Static sticky notes: how they work (and what they stick to)

Static sticky notes are notes that hold on smooth surfaces without any adhesive. You peel a sheet off the pad, press it against the surface, and it stays. No glue strip, no residue.

For facilitation and workshops they solve a familiar problem. Paper sticky notes fall off a whiteboard once you have moved them a few times. Static notes can be re-sorted as often as you like without losing grip.

You will also see them called electrostatic sticky notes, electrostatic notes, static cling notes, or static cling sticky notes. They are the same thing.

For an overview of formats and sets, see the Stattys Notes.

How do static sticky notes work?

The grip is created when you peel the sheet off the pad. In the pad, every sheet lies directly against the next one. Separating them transfers a small amount of electrical charge from one surface to the other. This is the triboelectric effect, the same one that makes a balloon cling to a sweater.

The sheet now carries a weak charge, the wall does not, and the two attract.

There is a second force at work. Because the sheet is a thin, flexible film, it conforms to a smooth surface and pushes the air out from underneath. At that point molecular attraction, known as van der Waals force, adds to the hold. This is why surface smoothness matters more than anything else.

The charge sits across the whole face of the sheet, so the whole face holds. There is no adhesive edge carrying the rest of the note, and no edge for it to peel back from.

The sheets are film rather than paper for a reason. Paper absorbs moisture, and moisture drains the charge. Film keeps it.

What is the difference between static notes and regular sticky notes?

A paper sticky note carries a narrow glue strip along the top edge. The rest of the sheet rests loose. That produces three problems in a working session:

• The note lifts off the wall. Paper comes off the pad with tension in it. The bottom edge curls, and a strip about two centimeters wide ends up holding the whole sheet.
• Re-sorting weakens the glue. Every move means peeling and re-sticking. The adhesive picks up dust each time and loses tack.
• Whiteboards are the worst case. The coating exists so that nothing adheres to it. That includes glue.

Static notes have none of these. They lie flat, they slide across the surface, and the smooth coating that defeats adhesive is the ideal surface for them.

What surfaces do static notes stick to?

The surface has to be smooth, clean, and dry. These work:

• Whiteboards
• Glass and windows
• Doors
• Painted walls
• Cabinet doors and furniture fronts
• Metal, with or without magnetic properties
• Tile and mirrors

Windows are usually the largest unused surface in a meeting room and the smoothest one available.

What surfaces do they not stick to?

The hold fails on these:

• Textured wallpaper and rough plaster
• Fabric, felt, and carpet
• Bare wood
• Dusty or greasy surfaces
• Damp surfaces

If the room has no usable wall, windows, doors, and cabinets are the fallback. When there is no smooth surface at all, the Stattys Noteboard gives you one you can carry.

Do temperature and humidity affect them?

Humidity is the factor that matters. Moisture in the air helps neutralize surface charge, so a very damp room shortens how long a sheet holds. A damp wall is worse than damp air.

Dry conditions work in your favor. Heated rooms in winter are good for static notes, which is the opposite of what people expect.

Temperature on its own has little effect in normal room conditions.

What pens can you use?

Any pen that does not bleed through:

• Permanent marker: our recommendation. Stays put and leaves the sheet intact.
• Whiteboard marker: wipes off, but wiping can lift some of the sheet's color along with the ink.
• Ballpoint and pencil: work with slightly more pressure.

We recommend a permanent marker. Whiteboard marker does come off, but the color of the note tends to come off with it, so sheets look worn after a few rounds.

If you do use a whiteboard marker, wipe the sheet soon after the session. The longer the ink sits, the harder it is to remove, and the harder you rub, the more color you lose.

Felt tips with very wet ink are a poor match. The film does not absorb them and the writing smears.

What do you do when a note stops sticking?

The charge fades with use. Rub the sheet briefly against your sleeve or the edge of a table and it will hold again.

If that does not fix it, the surface is usually the cause. Dust and old marker film reduce grip on any whiteboard. Wipe it down, let it dry, and try again.

Store the sheets flat and dry, either back in the pad or in a transport tube.

Using static notes as facilitation cards

In a card-sorting exercise, each person writes one idea per card, all cards go on the wall, and the group clusters them together.

Clustering is the step where adhesive slows a group down. If every move means peeling and re-sticking, a group re-sorts less often than a good result requires.

Three practical differences:

1. Slide instead of re-stick. Cards move with one finger, including on the fourth pass.
2. More working surface. A whiteboard rarely holds sixty cards. Windows and doors extend the space.
3. Results survive the session. Take the cards down, stack them, roll them up, and put them back up at the next meeting. The follow-up starts from where the group finished.

The third point saves the most time in practice. A restored wall brings a group back into the topic faster than a photo of it.

How many times can you reuse them?

The grip is not the limit. A sheet holds for years, and a quick rub brings the charge back whenever it fades.

What limits reuse is the writing. With a permanent marker a sheet serves once as a card and then as a lasting note. With a whiteboard marker you can wipe and rewrite, but each round takes a little color off the sheet.

Either way they replace paper notes that get thrown out after a workshop.

Which size for which job?

For cards and short sentences: Stattys Notes S (10 x 7 cm) – Electrostatic Notes for Planning & Sorting. The classic facilitation card format.

For headings and cluster titles: Stattys Notes M (20 × 10 cm) – Electrostatic Notes for Bigger Ideas & Plans. Readable from five meters.

For dots, markers, and short notes: Stattys Notes XS (5 x 3.7 cm) – Electrostatic Notes for Fast & Tiny Thoughts.

When the room has no smooth surface: Stattys Noteboard – Foldable Whiteboard with 4 Markers.

Frequently asked questions

Do static notes stick to textured wallpaper? No. The surface has to be smooth. Use a window, a door, or the Stattys Noteboard.

Can I write on them with a whiteboard marker and wipe it off? Yes, but wiping tends to take some of the sheet's color off with the ink. We recommend a permanent marker instead.

What do I do if a sheet stops holding? Rub it against your sleeve or a table edge. If that is not enough, clean the surface.

Do they leave residue? No. There is no adhesive, including on painted walls and glass.

How are they different from magnetic notes? Magnetic notes need a magnetic surface. Static notes hold on any smooth surface, including glass and painted wood.

Do they still work in dry heated rooms? Yes. Dry air favors static hold. Damp surfaces are the problem case.