The Makerspace has a 1.5 inch American Button Machines button maker available for use. Buttons are an extremely popular way to market a brand, promote a cause, or just show off your favorite characters. Download images from the internet or design your own to have professional looking results in seconds.
What You’ll Need
- Bring your own design – images should be scaled to 1.6 inches in diameter. You can print from our computers ($0.50 per page for color, $0.20 per page for black-and-white) or bring a hard copy of your image on standard paper.
- Photo paper, magazine/newspaper pages, and thinner cardstock may be acceptable but are not always ideal. Fabric, thicker cardstock, and plastic do not work properly. Adding textured embellishments (glitter, glue, etc.) is not permitted as these can damage the button maker.
- There is a limit of 25 buttons per Makerspace visit.
- Use of the button maker is free, but donations are accepted to keep the service running.
How It Works
- Position the press so that the shallow die (metal circle part of the press) is on your left-hand side, and the deep die is on your right-hand side.
- Put a button shell into the shallow die (face up), then put in the paper with your graphic on it (also face up) and then the clear plastic Mylar cover.
- Put the pin back into the deep die, with the back down.
- Rotate the die so that the shallow die (with the graphic) is under the press.
- Pull the handle down all the way, then raise it up again to its rest position.
- Rotate the die so that the deep die (with the pin back) is under the press.
- Pull the handle down all the way, then raise it up again to its rest position.
- Rotate the press and remove the pin backed button. You’re all done!
