What's your sticker application technique?

[DenisRaymond]

Hi there,

I've just been sucked back into the world of sticker books thanks to a "little present" from my wife, and I had what may be a silly question. I'm quite particular about keeping everything neat and tidy and wondered if serious sticker collectors (the ones that don't keep them loose, anyway) have any special techniques, tools, tips or tricks for making sure the sticker they’re placing down goes into the book as straight and neatly as possible?

Personally, I try to line up the bottom left corner, then pivot the sticker until the bottom right corner is also aligned, then angle it back slightly so the glue “catches” the page along the bottom edge, then slide my little finger from the bottom to the top to stick it down. It’s fairly successful, but I still get a few that end up slightly wonky where I can see the guide box poking out at one of the top corners which annoys me slightly!

How do you do it?

 

[gaspy]

Curious question indeed

I always align the longest side of the sticker with its slot in the album, and that's done!

 

[Danju]

this is getting rocketsience
I put the bottom left corner in position first, then i stick carfully upwards to the top left corner. The rest comes how ever the sticker is cutted.

 

[Dieter]

I hold my sticker with my left thumb and index finger and right thumb and index finger on both sides, more to the top then the middle. That way i can stick the left top corner and right top corner at the same time, after that it's just easy.
If you do 2 corners at the same time no way you can screw it up.
i think we might need videos to get these things explained

 

[Bahnsen]

I would actually like to know, where on the packet you guys tear the pack open. At the moment I tear at top in the middle, but it happens that I damage stickers a bit. So whats the best technique for not damaging the stickers?

 

[Dieter]

I open them at the top right corner, above the stickers, and when i'm in the middle i drop down until i'm close to the stickers, no problem like this

 

[Helios]

Hi there,

I've just been sucked back into the world of sticker books thanks to a "little present" from my wife, and I had what may be a silly question. I'm quite particular about keeping everything neat and tidy and wondered if serious sticker collectors (the ones that don't keep them loose, anyway) have any special techniques, tools, tips or tricks for making sure the sticker they’re placing down goes into the book as straight and neatly as possible?

Personally, I try to line up the bottom left corner, then pivot the sticker until the bottom right corner is also aligned, then angle it back slightly so the glue “catches” the page along the bottom edge, then slide my little finger from the bottom to the top to stick it down. It’s fairly successful, but I still get a few that end up slightly wonky where I can see the guide box poking out at one of the top corners which annoys me slightly!

How do you do it?

Believe it or not I try to stick them neatly too, but to make it look more vivid and not like already printed I don’t mind if some are not stuck accurately..badges must be stuck perfect though

 

[DenisRaymond]

Believe it or not I try to stick them neatly too, but to make it look more vivid and not like already printed I don’t mind if some are not stuck accurately..badges must be stuck perfect though

Haha, same here - for some reason I concentrate even more when doing the shinies!

Thanks for the replies everyone - in a way I'm quite relieved that there isn't any sort of standard or recommended technique, it's stopped me worrying that I've been doing it the wrong way all this time

I was hoping there might have even been some sort of tool or gadget, which raises another question: would you use a tool if one existed? I'm a bit conflicted, as I love the proper hands-on feeling of doing it properly, and there's a real meditative aspect to it, too. As much as I'd appreciate not having to worry about misaligned stickers and speeding up the process a bit, I think I'd miss just switching off and getting lost in my thoughts as I do it the old-fashioned way.

 

[Helios]

Am I the only one stickin' from bottom left to bottom right?

I have found out another problem with 9 sticker sheets issued in German multipacks from Edeka supermarket.
The stickers meassurements are sometimes not the same with regular stickers cause the cutting is not accurate.
Sadly I discovered this too late cause I stuck them in before the normal ones - now I have an up and down slide show in my album..!


Bahnsen said:

I would actually like to know, where on the packet you guys tear the pack open. At the moment I tear at top in the middle, but it happens that I damage stickers a bit. So whats the best technique for not damaging the stickers?


I use the top of a finger file to cut the packet open. I do it where I can feel the sticker pile ends. It gives me the feeling of being a surgeon and limits the risk of tearing a sticker apart to minimum..

 

[DenisRaymond]

Am I the only one stickin' from bottom left to bottom right?

I have found out another problem with 9 sticker sheets issued in German multipacks from Edeka supermarket.
The stickers meassurements are sometimes not the same with regular stickers cause the cutting is not accurate.
Sadly I discovered this too late cause I stuck them in before the normal ones - now I have an up and down slide show in my album..!

Nope, I also go from bottom left to bottom right

I never bother with the free sticker sheets for that reason, sadly. I've also found that the free stickers that come stapled inside the album are unusable for the same reason, too, plus they sometimes have little ridges on the edge due to the staples, and as they're folded inside the cover, the stickers can be warped and harder to stick properly too. Now, I just leave those stickers alone and hope that, in many years to come, the album might be worth more to a collector if I ever have to sell them.

 

[Helios]

Nope, I also go from bottom left to bottom right

I never bother with the free sticker sheets for that reason, sadly. I've also found that the free stickers that come stapled inside the album are unusable for the same reason, too, plus they sometimes have little ridges on the edge due to the staples, and as they're folded inside the cover, the stickers can be warped and harder to stick properly too. Now, I just leave those stickers alone and hope that, in many years to come, the album might be worth more to a collector if I ever have to sell them.

yes the free stickers attached to the album are an absolut NO GO!
Now I learned that the others from the unharmed sheet are too..

 

[dantzig]

Bottom right, then bottom left, then upper right. If it fits nicely, then swipe all the sticker with the back of my fingers, from bottom right till upper left.

Not always like this though.

 

[simocorne]

Top left, than bottom left, than top right, than bottom right

 

[Helios]

Top left, than bottom left, than top right, than bottom right

Leftie