Author Archives: Joe

by | February 22, 2016 · 11:00 am

Mylar or no mylar?

button finishes

button finishes

 

Photo above: White People Power Press button is using standard mylar, Yellow People Power Press button is using lamination, Purple People Power Press button is using a thicker paper with no mylar at all. Shiny buttons is with using the Dura-lar technique which I explained last week.

 

Hi Button Guy,

 I recently purchased a Flex 2000 Kit. Made some buttons, and all works great. I have a question about the mylar inserts. Is there such thing as multiple finishes, such as matte or gloss? Seems like I can only find information on using the standard glossy mylar.

There are a few more options you could try to make the buttons you desire without using the standard glossy mylar.

  1. You could laminate your button designs before cutting the papers. Use a thin laminate such as 1mm or 2mm.
  2. You could use a thick paper like card stock and not use the mylar at all.
  3. You could put a matte tape over the design before cutting the papers. This might be the cheapest and easiest way to do it, but it could also be the weakest and the tape could tear or rip.

For information on printing on Dura-lar, check out my post last week

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by | February 19, 2016 · 11:00 am

Making buttons with the Flex1000 Hand Press

flex1000-holiday-start-up-kit_1024x1024

flex 1000

Hi Button Guy,

We purchased the Flex1000 press and finally had some time to try out making buttons.  We started with 2.25″.  The press we have is somewhat different than the one in the videos

Our best button was one that sort of went together but fell apart after 5 minutes of use.  We identified a few possible areas for error.  Maybe you can give us some pointers regarding what we are doing wrong.

1) We found the cutter made circles that are just slightly too big.  We corrected for that be doing extra careful trimming and this seemed to help.

2) There are three plastic rings in the 2.25 die whereas the 3″ die does not have any.  The booklet talks about using 1 plastic ring.  We tried with three and it didn’t work.  When we tried with one we got a button that lasted 5 minutes.  Should we be using the plastic rings?

3) Any other pointers you can give us?

4)  Is there a particular weight of paper we should use? We are kind of frustrated.

 

 

Sorry to hear you’re frustrated.

Here’s a video that shows the machine you have. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUFjU1MNYiY

  1. The paper circles are supposed to be bigger than your button shell because they will wrap around the shell as the button is pressed together. You do need to be careful when cutting the paper circles and make sure the cutter doesn’t move positions on the paper. The mylar and paper circles will fit very tightly in the left die tray and there should not be much wiggle room.
  2. The 3″ die does not come with a plastic ring. It should work without the ring. It is just the 2-1/4″ die set that needs 1 ring (and you have 2 extra included in case you lose the ring).
  3. If you are still having troubles check out the videos email me pictures of the buttons you made and that will help out a lot in trying to figure out a solution.
  4. A standard, 20lb paper will be fine. The machine may have trouble with thicker paper (photograph paper), as it could have difficulty crimping around the pin-back

Also, there is always some spoilage or button mistakes when hand pressing buttons. So the FlexPress will not work perfectly every time.

 

 

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by | February 18, 2016 · 11:19 am

Printing on Dura-Lar

NYE_Buttons_2015_2_large NYE_Buttons_2015_3_large

I just love the principal behind those New Year buttons  (buttons by people power press)– I think I understand – print on the transfer, instead of a printed button template, cut out a gift wrap or even a Christmas Card OR use silver/gold napkin paper and then print on the Dura-Lar film, using it as the the cover instead of the round Mylar – did I say that correctly???NOW! my question – can I assume this Dura-Lar film is like a transparency? and you must use a Laser or copier – where the pattern, words or design is burned into the film instead of an ink jet printer????

 

These are sheets much like transparencies, you are right, that you place into your printer like paper. The People Power Press sell them in single sheets (so you can test it) and in packs. You would then cut the circles as you cut your other printed designs. http://peoplepowerpress.org/products/dura-lar-film-for-printing-and-button-making

You can also use brightly coloured acetate for extra bright colours: http://peoplepowerpress.org/products/acetate-for-printing-and-button-making

It is best to print so that the black text is inside the button so it won’t be scratched off. Yes, the printer matters. You need a laser printer for Dura-Lar as both sides are shiny and an Inkjet printer needs a textured side to have something for the ink to adhere to. I’ve also have found having a dehumidifier nearby helps the ink attach to the sheet much better too. (That is an important shop trick I have learned over the years!) That being said, you can get transparent sheets from a store like Staples that you can use with an Inkjet printer – just be sure that one side is textured and print on that side or else the ink will just smear when it hits the shiny side.

Then you place a glittery holographic paper that you can buy in rolls from a craft store underneath the Dura-Lar, but you can place whatever paper you would like under there. Sometimes, if I want the background to be silver we just let the tin shell show through.

 

view our similar post in 2013 for any additional questions you may have

 

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by | February 16, 2016 · 4:49 pm

….i’m back

Oh, I know I’ve been gone for so long.

But guess what,  I’m back and ready to answer all the questions that may be floating around in your heads!

I’ll start with an email I recently received regarding machine maintenance.

Hello,

These are pictures of my 2.25″ machine. You can see the mylar jammed in. I was looking for advice in how easy it would be to take this apart to clean and put back together. 1

You can clear rust with WD-40 but it also removes grease and all lubricants.  So once cleaned of rust, you need to thoroughly grease and lube the machine.

If the mylar does not pull out with pliers undo the screw in the upper die and take the die out. Separate the shaft to remove mylar, lube and then put back together.

 

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