Stickers or Decals – What’s the Difference?

Stickers and Decals are part of our everyday lives but we don’t notice them.  Most people will have a sticker or decal on something, be it a name badge, a safety warning sticker on an electrical item or a sticker somewhere on your car.  But why do we sometimes refer to them as stickers and sometimes as decals?  What is the difference?

According to the dictionary:

“A Decal is a picture or design that can be removed from a piece of paper and stuck onto another surface by being pressed or heated”.  Decals can be water slide transfers, model builders often use these on their finished projects.  Cut vinyl lettering is another example, released from the backing paper using application tape.  This method is often used in the sign-making industry to apply decals to motor vehicles

“A Sticker is simply a sticky label, which may have a picture or message on it, that you can stick to another surface”.  In general, stickers don’t require heat, water or application tape to apply.

If you’re reading this, perhaps it’s because you are looking to buy.  Click here to go to our shop.  Don’t hesitate to get in touch should you have a question at:  sales@decalheads.co.uk