfer tape. The sticker is then cut to the specified dimensions and is ready for application.

The smallest text letter size we can cut for a transfer decal is a quarter of an inch (0.25"). Text smaller than this may not cut or weed properly and might lack enough adhesive to stick effectively. If your design includes elements smaller than 0.25", we will contact you to help adjust the design for optimal results.

Yes, we offer printed transfer decals on a variety of specialty materials, including metallic, holographic, glitter, glow-in-the-dark, and more!

Transfer stickers require manual removal of material from enclosed spaces, such as in letters like "O" and "P". While the cutting machine precisely cuts the material, it does not remove these sections. A Car Stickers employee will then use specialized tweezers to carefully pick out and remove the material by hand.

We have a video demonstrating what a Transfer Pick is and how the background is removed by hand.

A transfer decal is created by cutting sticker material to a shape, graphic, or text, and then removing the background. transfer decals are not printed on but instead are cut from a colored sheet of vinyl. If you would like a sticker with multiple colors but no background, you should order a Multi-Color transfer decal.

All of our transfer decals come with three elements. The first is the backing of the vinyl sheet, which is the paper layer that the vinyl is originally cut from. The second layer is the sticker itself, cut by our plotters to your exact design. Finally, we add a top layer of transfer tape to allow you to place the sticker exactly where you want on your material.

Applying a transfer decal

When you get your transfer decal in the mail, just lift the sticker and peel the white paper backing off of the adhesive. Then, while holding the clear transfer tape, line your transfer decal with the material underneath and place it on the surface. If you have any air bubbles in the sticker, gently rub from the middle to the edges until the sticker lies flat. For more, see the Application Instructions Page or watch the video below:

Transfer Decals

Transfer Decals are named for the way they are applied by transferring the sticker from its backing onto transfer tape, and then from the transfer tape onto the intended surface. These stickers are ideal for simple designs, such as basic text or silhouetted artwork. The process of creating a Transfer Decal involves the following steps:

1. Loading a roll of solid-color vinyl onto a plotter.
2. Cutting a path in the shape of the artwork into the vinyl.
3. Removing all the vinyl that is not part of the artwork.
4. Covering the remaining vinyl and its backing material with transfer tape.

Here's an example of a standard Transfer Decal: the trunk and leaves of the tree have been cut out of a sheet of green vinyl, leaving just the design, which is covered with transfer tape. The white backer remains attached until the transfer tape is fully removed.

Printed Transfer Decals

Printed Transfer Decals are similar to standard Transfer Decals in terms of application and production. However, instead of being cut from a roll of solid-colored vinyl, they are cut from a roll of standard white vinyl that has a printed design on it. These stickers are great for designs that are as simple as Transfer Decals but require more than one color. A typical example could be a multi-color logo where the letters or shapes are not connected to each other.

Here's an example of a Printed Transfer Decal: it's similar to the previous design but now uses two colors, requiring the design to be printed. As with the previous example, the backing material is still present, as the transfer tape has not been fully removed.

Printed Stickers

Printed stickers allow for more complex designs compared to transfer or Printed Transfer Decals. The key difference is that the cut path goes around the outside of the sticker as a whole, rather than around individual shapes or inside letters. If a Printed Transfer Decal is too complex to produce, a printed sticker on clear or white material might be a better option. Our printers can achieve a high level of detail, and if printed on clear material, the surface behind the sticker will still be visible'an advantage typically reserved for Transfer Decals.

Here's an example of a printed sticker: the tree design now has leaves with unique strokes around the outside instead of being filled in. Creating a multi-colo