What is the difference between die cut and kiss cut stickers?
| Die cut | Shape cut through vinyl + backing |
|---|---|
| Kiss cut | Vinyl cut only, backing intact |
| Best for die cut | Merch, giveaways, laptop stickers |
| Best for kiss cut | Sheets, packaging inserts, mailers |
Die cut
The whole sticker is your shape, with a small offset border. It looks premium in hand and there is no leftover backing hanging off the edges. The downside is peeling: a die cut sticker with a complex outline can be fiddly to get started, especially for small hands or gloved hands.
Best for: individual merch stickers, bumper stickers, laptop stickers, window decals, anything sold or handed out one at a time.
Kiss cut
The blade cuts only the vinyl layer, so your shape sits on a rectangular backing card. Peeling is effortless because you can flex the card. It also gives you free real estate: brand the backing with your logo, a QR code, care instructions or a promo code.
Best for: sticker sheets, packaging inserts, subscription boxes, direct mail, retail hang tags, anything where presentation and easy peeling matter.
Cost
They cost the same at the same finished size. Kiss cut uses slightly more material for the backing, die cut uses slightly more cutting time. It is a wash.
Multi-design sheets
Kiss cut is the only sensible option when you put several designs on one sheet. Note that multi-design sheets need a hand-drawn cut path, which carries a one-time $30 cutline fee, because auto-tracing several unrelated outlines reliably produces bad cuts in production.