Dense, smooth kraft paper or plastic film gets a thin coat of crosslinkable silicone. The silicone has such low surface energy that adhesive can rest on it without bonding, so the finished sticker peels away cleanly.

Pressure-sensitive adhesive, most often acrylic, is coated on as a liquid and its water or solvent is driven off in hot-air dryers. Some lines use a hot melt instead, which is warmed until it flows and then sets as it cools while staying tacky.

Paper or vinyl film is pressed onto the adhesive, closing the sandwich. Vinyl is chosen for stickers that live outdoors, like bumper stickers, because it resists tearing and water. The combined web is wound into large rolls of label stock.

Plastic faces are often treated with corona discharge or a quick flame first, which lowers their surface tension so ink will wet them. Inks cured by ultraviolet light are common on vinyl, and outdoor stickers get lightfast inks that hold their color in the sun.

A cylindrical die geared to the press rolls over the web and cuts each outline through the face and adhesive while leaving the liner whole. Electric eyes keep every cut lined up with its printed picture. The frame of waste around the shapes is peeled off and wound away.

Knives slit the wide web into narrow rolls for label dispensers or chop it into flat sheets. Each sticker stays parked on its liner until someone peels it off.