Best Printable Clear Sticker Paper for Silhouette Stickers

You can make custom printable clear stickers with Silhouette if you have the basics of print and cut down and the right printable clear sticker paper...plus a few tricks up your sleeve.

My favorite clear sticker paper for inkjet printers is from Online Labels because it's high quality, doesn't smear, and cuts easily. 

If you're new to making clear stickers, you make them the same way as all other print and cut stickers with Silhouette CAMEO. 

This tutorial will assume you already know how to set up Silhouette CAMEO print and cut. If you don't, check out this beginner Silhouette Print and Cut tutorial first. 

The basic steps to set up stickers in Silhouette Studio are: 

• Page Setup: Adjust Material to "Letter" and turn on print border and cut border
• Click "M" to turn on the Registration Marks

• Open the sticker designs and position so they are inside all of the borders on the page 
• Put a slight offset around each sticker if you want a small clear border

• In the Send panel select "No Cut" for all internal cut lines
• In the Send panel select "Cut" ONLY for the offset line

Before you print from Silhouette Studio, remove all other paper from the printer's tray. Place a single sheet of Online Labels clear printable sticker paper for inkjet into your printer. If you use the paper for laser in an inkjet the ink won't dry - and vice versa. 

Removing all other paper from the tray, makes it easier for the printer to grab the clear sticker paper at the right time to ensure the registration marks are printed in the right spot. 

Click Print in Silhouette Studio to open the print manager.  If you have the option, adjust the settings to print "best" and also select a "glossy" type of paper. 

This tells the printer to print slower giving the ink time to dry (and prevent smearing) as it's printing on the inkjet printable clear sticker sheet.

Let the ink completely dry for a few minutes then place it on a Silhouette cutting mat.  Note the glare on the glossy sticker sheet..that's going to be a problem for print and cut (but we'll deal with it!).

Load the cutting mat into the Silhouette CAMEO. 

SUPER IMPORTANT: To avoid any glare and shadows on the clear sticker sheet which can cause registration mark errors, turn off any overhead lights. 

In addition, pull the CAMEO 4's cover out slightly to cover the tool housing area while the machine tries to find the registration marks. 

From the Silhouette Studio Send panel select the material for Silhouette Clear Sticker Paper and then adjust the settings for this Online Labels glossy clear sticker paper.  

I have found the best cut Silhouette Cut settings for a kiss cut on this brand of clear sticker sheets to be: Blade 3,  Force 20, Speed 4, 1 Pass. 

 

Send the stickers to cut.  The Silhouette CAMEO machine will first attempt to find the registration marks, then reset and begin cutting.  Notice how there are not shadows and no glare... this is crucial.

When the cutting is complete, do not remove the cutting mat from the Silhouette machine until you confirm you have nicely kiss cut stickers! If the stickers did not cut through send the job to cut again. 

When you've confirmed the clear stickers have cut through, you can remove the cutting mat from the Silhouette machine and then peel away the excess material around the stickers if you'd like. 

You should be left with some beautiful clear glossy stickers! 

The colors on the clear stickers really pop when you place on a white surface and are more muted on colored papers due to the transparency. 

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine!

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