What is White Ink? How to Create Spot Holographic Sticker Effects

Want to know how to create spot special effects on your stickers? What other sticker materials can "white ink" be applied to? This article will take you step-by-step through understanding white ink and teach you the most pro ways to apply it, turning you into a true sticker master!

What is White Ink?

When submitting sticker printing files, you often see the term "white ink." So what exactly is "white ink," and why do you need to create a special file layer for it?

"White ink," as the name implies, is white-colored ink. Unlike the commonly known printing four colors CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black), white cannot be mixed using these four colors. Therefore, "white ink" is essentially a spot color concept that requires a separate, dedicated printing run.

Why Do We Need White Ink?

When printing on Transparent Stickers or stickers with special base materials—such as Holographic Stickers or Metallic Stickers—printing your graphics directly onto the material will cause the final colors to be affected by the base material's color or texture.

If you don't want your design's colors to be altered by the substrate, you need to print a layer of white ink underneath the colored graphics first to mask the background effect of the base material.

Now that we understand the purpose of white ink, let’s take a look at actual comparative cases with and without white ink!

No White Ink vs. With White Ink

If Transparent Stickers lack white ink, the printed colors will look translucent like cellophane, easily showing the background underneath, which compromises the color saturation and clarity of the design. By printing a layer of white ink first to mask the transparency and then overprinting the colors, you can achieve vibrant, opaque graphics!

Shiny holographic materials also heavily rely on white ink. If the colored graphics are printed without a base layer of white ink, they will prominently show the reflective texture of the sticker material. You can use white ink to block out areas where you don't want the substrate effect to show through, achieving a cleaner, high-contrast look.

Take the Diamond Stickers below as an example: on the left (without white ink), the yellow parts turn into yellow diamond patterns, and the blue parts show a blue diamond effect. On the right (full white ink applied to the image), the diamond effect on the graphic is blocked out, leaving only the shiny sticker border exposed.

How to Set Up White Ink Files

When preparing a white ink file, please separate the "White Ink" and "Colored Graphics" into different layers, and set the white ink artwork to K100 (100% Solid Black).

If you'd like StickerHD to design and create the white ink layer for you, it's best to provide layered AI (Adobe Illustrator) or PS (Adobe Photoshop) files for precise accuracy!

🏆Becoming a White Ink Master: Spot White Ink Effects

When setting up white ink, you don't necessarily have to apply it to the entire graphic. Sometimes, using spot white ink in specific areas produces even better results! Let's explore more advanced ways to use white ink.

For example, look at the matte Transparent Sticker on the left below: the ship and marine creatures are printed with white ink to make them opaque, while the glass cup body is intentionally left without white ink to simulate a glass transparency effect. The blue seawater can either skip white ink or use a 50% opacity white ink to give the water a translucent feel. The right side is the control group with full white ink applied. 👉 [Custom Transparent Sticker Printing]

Similarly, look at the Diamond Stickers below. The leftmost sticker is the control group with full white ink. In the middle example, white ink is applied only to the UFO and the characters to keep their colors saturated, while the border, light beams, and yellow dots on the UFO lack white ink, letting the diamond texture shine through. The rightmost example differs from the middle one because its outer border also has white ink, making the diamond holographic portions pop even more! Remember, when preparing files, full-bleed white ink also requires bleed setup!

For the Holographic Stickers below, the left is the control group with full white ink. On the right, white ink is applied only to the linework, the character's face and body, and the apple on the snack packaging. The remaining areas retain the holographic base material effect, making the speech bubbles and snack pack shiny and metallic!

For pure black or very dark printed areas, you might want to skip white ink. Applying white ink underneath black can make the color look slightly grayish or less saturated!

Furthermore, white ink can be printed as a gradient! By flexibly combining spot white ink, varying opacities, and gradient white ink, you can create breathtaking custom effects! Here are some works by pros for your inspiration. 😂

Conclusion

Here is a quick summary of the key characteristics of white ink printing!

1. Standard CMYK four-color printing cannot mix white ink, so white ink must be printed separately.
2. When preparing white ink files, please separate the "White Ink" and "Colored Graphics" into different layers.
3. White ink masks the texture/color of the base material and increases color saturation.
4. Transparent Stickers printed without white ink will have a translucent look; placing them on dark backgrounds will cause the design's colors to be washed out!
5. White ink can be applied selectively as "spot white ink"—it doesn't have to cover the whole image.
6. White ink supports gradients and can even be drawn using Photoshop (PSD) brushes.
7. You can request StickerHD to help design your white ink layers.
8. Materials that SUPPORT white ink:
   • Transparent Stickers
   • All kinds of Holographic Stickers
   • Metallic Stickers
   • Kraft Paper Label Stickers
   • Tattoo Stickers
   • Static Cling & Removable Repositionable Die Cut Stickers
   • Washi Stickers
9. Materials that DO NOT SUPPORT white ink:
   • 3M Reflective Stickers
   • Powerful Glow In The Dark Die-Cut Sticker

We hope this guide helps you flexibly apply white ink to create even cooler and more stunning custom sticker designs!