Decals, or as we like to call it, stickers is a collective name for stickers and which are basically printed vinyl with adhesive (glue) on the underside. Comes in all shapes and sizes and is phenomenally good to have with everything.
However, it is a jungle out there because dear child has many names and many companies and printers out there liberally call their offerings stickers or decals but worth noting is that there is a big difference in quality.
Some tips for good and cheap stickers:
Size is an important part of pricing. Larger stickers cost more because more material is used. Find a good combo or why not look here at the most popular sizes for stickers)
Color vs black/white
Color costs more than black and white as basically all printed stickers are printed on white vinyl, so according to the old school with screen printing, only one color is used but you get the illusion that you get two colors (the white). In digital production, it looks similar and it is slightly cheaper to make single color stickers than full color.
Die-cut vs kiss-cut
If you want completely cut-out stickers without any sheets or horrible edges, then die-cut stickers are what you're looking for. The technique is similar to your sticker being punched out with the backing paper intact and you get a handy little rascal to take with you in your pocket wherever you go.
Kiss-cut is when you don't cut through the backing paper and commonly occurs with stickers in a paper finish. However, works perfectly for e.g. sticker sheets, but be careful so you don't get errors with other suppliers without consciously choosing it of course!
By die-cut, one usually also means shaped cut, which is not exactly the same thing, but a commonly accepted name. At stickerbomb.wtf, we have chosen to punch out your individual stickers as a good service, but we have kept the shapes fixed such as square stickers, circles and rectangular stickers. If you are looking for more control or completely insane shapes, we recommend our sister site Prettygoodstickers.
Durability
The biggest advantage of vinyl stickers is the durability, which in itself can withstand weather, wind, rain and water without any problems whatsoever. We have chosen to create packages with vinyl stickers that can withstand a lot of use but can be refined further, especially if you intend to sell your stickers as works of art or the like, and we will be happy to have a chat and advise you on how to do that.
Our stickers are specified to withstand up to 5 years of indoor use (on a laptop near you for example) but can withstand outdoor use without any problems and we have several examples of adhesives that refuse to let go. What can happen with this type of sticker is that colors can fade over the years, especially red and yellow are sensitive to sun and UV, but there will be no problems with the print raining off, ever.
Paper vs vinyl
The cheapest possible is paper, we can't say anything about that but everyone who has tested it knows that it is not exactly long-lasting to use and regardless of whether it is varnished or not, there is a risk that the print will deteriorate significantly over time. Vinyl on the other hand holds up to water, weather and wind so it's a trade off but we are proud of our decals and dare say you won't be disappointed.
Paper stickers are actually labels and are usually but not always printed on large offset presses and are sometimes delivered on rolls. Absolutely awesome for its specific purposes but not quite as fun as stickers in our opinion.