Sticker
Details on a Transformers toy that are not molded, printed, or painted on may be provided by the application of one or more stickers. Generally called labels, peel-and-stick labels, pressure-sensitive decals, or simply decals in polite conversation, none of these terms have achieved the popularity of the simpler vernacular.
These devices are simply a flexible substrate with colors and designs printed on one side, and some sort of gummy glue on the other. Generally they are stuck to a wax-coated protective sheet before use, and often the individual stickers are die-cut from a single sheet of backing while attached to this waxy sheet. However, many toys have stickers already applied to them at the manufacturing plant.
Stickers were abundant throughout the first decade of the Transformers franchise, but since then have been all but totally replaced with other detailing methods.
Use in Transformers
Early Generation 1
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Pretenders
Action Masters and Japan
As the original line lost retail steam around the globe, cost-saving measures went into effect, and pper decals became more prevalent.
Generation 2
As the first year of Generation 2 in the US was almost wholly recycled molds, stickers were still the norm. The concurrent molds from the European line (which were often released in both the prior-year's packaging style and under the new Generation 2 brand) kept stickers as well, both factory-applied and on separate sticker sheets. Most new-mold toys from this year used foil stickers (the Color Changers/Aquaspeeders/Stormtroopers, the Axelerators and Skyscorchers,) though others (tank Megatron, the Lightformers, Trakkons and Obliterators) kept with thick paper, thankfully using stronger adhesives than the Japanese paper-decal toys just a few years prior.
As the line entered its second year though, the apply-your-own separate sticker sheets vanished almost completely. Most toys still used factory-applied paper decals for more intricate detailing, typically for rally deco and text, but paint operations and tampographs became more and more commonplace, some. Even the recycled Generation 1 Aerialbot and Combaticon toys lacked separate sticker sheets (as did the ultimately-unreleased Protectobots and Stunticons). By 1995, many toys had eschewed sticker detailing altogether.
The only exception to the "no separate sticker sheet" rule in the US line from 1994 until Generation 2's end is Laser Optimus Prime, 1995's big-ticket item, which also featured a lot of "random robot-mode tech greeblies" sticker detailing that called back to the early days of the line. Japan also brought back separate sticker sheets, though in a much more low-key manner; their releases of the Autobot Cyberjets each came with a separate transparent-plastic sheet full of extra detailing, including "battle damage" markings. It appears, however, that no instructions were given as to where on the toy these decals were supposed to go. You could take a few educated guesses, but still.
Beast Wars
The rounded, organic styling of the Beast Wars toys made even factory-applied stickers ridiculously impractical for detailing purposes. Paint operations became the norm, and sticker detailing all but disappeared from new-mold toys since then. In the second year of Beast Wars, the toys gained a very subtle sticker addition; the "energon chip", a tiny, often-hidden heat-reactive sticker that would reveal the robot's allegiance, bringing back the classic "rubsign" gimmick from Generation 1. These stickers stuck (ha ha) with the line up through the third year, but were replaced by the snazzier-looking "spark crystals" of the Transmetal 2s.
Stickers made a very brief comeback in the super-short Machine Wars sub-series, liberally mixing painted details with decals. The Basic-sized figures had factory-applied stickers, while the larger boxed toys retained apply-your-own sticker sheets, modified from the original iterations of the toys. All of the stickers were paper-based, but with a generally stronger adhesive than in the past.
Japan would once again let stickers linger a bit longer with their unique releases. Beast Wars II made ample use of molds developed for Generation 2, resulting in a fair amount of factory-applied sitckers on Megastorm, Starscream and BB. In 1999, Metals Jaguar not only had a factory-applied sticker inside an opening chest compartment (revealing a Predacon faction symbol), but also the first separate sticker sheet in a Transformers toy since 1993. This foil sticker sheet featured two replacement "viewscreen" images for the chest-sticker (Generation 1 Megatron's head, and the classic Decepticon insignia on a purple grid background) as well as two Predacon symbols and two Decepticon symbols to be placed on his biceps as you wish. Mind, due to the rounded biceps, they don't really stay on well. The redeco of this toy, BotCon 2001's Transmetal Tigatron, also had a similar decal sheet.
Beyond the beasts
Despite the general return to toys with more flat planes suitable for stickers, for the most part they have been replaced by paint operations and tampographs. There are rare exceptions, of course.
Reissues of Generation 1 molds naturally retained their separate decal sheets, but as time went on, more and more of the reissues began replacing factory-applied stickers with more durable tampographs. The most notable examples are in the reissues and redecoes of the original Sideswipe mold: the rally-deco headlamps on every use of the mold since the "New Year Special" release in 2002. The Takara Micromaster series (also begun in 2002) used nothing but paint operations for the five Micromaster six-teams, often leaving areas once covered by stickers blank and adding entirely new detailing to other areas. However, the final releases in the series, the "DX Micromaster" versions of Multiforce, used factory-applied paper decals for their robot-mode torso detailing.
Pros and cons
A distinct advantage of stickers over paint in general is the ability to do much more intricately-detailed, multicolor detailing for a cheaper price.
A toy's stickers are a common area for early wear, as the designs fade and are abraded away. Many toys have had stickers applied to areas all but guaranteed to destroy the stickers by transforming the toy, one of the most notorious being the the thigh stickers on the original versions of Generation 1 Hot Rod.
Aftermarket replacements
Aftermarket manufacturers have sprung up that supply reproduction stickers. Some are available that were designed and never used on the original toy, and still others are original designs, supplied as improvements, to provide detail not previously found.