Sticker printers have been around for a long time and only have gained a large resurgence in interest thanks to COVID boosting the popularity of starting your own business through websites like Shopify.
Whether you’re looking for a simple label maker for your own decorative use or one that works great in producing higher quantities for your business, we’ll go over the best printers for stickers currently available.
If you’re simply looking for the best sticker printer, this article starts out with focusing on answering your question – if you need more information, the bottom of the article has commonly asked questions!
What is The Best Printer for Stickers?
- Best Overall / Mid-Tier Quality Printer: Canon IP8720
- Best Advanced/Premium Sticker Printer: Canon Pixma Pro 200
- Best for Casual Sticker Printing and Office Use: HP ENVY 6055
- Best for High Volume Printing: Epson Workforce ET-3750
- Best Budget: Canon Pixma G6020
Commonly Asked Questions
- What’s the Best Type of Paper to Use?
- What are Some Uses of Stickers?
- Inkjet vs. Laser Printer?
- What Are Some Factors to Consider When Choosing a Sticker Printer?
- How Do I Laminate My Stickers?
Best Overall / Mid-Tier Quality Printer
Canon IP8720
Product URL: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HM0IV52
With capabilities of more premium printers at a lower price point, you’ll be able to produce high quality prints at a fraction of the price.
For those just getting into sticker printing or have a side hobby in a design or photography-related field, the Canon IP8720 is a great sticker printer to start off your journey.
The Canon IP8720 uses a six-color ink system, higher than most printers, and can print at a large 13 x 19 inches size that most printers cannot.
With a high color gamut, on the other end, the IP8720 isn’t great for those looking for office-like functions. The printer does not come with a display, copy, and scanner functionalities.
If printing stickers is your only goal without diving into the top tier printers (like the Canon Pixma Pro 200 mentioned below), then the Canon IP8720 is a great sticker printer to choose.
Specifications:
- Printer Type: Inkjet
- Maximum Paper Size: 13 x 19 inches
- Resolution: 2400 x 9600 DPI
- Ink System: 6-color ink system (cyan, magenta, yellow, black, photo black, and gray)
- Connectivity: USB, Wireless, AirPrint, Ethernet, Cloud
Pros:
- High print quality with its 6-color ink system
- Able to print large formats
Cons:
- Not great for general office use: no scanner, display, or scan capabilities
- Not intuitive to set up like many other Canon printers
Best Advanced/Premium Sticker Printer
Canon Pixma Pro 200
Product URL: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08M8VGBZ5
For those looking for professional-based printers that are aimed at photographers or designers who maximize overall print quality, the Canon Pixma Pro 200 is by far the best printer for stickers for you.
The Canon Pixma Pro 200 is an upgrade to the Canon IP8720 mentioned above, as you’ll notice it has improved features across the board on the design side, albeit at a higher premium.
With a larger 8 cartridge ink system, the Pixma Pro 200 is able to print at higher qualities than most other inkjet systems that use 4 or 6 ink cartridges.
For those looking to use their printer for various office uses, you’ll be disappointed to know typical office features like duplex printing or scanning documents are not included.
This printer has been designed purely for those looking to maximize their designs so any office-like usage may not be worth the extra cost.
Specifications:
- Printer Type: Inkjet
- Maximum Paper Size: 13 x 19 inches
- Resolution: 2400 x 4800 DPI
- Ink System: 8 Individual ChromaLife100+ Cartridges
- Connectivity: USB, Wireless, AirPrint, Ethernet, Cloud
Pros:
- Excellent print quality; best in the market for its class
- Connectivity options for everyone
- Various printing options for sizes and outputs
Cons:
- Very expensive to purchase and maintain
- Overkill for normal everyday printing
- Does not include “everyday” office features like scanning or duplex printing
Best for Casual Sticker Printing and Office Use
HP ENVY 6055
Product URL: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083ZZ96PT
For those looking to print stickers here and there and also use their printer for everyday office use, then the HP ENVY 6055 is a great affordable sticker printer option.
At an extremely affordable price, HP has built an excellent printer that prints high quality photos at a fraction of the price. While the color gamut is not that impressive, the overall quality is acceptable for most use cases.
Due to the lower price, you’ll have to contend with mediocre print speeds, about 6 pages per minute to less than 4 if you include color, and poor printer design.
Overall, a great printer if you’re on a budget and you need a printer to double as an office printer as well.
Specifications:
- Printer Type: Inkjet
- Maximum Paper Size: 8.5 x 11 inches
- Resolution: 1200 x 4800 DPI
- Ink System: 2 HP Thermal Inkjet Cartridges (black and tricolor)
- Connectivity: USB, Wireless, Bluetooth
Pros:
- Extremely affordable printer with affordable ink
- Great office functionality like automatic duplex printing and scanner
Cons:
- Very slow printing speed
- Poor color efficiency when printing stickers resulting in slightly higher costs per print
Best for High Volume Printing
Epson Workforce ET-3750
Product URL: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ND3D7KP
For those who need to print high volumes of stickers and balance affordability, while sacrificing a bit of quality, the Epson Workforce ET-3750 is the practical sticker printer for you.
Just like its name suggests, the Workforce ET-3750 has been built to last a long time and prints high volume stickers in a short time.
Out of the box, you’re provided with 2 years’ worth of ink, saving you extra headaches of sourcing new ink.
With high volume printing, great use cases include doubling as a label maker for your shipments or stickers that you give out for every order for your small business. The Workforce line of printers are also popular in sublimation printing. If you are considering printing beyond stickers, ensure you consider inks beyond the default provided that work best for you.
Finally, the Workforce ET-3750 has various reviews on how surprisingly easy it is to set up. I absolutely hate dealing with printers, and so does everyone else, but it is rare to hear of positive reviews of easy printer setups.
Specifications:
- Printer Type: Inkjet
- Maximum Paper Size: 8.5 x 11 inches
- Resolution: 1200 x 4800 DPI
- Ink System: 4 EcoTank Ink Bottles (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black)
- Connectivity: USB, Wireless, Bluetooth
Pros:
- Easy to set up unlike most other printers
- Great for large-volume printing jobs
- Printer is efficient at utilizing ink: long term ink savings
Cons:
- Despite advertising on high volume printing, the tray cannot hold a lot of pages
- May be difficult to source ink or the printer itself due to its popularity
Best Budget
Canon Pixma G6020
Product URL: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SQZNSQY
For those looking to be as economical as possible on their sticker printing, the Canon Pixma G6020 is the most reliable sticker printer for saving the money in your wallet.
Advertised as an all-in-one printer, the Canon Pixma G6020 is able to yield thousands of prints with its cost-effective ink and printer. It’s closer to an office printer in most cases but is able to print decently colored stickers.
Unlike the other options in this article, the Pixma G6020 has the lowest print color quality when it comes to printing stickers. As a sacrifice of quality for cost savings, the Pixma G6020 is a great office printer if a majority of your usage is on office-like tasks.
Specifications:
- Printer Type: Inkjet
- Maximum Paper Size: 8.5 x 11 inches
- Resolution: 1200 x 4800 DPI
- Ink System: 4 Color Ink Supply System (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black)
- Connectivity: USB, Wireless, Bluetooth
Pros:
- Extremely affordable
- Very popular and reliable – and never has shortages
- Contains all modern functionality like copying, scanning, and wireless connectivity
- Doubles as an office printer
Cons:
- Low color gamut resulting in subpar print quality
- No LCD screen
What’s the Best Type of Paper to Use?
Simply vinyl, because of its durability and quality feel. Rather than trying to be unique, I highly recommend sticking with popular standardized sticker paper as they’ll most likely work with any printer on the market.
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel when you know it works fine.
In addition, inkjet printers are great for vinyl stickers! This is why you see many people recommend inkjet printers for sticker printing.
I highly recommend the following AVERY matte sticker paper. It is proven to work and the thousands of reviews on Amazon does it justice. This sticker paper will work on any printer mentioned in this article.
What are Some Uses of Stickers?
There are numerous uses of stickers and you’re likely to run into one in your life without realizing it! Whether it’s at home or you’re on the go, businesses have always used stickers for easy advertising of their brands and products.
- To sell online as a small business on Etsy, at an anime convention stand, or even Shopify
- Giveaways to customers for purchasing on your E-Commerce website
- Promotional items
- Advertisements to stick on places like utility poles around the city
- Decorations and labels for around the home: books, laptop, electronics, car, fridge etc.
- Organization and identification purposes
- Give away to friends and family attending your special events like birthday parties
Inkjet vs. Laser Printer?
The decision between inkjet and laser printers comes down to cost efficiency and color quality of your prints.
Laser printers are able to produce at higher volumes and are generally less expensive in the long run due to the longevity of toner cartridges they use.
Inlet printers have the ability to print at higher resolutions with rich colors. They are slower during print jobs and cost longer in the long run due to constant replacement of ink cartridges.
One other factor to consider is whether the stickers will be introduced to water. Laser printers use toner, and not wet ink, so are easily able to create waterproof stickers. None of these matters if you’re willing to laminate your stickers as many people do, so sticking with inkjet isn’t an issue.
What are Some Factors to Consider When Purchasing a Printer for Stickers?
- Color Accuracy: Are your stickers going to be reliant on a rich number of colors? Or are your colors more monotone in nature? Depending on where you fall on the color spectrum, color accuracy may be the most important factor to consider.
- Paper & Print Sizes: Printing stickers are usually in various shapes and sizes. Consider the type of paper you’re going to use. Is it of a standard size? If not, can your printer handle them?
- Connectivity: Looking to have a wireless setup and printing away from the printer? Or does your laptop have a limited number of ports to be connected to? Having wireless connectivity may be important for you.
- Printer Speed: How fast do you need your printer to print? If it’s for personal use or a very small business, then probably not as much. If you need to produce large amounts and your work is heavily dependent on them finishing, look into investing into a faster printer.
How Do I Laminate My Stickers?
Laminating is extremely easy and can be done yourself without any additional tools. Just like I recommended the AVERY matte paper above, I highly recommend sticking with these AVERY laminating sheets.
Simply follow the included instructions and line up your stickers to the included grid. You’ll find many people impressed with your professional-like stickers!
Conclusion
Buying a sticker printer can be a complicated process but knowing in advance what your use case is, you can easily break down what printer works best for you. The Canon IP8720 is the best overall printer for stickers for most people given its middle of the pack quality of printers when it comes to printing stickers.
From the Canon IP8720, you can move up and down on color quality depending on your use case. Those looking for higher quality prints can stick with the Canon Pixma Pro 200 while those that can sacrifice a bit of quality for high print volumes will find the Epson Workforce ET-3750 perfect.
Looking to fully build out your setup with your new color printer? Cricut machines are popular to use with stickers. If you’re looking to cut your stickers, consider choosing a different printer that works well with Cricut machines. For your work environment: the perfect laptop or desk can help elevate your home office space!