Have you ever used a sticker that looks ordinary during the day but glows in the dark or in low-light environments? Such stickers are called "glow-in-the-dark stickers." Many of us have fond childhood memories of sticking star-shaped glow-in-the-dark stickers on our bedroom walls, dreaming of a room full of stars. Do you share similar memories?
What is the principle behind glow-in-the-dark stickers?
#Glow_in_the_dark stickers, also known as #phosphorescent stickers, contain a fluorescent agent on their surface. This agent has the property of storing light. When exposed to an external light source, the agent absorbs and stores the energy. Once the light source is removed, the stored energy is slowly released as fluorescence, causing the sticker to glow in the dark.
What is the difference between glow-in-the-dark, photochromic, and fluorescent?
Light-storing ability: Both glow-in-the-dark and photochromic inks can store light. Glow-in-the-dark ink continues to emit light for a while after the light source is removed, while photochromic ink changes color for some time. Fluorescent ink, however, does not store light; its glowing effect disappears immediately once the light source is removed.
Self-luminescence: Glow-in-the-dark and fluorescent inks are considered self-luminous. Glow-in-the-dark ink emits light independently in the dark. Fluorescent ink glows only under ultraviolet light, but it is not reflective—it absorbs UV light and emits visible light, making it self-luminous. Photochromic ink, on the other hand, only changes color and does not emit light.
Light absorption: Photochromic and fluorescent inks absorb ultraviolet light, while glow-in-the-dark ink absorbs white light.
For more information, please refer to “Fluorescent Ink” and “Photochromic Ink.”
Glow-in-the-Dark Ink Printing
Glow-in-the-dark ink can be printed onto paper cards or stickers using screen printing techniques.
The most common glow-in-the-dark ink is yellow-green in color. While other colors of glow-in-the-dark ink do exist, they tend to have lower brightness and are less commonly used in practical applications.
By overprinting glow-in-the-dark ink on top of colored prints, it is possible to create multicolored glowing effects. However, this design approach is usually not recommended because the colored ink absorbs light, reducing the brightness of the glow.

Printing glow-in-the-dark ink on white areas yields higher brightness. Although it cannot achieve rich color changes in the dark, the contrast between light and dark is its most captivating feature.

Printing Glow-in-the-Dark Stickers
For glow-in-the-dark stickers, colored printing is applied on pre-coated glow-in-the-dark materials. These materials have a thick phosphorescent coating, resulting in higher brightness and longer-lasting glow compared to screen-printed glow-in-the-dark ink. However, since inks absorb light, it is recommended to avoid printing additional colors over areas where the glow effect is intended, unless using very light colors.


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