Monthly Archives: June 2010

Button University Lesson 8: Making Buttons Is Easy!

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Yesterday, in Lesson 7 of Button University, we talked about ways for you to create your templates for your buttons. Today, we are going to show you how easy it is to make a button when using our easy to use, quality button machines.

Watch it happen. Check out the videos of the process. The longest one is only 24 seconds! It really is that easy to make a button!

Here are some more simple step-by-step guidelines on how to make a button using products from American Button Machines.

Button Machine Step-by-Step

Step 1: Place the button components in the Pickup Die and the Crimp Die.
Step 2: Rotate the Pickup Die clockwise until it is underneath the Upper Die.
Step 3: Pull the handle down, easily crimping the shell, graphic, and mylar in the Upper Die.

Punch Cutter Step-by-Step

Step 1: Insert the paper strip into the punch cutter and center the graphic in the hole.
Step 2: Push the handle down until the punch goes all the way through the paper.
Step 3: Remove the cut graphic and place to the side.
Step 4: Pull the paper strip through, center the next graphic, and repeat steps 2 and 3.

As you can quickly tell, it doesn’t take long to make a button. And it’s certainly not very difficult! Join us tomorrow as we talk a little more about Fabric Buttons.

Brighid Brown – Director of Blogging and All Things Cool at ABM

Button University Lesson 7: Button Template Guidelines

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Good afternoon! In yesterday’s Button University lesson, we let you in on the small differences between the beginner button making system and the professional button making system. Our hope is that the information is helpful for you as you decide the best system for your needs. Today we are going to be talking about Button Templates and Guidelines for using them. Let’s get started.

As you can imagine, the last thing any of us wants is to spend a lot of time designing a button, only to find out that all the dimensions are off and the photograph of Uncle Larry seems to have him missing an arm once you put the poor guy in the button. So, in order to help you avoid unnecessary frustration and to help Uncle Larry keep his arm, here are the tools for your templates.

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Button University Lesson 6: Beginner Button Making Systems and Professional Button Making Systems

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Glad you’re back as another week begins to visit The Button Blog and increase your button making success! On Friday, in the fifth installment of our Button University series, we discussed button paper — specifically, how to choose the right kind. Today, we are going to show you the elements of beginner and professional button making systems.

The readership of this blog varies between both beginners and professionals, and with that come natural questions. Although it may seem like a beginner will need a completely different system than a seasoned professional, that’s not completely true. In fact, the only difference between a beginner button making system and a professional button making system is the type of paper cutter you’ll receive. Our Beginner Systems include the Adjustable Rotary Cutter while our Professional Systems include a Punch Cutter.

Once you order the appropriate system you can begin making buttons in minutes… literally.

Below I’ve listed a complete list of what you’ll get in both the Beginner Button Making System and the Professional Button Making System.

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Button University Lesson 5: Choosing the Right Kind of Button Paper

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Welcome back!

In our last Button University post, about cutters, I promised you we’d talk about paper button makers, and I am here to deliver on that promise. Friday is half over now, and weekend plans are underway. If it’s as rainy in your city as it is in mine, then it may very well be the perfect time to start creating those buttons! In order to do that, let’s talk about button paper.

A common mistake when buying button paper for use in a button making project is spending too much money and making it too complicated. We’re going to simplify the process for you today.

Unlike the paper cutters of other manufacturers, our cutters have been designed to make your paper-buying experience less expensive and hopefully a bit more fun!

Here are some simple tips on how to choose the right kind of button paper:

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Button University Lesson 4: The Three Different Kinds of Cutters

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Sorry for the late posting time on today’s Button University lesson. Sometimes the phone just rings and rings and rings and our duty as gatekeepers to the wonderful world of buttons beckons from sunrise to sundown. After a moment to catch my breath, it is now time for some late afternoon fun here at The Button Blog.

Yesterday, in lesson 4 of our ongoing Button University series, we discussed design standards for button machines and gave you the reasons why ours have the best button machine design available on the market. Today, we are going to dive feet first into cutters. And if you are a graduate of Indiana University, no, this post does not have anything to do with the Cutters race team or the Little 500.

(Raise your hand if you understood that reference? The movie Breaking Away? Anyone? Okay, not many hands up. I hear crickets. Let’s just move along now, shall we?)

So, let’s say that you are getting ready to start a button project. You have your button machine, you have all of your button supplies, and you even have sheets of neatly printed circular graphics ready to go. Are you ready to start making buttons?

Not so fast. Your gorgeous and beautiful graphics must be cut out!

How are you going to accomplish this?

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Button University Lesson 3: Best Button Machine Design Standards

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Welcome to the third edition of our continuing daily Button University series. In previous posts, we tackled issues related to button making instructions and button sizes, and today we look at button machine designs; and specifically, how ABM products incorporate the best button machine design standards in the ever burgeoning button maker market.

Let’s make one thing clear right off the bat: we believe that our button makers incorporate the finest materials and technology to consistently produce quality buttons time and time again. In no way is this meant to disparage our competition. Rather, it is a simple proclamation to our customers that you can completely trust that the products you receive from American Button Machines will be the best. Period.

Why are we so confident that our products employ the best button machine design standards? Let’s count out a few of the reasons:

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Button University Lesson 2: Button Sizes – Choosing the Right One

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On Friday, we introduced you to our new series of posts that highlight some of the information available at the Button University resource of our main website. The first post in the series provided step-by-step instructions for any button making project. Today, we delve into an important decision that must be made when you are making buttons: with all of the different button sizes available, which one should you use for your project?

Over at our main website, we have a handy-dandy table that you can use for quick reference regarding decisions on button sizes. While we could simply repost that table here, what would be the fun in that? Plus, we know that some people don’t always like looking at tables and charts. So we will use our space here to outline, in a little more detailed fashion, which button sizes and button machine options work best for producing different button types and styles.

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Button University Lesson 1: Instructions For Starting a Button Making Project

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Throughout the years, so many of our wonderful customers have asked us for information, tips, and tutorials regarding button making and how to use their newly purchased button machine. We are always willing and excited to answer any question whether over the phone or though email, but also have made it our goal to give you online access to as many resources as we can provide.

One of these resources is Button University. We introduced Button University in an earlier post, and now we are setting out to provide all of our loyal blog readers with the same information that our website and storefront customers receive over at the main ABM site.

So with that in mind, let’s dive right into your first lesson from Button University: step-by-step instructions for starting a button making project.

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(Button) Badges? Yes, You DO Need Some Stinkin’ Badges!

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You may be wondering to yourself…button badges? Do I need any (stinkin’) button badges?

Well we are here to tell you, resoundingly, that yes you do!

Everyone has either seen or heard this famous, iconic movie line before:

The problem is that he’s wrong! You do need some stinkin’ badges! And this is especially true if you are in any type of service industry.
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Monogrammed Buttons Offer a Solution for Embroidery Business Expansion in Three Easy Steps

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monogram-buttonsCustom monogrammed buttons are growing in popularity and it’s easier than ever for embroidery shops and monogrammed gift businesses to get in on the action.

Fabric buttons are extremely versatile, but most manufacturers do not offer any options for their customers. Thus, your embroidery business or monogrammed gift shop has a solid chance to capitalize on the opportunity. With inexpensive supplies and a quick, easy process, the high profit margins custom monogrammed buttons offer is an excellent way for a business to expand.

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