What is Live Preview?

Live Preview simulates how your sticker or label will look once printed. You see how your design works with different materials and finishes, from holographic to transparent and kraft paper. Think of it as trying your design on a virtual sticker before it's made. It's an extra layer of control on top of the editor features you already know.

With Live Preview you can:

• See your design as a 3D-like digital object

• Move it around to check shape and layout

• Try different materials in real time

Material effects and white layers

A white layer (sometimes called a mask) is white ink printed under your design. It blocks the material effect where you want solid colours. In the editor you control this in the Material effect bar, where you decide if your colours should:

• Stay solid (white underneath)

• Take on the material effect (colour and material combined)

• Disappear completely, leaving only the material

Say your design is a penguin holding a banana, printed on glitter:

• With no white layer, both the penguin and the banana get the glitter effect.

• With a white layer only under the penguin's body, the penguin prints solid while the banana keeps the glitter shine.

You can also use partial white layers for softer, semi-transparent results. Our print experts fine-tune the levels, so you don't need to think about exact percentages. In short: material effects are what you see and set in the editor, and white layers are the technical print setup behind them. See how to create white layers to set them up yourself.

Options in Live Preview

When your design loads, up to eight colours from your artwork appear in the Material effect bar below your file. All colours start as No effect. Click a colour and choose one of three options:

• No effect: the colour prints solid.

• Colour effect: the colour blends with the material.

• Full effect: the colour is removed and only the material shows.

Other tools in the bar:

• Invert: reverses the colour effects.

• Reset: returns everything to default.

• Light/Dark mode: shows your sticker against different backgrounds.

Can I still add comments or upload my own mask?

Yes.

• You can always leave a comment for our print experts with special requests, such as where to put white or which opacity you want.

• If your uploaded file already has white layers, we detect them. Live Preview 1.0 doesn't display them yet, but that's planned for a future update.

What if Live Preview can't separate areas in my design?

Live Preview groups similar colours. In the penguin design, it might give the same effect to all orange and red areas, like the beak and the feet. If you only want some of them to have the effect (for example a solid beak and shiny feet), leave a comment and our team sets it up before printing.

Which products support Live Preview 1.0?

Available on desktop for:

• Die-cut Stickers

• Labels on Roll

• Heavy Duty Stickers

• Hang Tag Stickers

• Front Adhesive Stickers

• Epoxy 3D Stickers

• Floor Stickers

• Wall Stickers

• Removable Stickers

• Singles on Sheet

Which products don't support it yet?

• Kiss-cut Stickers

• Sticker Sheets

• UV DTF Transfer

• DTF Heat Transfers

We're working on Live Preview 2.0, which will support all products as well as mobile and tablet.

Unsure about your setup?

If you're not sure how to prepare your file or where to add white layers, leave a comment in the editor. Our team checks it and sets everything up before printing.