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Kraft Paper stickers: how the material affects your design
Kraft Paper is perhaps the material that has its own unique touch. It’s uncoated, beautifully paper-textured, and 100% recycled. But there are some things that are good to know before you hit upload, and I’m here to spill all the beans for ya.
TL;DR:
Kraft Paper is a natural, uncoated material with a warm brown tone and a slightly textured surface. It’s made from 100% recycled paper and works great if you want a more raw, organic look. It’s easy to work with, affordable, and perfect for things like labels, packaging, or anything you might want to write on. Just keep in mind, it’s still paper, so it’s best kept dry.
When it comes to design, your colors can behave in three ways:
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Color effect: Colors blend into the paper, giving a softer, more muted look
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Full effect: No ink is applied, allowing the natural paper to show through
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No effect: A white layer is added, keeping colors true and more vibrant
What is Kraft Paper?
Kraft Paper is a natural-looking material made from 100% recycled paper. It has a warm brown tone and an uncoated surface that gives it a more raw, organic feel.
The material is uncoated with a slightly textured surface, making it a great choice if you’re planning to write on your stickers or labels. That’s why it works really well for things like place cards, jar labels, packaging details, or handmade product branding. It comes with a permanent adhesive and holds up well in everyday use. Just a friendly reminder: it’s still paper, which means it doesn’t really love water. So keep it dry for best results.
Why you’ll (most likely) end up loving it
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Eco-friendly: One of the biggest advantages of kraft paper stickers is that they are eco-friendly. Unlike plastic stickers, they are made from a renewable resource, which makes them biodegradable and compostable.
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Customizable: Kraft paper stickers are highly customizable, which makes them ideal for businesses that want to create unique branding opportunities. They can be printed with custom designs, logos, and text
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Cost-effective: Kraft paper stickers are affordable and offer a cost-effective alternative to traditional stickers made from plastic.
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Three Ways to Design With Kraft Paper
Kraft Paper is really the material that can give you different types of looks depensing on how you choose to design.
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Full effect: Here, you let the material speak for itself. No printed color, just cut shapes where the brown paper becomes the design itself. This gives a natural, raw look. If your design has transparent areas, this is how they’ll appear.
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Color effect: When you add color, it blends into the brown base. The result is softer and more muted, like everything is slightly toned down. Works well if you’re going for a more subtle, cohesive feel.
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No effect: If you want your colors to stand out, this is the way to go. The colors stay strong and clear, but still sit on top of the paper texture. You get that rustic feel, but with more contrast and pop
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Full, color, or no effect?
In our editor, we talk about different effect types (aka the ones mentioned above). But if you want to get a bit more nerdy about it, here’s what they actually mean:
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Full effect: Transparent areas (no color or white layer)
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Color effect: Areas where you add color (no white layer)
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No effect: A white layer is added to block the material, so the colors stay true and really pop
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So in short: Full and color effect both let the material show through, giving you a more natural, slightly toned-down look. No effect keeps your colors closer to the original, with more contrast but still a bit of that paper feel.
If all of this still feels a bit confusing, don't you worry! You can of course always rely on our live editor to choose your effect placements. And pro tip: always leave a comment specifying how and where you want the effect to be applied.
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Final Thoughts
Designing on Kraft Paper is all about balance. It’s not just about the design (even if it's important) it’s about how you choose to work with the material underneath. Do you want the material itself to take center stage? Or would you rather keep your colors crisp and vibrant while still benefiting from that uncoated, tactile paper feel?
With Kraft, you are always working with a warm brown base. You can choose to highlight it, soften it, or completely neutralize its visual impact with white underprint. The texture remains. The character remains. What changes is how visible it becomes. The creative choice is all yours.
Get inspired. Be krafty.
Looking for some more inspo? Check out these creative Kraft Paper die-cut stickers!
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