Die-Cut vs. Kiss-Cut Stickers: What's the Difference (and Which Should You Order)?

Order custom stickers for the first time and you'll hit two terms that sound like wrestling moves: die-cut and kiss-cut. The difference is one blade depth — and it changes how your sticker looks, ships, and peels.

Die-cut: cut all the way through

A die-cut sticker is cut through both the vinyl-like film and the backing paper, following the outline of your artwork. The result is a sticker whose entire body is the shape of your design — no border, no background square. It feels like an object, not a label, which is why die-cut is the default for brand stickers, laptop stickers, and anything you hand out.

Kiss-cut: cut through the film only

A kiss-cut sticker is cut through the printed film but not the backing. The blade "kisses" the liner and stops. Your shaped sticker peels off a larger rectangular backing sheet. Kiss-cut protects intricate designs (thin points, fine cutouts) during shipping and peeling, and it gives you room for extra branding on the backing paper.

Which should you order?

Choose die-cut for handouts, merch, laptop and bumper stickers, and any design with a clean silhouette. Choose kiss-cut for delicate artwork with thin elements, sticker sheets with multiple designs, and retail-packaged stickers.

At Carrco, our die-cut stickers are contour-cut on waterproof BOPP — upload a PNG with a transparent background and we generate the cut path automatically. Not sure which cut your art needs? Our team reviews every file before production and will flag anything fragile.

The 1/8-inch rule

Whichever cut you pick, keep design elements thicker than 1/8″ and leave 1/8″ of bleed past the cut line. Full specs live in our Printing Guide.