"Mil" is short for "thousandth of an inch." Not million, not millimeter, though everyone guesses one of those first. The unit dates back to 1857, when a British engineer named Joseph Whitworth got sick of machinists arguing over sixteenths and thirty-seconds and told them to start thinking in decimals. It stuck, and now it shows up everywhere from paint coatings to wire gauge to sticker vinyl.
To try to make it relatable, here's a quick chart of the various thicknesses of vinyl we use.
Roughly a third thinner than the notebook paper sitting on your desk, and yet the paper loses in a fight every time. This is the one you barely feel on a laptop lid.
This vinyl conforms right down into the spackle on textured drywall, so it reads as painted on instead of stuck on.
Shop Everyday Stickers →Just a hair over 2.75 mil — about as thick as a single sheet of printer paper. Still thin enough to conform right down into drywall spackle and mostly disappear into the texture.
That little bit of extra body is what gives it a lip: for us it means enough edge to catch with a fingernail when you're ready to peel it up in one piece.
Check it out on Removable Stickers & Temporary Murals →Hold one of these Stickers next to a 2.75 mil sticker, and it'll feel a lot thicker. In reality though, it's about as thick as a latex glove, or plastic contractor's drop cloth.
Our stubborn stickers are 6 mil thick, and lightly textured drywall will look flat beneath this stuff.
Side note: anecdotal evidence says these sell better in gift shops than Everyday Stickers, mostly because they feel more substantial and less delicate, regardless of how the ultimate buyer will use it.)
Grab some Stubborn Stickers →This is playing card territory. Pull one card out of the deck and run your thumb over it. That's roughly what 9 mil feels like.
Our laminated Ultradurable stickers land right here, X1 vinyl under a PL-3150 topcoat. They're smooth to the touch and will sit pretty clearly on top of whatever you stick them to.
Ultradurable Stickers are 9 mil thick →About the thickness of a heavy business card — the kind that feels like more than paper when you hand it over.
It's the one we're sizing up for helmet decals. The extra body over 9 mil is there for real abrasion resistance, not just show.
Getting into two-playing-cards-stacked territory. 21 mil is a lot to ask of hobbyist cutters, but we're seriously considering a tongue-in-cheek "you want the world to know you go camping" sticker — made of a thicker laminate than their run to Starbucks would ever require.
Ninjas could order these in star shapes and weaponize them.
We'll. Make. Millions.
These things almost look like a glued on badge more than a sticker, and we make them in small batches for fun projects around the shop. But the vinyl and laminate rolls are heavier, and the changeover to run it isn't nothing. Vinyl this thick gets requested just often enough that we'd lose our shirt on excess inventory, and spend all the margin reconfiguring one of the printers for it.
If these things become popular, we're gonna need another printer. And before we get another printer,
We're gonna need a bigger shop.
E-mail us at support@vancouverstickercompany.com, and we'll happily chat!
They are a pleasure to work with and we love supporting locals!
I love the Vancouver Sticker Company!!!!!
The team is incredibly helpful and responsive. They want your stickers to turn out as perfect as possible, and if they forsee an issue with the design, they will hammer it out with you over email to make certain your print turns out beautiful.
They also just got a new printer which is WAY faster and less expensive to use than any other company I've tried.
In terms of customer service, price, print quality, and speed, you're not going to beat Vancouver Sticker Company.
Had a phenomenal experience working with VSC and Matt. Easy and fast communication to work out exactly what we needed. Loved the suggestion for adjusting the cut of the sticker too! They turned out so great and our library is super excited to use them as our giveaways at this year's city-wide Pride Party! Thank you!
