Decals
A decal is a durable label asked to live outdoors. Sun, rain, road grit, wash cycles and temperature swings, on a surface that was probably never designed to be labelled. Everything about how one is built follows from that.
What a custom decal is built on
Vinyl, mostly, because it stays flexible as it ages and it conforms to a slightly curved panel without lifting. Polyester and polycarbonate come in where the surface is flat and the priority is scratch resistance or chemical splash rather than conformability. The print goes under a laminate in all three cases, which is the part that actually holds colour: unprotected ink on an outdoor decal fades unevenly, and a red that has gone pink reads as neglect long before the decal falls off.
We print decals in full colour on our own press in Henderson, in roll, sheet or individual cut format, and there are no minimums, so one van or a fleet of forty are both normal orders.
Glass, painted metal and powder coat
The surface decides the adhesive. Glass is easy and forgiving. Painted and clear-coated metal is not, because a fresh automotive clear coat is slicker than it looks and a weathered one is chalky. Powder-coated equipment rejects most adhesives outright, and rough or textured plastic gives the adhesive very little real contact area to work with. We stock adhesives for all of those, including one specified for exactly the hard, sealed and slightly oily surfaces that defeat everything else. The detail is on durable labels.
Where custom decals earn their keep
Equipment identification and asset tags that have to stay readable through a machine's working life. Safety and instruction panels that sit next to a control. Vehicle and fleet identification, including door liveries and unit numbers. Window graphics for a shop front or a glass door, where a clear decal keeps the display visible behind it. Serial and inventory decals with sequential numbering or barcodes printed on the same pass.
How long a decal lasts
Longer than a packaging label by a wide margin, and the honest answer is that it depends on where it lives. South-facing and full sun is the hardest case; a vertical surface in the shade is the easiest. Tell us the application and how long you need it to hold up, and we will spec the film, the laminate and the adhesive against that rather than quote you a number that ignores your conditions. Free samples are the useful next step, because a decal on your own panel outdoors settles the question faster than any datasheet.
Learn more
Popular label formats
Rolls, sheets and die-cut shapes — paper, coated paper, waterproof poly and more.
Need custom decals?
Tell us your product, size and quantity — we'll recommend the right material and send free samples.