Quote:
Originally Posted by uknowwho12
My brother is on an FRC team, and I would like to make team buttons for competitions and such. Since I'm inexperienced with this whole idea, it would be great to get a couple of answers from some people who have done this before:
- Do you make your buttons yourself (with a press/machine/etc.)? Or do you order them "pre-made"?
- If you make them, what do you use to do so?
- If you order them, where can I do this?
- What kind of budget do you set?
- How many do you make/order?
Any suggestions you can offer would be great. Thanks for your help!
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We do happen to make our own buttons for promotional giveaways. Our promotions team in the last few years has invested in two machines to make the buttons by hand. The first machine is a simple die cutter that will cut out your printed paper blanks, the second is the actual
button press. I don't know the cost of the equipment off the top of my head but it can be well worth the investment if you compare the cost of buying them to making them (ex. $1.20(exaggeration):$0.17. The $0.17 is pretty close, the other number depends on the supplier). Once you have the equipment, the supplies to make the buttons can typically be found at an arts a crafts store and the printing can be done on any printer you have available.
As far as quantity goes if you make/order non game specific buttons you can run over on your number and use them next year. One of the advantages for making your own is buying the supplies in bulk and using them for custom buttons one season and storing the materials for future use. If you make them or order them plan to have enough made to cover all of the judges at a competition and at least one for every team at minimum.
They are rather time consuming to manufacture in bulk but it gives everyone something to do between competitions and during slow spots in the build season. It gives your promotions team another creative and artistic activity to participate in and can save your team money in the long run compared to buying them.