Keep type at 6 pt or larger, and 8 pt for thin fonts (light weights and scripts), and outline or embed your fonts so they travel with the file. Those two things cover almost every problem with type on a sticker or label, and they're unrelated, so check both.
The font doesn't travel with the file
A font lives on your computer, not inside most files. Open your file somewhere without that font and it's silently replaced with something else: the spacing shifts, the weight changes, and a logo stops being your logo.
There are two ways to stop it:
- Outline the type. The text becomes shapes, which can't be swapped for another font. Keep a copy with live text for yourself, because outlined text can't be edited. See outlining fonts.
- Embed the fonts. A PDF exported for print carries them inside it. Embedding is what to do when you can't outline. Canva, for instance, has no outline option, and its PDF Print export embeds the fonts instead.
If we find type that wasn't outlined or embedded, we tell you, rather than swap in another font and print it.
The type is too small or too fine
This is the problem people don't see coming, because the type looks perfect on screen. A screen is backlit and zoomed in; a sticker is two inches wide in daylight.
Our minimum is 6 pt, and 8 pt for thin fonts, because their fine strokes are the first to go. Below that, we flag the text on your proof and tell you it won't read well.
Size is only half of it, though. What really decides whether type holds is how thick its thinnest stroke is at the printed size. A heavy sans serif at 6 pt holds up comfortably, while a hairline serif at 12 pt may not, because the thin parts of its letters are finer than the press can hold.
Here's a simple test: print your design at actual size on an ordinary printer and hold it at arm's length. Whatever you can't read there, you won't read on vinyl.
Reverse type is harder
Light type on a dark background needs more weight than dark type on light. Ink spreads very slightly into the space around it, which thickens a dark background and thins the letters inside it. Fine reversed type is where that shows first.
Keep it clear of the knife
Keep anything that must be read at least 0.09" in from the cut line on stickers and sheet labels, and 1/8" in on roll labels. Cutting has a tolerance, and type running close to the edge is the first thing it trims. See bleed and safe area.
If we're unsure, you'll see it on the proof
Where type is under 6 pt (8 pt for a thin font), or too fine to hold at the size you ordered, we flag it on the proof and say what we would change. You see it before anything prints. For lines and strokes, see how thin lines can be.