It's one of two things. Either the proof is being shown smaller, squeezed, or enlarged on its way to your screen, or the artwork itself doesn't have enough detail for the size you ordered. The first doesn't affect your stickers. The second does, and the proof is showing it honestly so the file can be fixed before anything prints.
Rule out the viewing first
A proof is a picture of your sticker for checking on a screen, and how sharp it looks depends on how you're looking at it.
- Open it from the link in the proof email, not from a screenshot or a forwarded copy. Screenshots and pictures sent through chat apps are shrunk and compressed again on the way.
- Look on a laptop or desktop if you can. A small phone screen makes everything harder to judge.
- Use "View Larger" on the proof page to see it bigger, rather than zooming your browser a long way. Any picture enlarged far enough looks soft.
Then compare your artwork with the cut line
We draw the cut line on your proof in the same picture as your artwork, so the cut line is a handy reference. Look at the two side by side.
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Cut line crisp, artwork fuzzy or stair-stepped | The softness is in the file, and it will print that way |
| Cut line and artwork equally soft | It's the view; open the proof larger |
Signs that it's the artwork: stair-steps along curves and diagonal edges, a fuzzy halo around lettering, or smudgy blocks of color around sharp detail. Those blocks come from a JPG that was compressed hard.
Check the file itself
The surest test is the pixel count. A photo, PNG, or JPG needs about 300 pixels for every inch of the finished sticker, so a 3" sticker wants about 900 pixels across the design. Vector files (AI, SVG, EPS, and most PDFs from design software) don't have this limit. The guide to blurry or low-resolution artwork shows how to find the pixel size and how big each size prints sharp.
If it's the artwork
You have three ways forward:
- Send a better file. Ask whoever designed it for a larger export or the vector original. Email it to team@stickymade.com with your order number. Then, on the proof, write in the "Notes for us" box that a new file is coming, and press "Request Changes".
- Order it smaller. A file that's soft at 4" can be crisp at 2".
- Have it redrawn. Redrawing is design work, and it's charged, so ask us for a quote.
It's worth settling before you approve. The 100% Satisfaction Guarantee covers the quality of the product, and it requires artwork at a proper resolution (at least 300 DPI) that wasn't AI generated. See refunds and reprints.
If you can't tell
Ask us. Write in the "Notes for us" box that the proof looks soft, and press "Request Changes". We'll tell you whether it's the file. See how to request changes to your proof. Do it promptly: on most stickers, if we haven't heard back 36 hours after we send the proof, we may go ahead and print what it shows. Requesting changes counts as a reply.