All About Vinyl Decals and Stickers

Vinyl decals are a fun, flexible means for dressing up everything from your car and office to a child's playroom or the look of your entire home.

While vinyl decals are often viewed simply as stickers, their construction is actually quite different. Vinyl decals are made from a self-adhesive, synthetic material, similar in composition to plastic. The vinyl composition makes them much more rugged and durable than stickers. Vinyl decals are also significantly thinner than stickers-a feature that helps to preserve them against temperature fluctuations that would cause a traditional sticker to bubble and crack. Thanks to this combination of durability and sleek, thin composition, properly affixed vinyl decals will appear to be painted-rather than simply stuck-onto a surface.

Although vinyl decals are often applied to vehicles and outdoor signage, they are gaining much prevalence when it comes to home decor. This can include things like large, abstract designs intended to lend color and personality to a room, as well as smaller things like borders and intricate details. However, due to the way vinyl decals are made, proper application is absolutely essential when it comes to achieving the perfect effect. You can view detailed installation instructions here.

First of all, it's important to remember that vinyl decals can't be treated like simple stickers. They tend to be much more involved and can sometimes be difficult to properly affix. But if you're willing to put in some patience and precision, you can wind up with some really striking decor.

Most vinyl decals will come packaged with a few things to help you in the application process. This includes a low-tack tape (used to correctly align the decal) as well as a special tool used to properly affix the decal smoothly against the surface. But before you even unwrap the decal, you'll want to make sure the surface is primed and ready to go.

Before you apply your vinyl decal, make sure that the chosen surface is clean and dry. Although a vinyl decal can withstand very high and low temperatures, when you first apply the decal, the area should ideally be between 50 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything outside those parameters can cause some issues during the initial application.

Now it's time to decide how you'd like everything to look. Many kinds of vinyl decals are packaged as multi-image sets. This might include something like a large wall design consisting of multiple designs. In this case, the designs are likely to be separate details. This is where the low-tack tape comes in. Using the low-tack tape, position all of the designs on the wall (without removing the decals from their backings) until you find an arrangement you like. If you've purchased a decal that doesn't include low tack tape, you might want to try scotch tape.

Once you've landed on the perfect arrangement, you're ready to start the actual process. Remove each taped-up decal from the wall, temporarily replacing it with a "spacer dot" (most vinyl decals will include spacer dots for just this purpose). Spacer dots help you make sure that you'll return the decal to exactly the right position.

Next, place the decal face down on a smooth surface and slowly peel the adhesive backing away. Take care that the graphic remains attached to the clear liner affixed to the face of the decal. Once you've removed the backing, gently affix the decal to the spot you've selected. Using the included tool, smooth the decal against the wall, starting from the center and smoothing outwards. This will help eliminate any bubbles that might have popped up under the decal. Once you've got the decal smoothly against the wall, simply peel away the clear liner from the front of the graphic. On some occasions, an intricately shaped graphic might require that you use the tool again in order to hold the graphic in place while you remove the liner.

For videos on the installation of vinyl decals and stickers, visit our YouTube Channel.

Thanks to their durable composition and weather-resistant design, vinyl decals can be applied nearly anywhere as bold, decorative flourish. And now that you know the basics of proper application, you can get started using decals throughout your home, for accents on molding, headboards, or cupboards or encompass a room with total design schemes. And considering that you can even cut your own designs from large sheets of vinyl, you're only as limited as your imagination.Walls Need Love provides custom wall vinyl designs, lettering, and words for your walls. We create custom lettering, custom vinyl phrases, expressions stick to your walls and look hand painted. Visit out outdoor vinyl company MidSouth Vinyl or our indoor vinyl sign company Wall Appeals for removable wall art.

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Large Format Poster Prints

Professional Poster Printing on High quality satin, canvas and polyester papers! We give you choices in the look and feel of your photo and art prints. Choose Gloss, Satin or Matte archive quality media. Satin is by far our most popular photo media due to its rich color and moderate shine. Prices start at $5 per square foot! Image shown is from Get MyRA Retirement Services.

Custom Company Outdoor Signage

Bring your message to life! MidSouth Vinyl's dimensional signs and graphics make the most of your budget by utilizing materials and production to give you the best quality product you deserve at an affordable price. Let our sign and graphic design crews at MidSouth Vinyl and K-Squared Designs help your business or organization identify your property and extend your image and message. Whether you're creating a simple sign for your business or 3-d sign for every visitor of your town to see, your message deserves to stand out.

Vinyl Corrugated Plastic Signs

Corrugated plastic signs offer you an economical and versatile way of displaying information for your next event or your company's next promotion. We offer a wide variety of color boards to match your company or event's branding and other signage needs. Our corrugated plastic signs and yard signs come with an H-Frame for easy placement.

We are proud to now offer customizable corrugated plastic signs in multiple sport shapes including soccer and footballs so everyone from the coach to the team mom can show their spirit. We are able to create your corrugated plastic sign using full color printed vinyl or multiple layers of solid vinyl.

Contact us today or call us at (270) 761-5237 to consult with us the corrugated sign that best fits your needs, or upload a file to begin your sign's production process.

How-To Remove a Vinyl Decal

Personalized Window Decals

No job is too small for MidSouth Vinyl. Our wide variety of decals are taylored to the needs of individual consumers. From the soccer mom wanting her child's name on her vehicle, to a person who wants a personalized bumpersticker, MidSouth Vinyl decals are a great way to personalize your property. Click below to learn more about our vinyl decal choices. Check out our gallery of specialty vinyl to view examples of our work.

Retractable Banner Stands

Stands up and stand out! MidSouth Vinyl's Retractable Banner Stands provide you solutions with ease of movability for transporting to trade shows, around your retail stores, restaurants, and hotels. Our affordable banner stands, pop-up stands, and trade show banners are lightweight and easy to use so you will look like a pro wherever you show.

Our professional retractable banner stands are ideal for trade show promotional signs, lobby displays, point-of-purchase, or any other advertising venue. They feature durable construction and slim-line styling.

Our economy version mixes the promotional power of trade show displays with the accessibility and portability needed for today's multi-faceted business. Call today!

Custom Hanging Signs on Scroll Brackets

At MidSouth Vinyl. we make some of the finest decorative signs available. Each sign is handcrafted and custom made from start to finish by our experienced design staff. We specialize in designing customized signs that allow you to add a personal touch to your organization or business. Our custom signs allow an array of choices from colors, shapes and sizes.

Visit MidSouth Vinyl to start your custom sign project!

Contour Cutting (Die Cutting) Printed Vinyl Decals & Stickers

Custom Vinyl License Plates

Vehicle license plates for your company or organization is the perfect way to show your pride pride and novelty personalized license plates are a great way to express yourself in your personal car or truck without paying big dollars to the department of motor vehicles.

Our 12" x 6" vinyl and aluminum or vinyl and vinyl custom personalized plates start at only $9.95 and come in a variety of colors and designs to match your personal interests. Our license plates are .040" thick white aluminum or black and red vinyl and are single sided. Additional background colors are available. We also supply you with a license plate bracket in New York and California style!

We do not recommend more than two lines of text or more than one logo and website on a license plate as the letters would be too small to be visible from a distance.