COST:
$149.95
Badge-A-Minit bench press, two sets of plastic assembly rings,
a circle cutter and 250 pinback button sets
Operating
the BAM bench press
Operation
of the BAM bench press is nearly identical to that of
the BAM hand press, except that instead of squeezing the
handles together, with the bench press system you place
the machine on a table and push down on the handle to press the
button parts together.
The
bench press system isn't really any faster than the hand
press, since you still must use the six plastic assembly
rings to create your buttons.
Even
experienced users are able to produce little more than one button/badge
per minute with a BAM bench press system.(hence the company
name... Badge-A-Minit). And while that might sound alright to
begin with, one button a minute only translates to sixty buttons
an hour (assuming, you could remain at that pace for an entire
hour).
The
reason the bench press is this slow is that each of those
six assembly rings must be used correctly and in the proper sequence
for every button you will ever make with it.
If
you only intend to make a few buttons at a time, this won't be
a problem.
But
try and make more than a few buttons at a time, and this procedure
will grow tiresome very quickly.
What
actually takes place when making a button
Consider
for a moment what actually takes place when making a button.
Quite
simply, you are transferring mechanical energy from your arm
(or the button machine's motor, in the case of an electric machine)
into the dies / assembly rings. The button design and plastic
covering are pulled taut over the face of the button and the
excess is tucked up underneath the button, in much the same way
making a bed tucks the excess portion of the sheets and blankets
under the mattress.
The
button back is also pressed into the front, and the edge of the
button must be crimped to hold it all together.
The
assembly rings used with the BAM bench press are made
of plastic, which leads to many of the quality issues discussed
below.
Quality of the buttons produced by the BAM bench press system
The
most common complaint about the Badge-A-Minit bench press
system is the same as with the BAM hand press... the number
of rejects (bad buttons) it makes.
No matter how careful you are, the number of rejected buttons
it will produce, is by anyone's standards, unacceptably high.
From
a user's standpoint, each rejected button can cause three problems.
1. You may not be able
to re-use the design from the rejected button, so you may be
forced to print/buy more designs and then cut those designs to
size.
2. The extra time you
will need to spend making additional buttons for each rejected
button.
3. With each rejected
button, you quite literally are throwing money down the drain.
That's
because the mylar disc (often referred to as the plastic) and
metal front of the button cannot be re-used, since they are damaged
in the initial stages of the button-making process.
Each
rejected button will cost you 19.5 cents (using BAM parts purchased
in a quantity of 250) and that price does not take into account
the cost of any additional printed/purchased designs you may
need.
Another
quality issue common to buttons made with the BAM bench press
system is they often leave paper or plastic sticking out the
side, and they can have edges that are rough and somewhat serrated.
This
happens when the design and plastic covering are not pulled tight
over the edge and tucked up inside the button during the button-making
process.
Professional-quality
buttons have smooth, tightly crimped edges and don't have paper
or plastic, so the BAM bench press is really not well-suited
for anyone who intends to make buttons for re-sale.
Badge-A-Minit's
Cut-A-Circle circle cutter
Since
cutting artwork for your buttons is an integral part of making
buttons, discussing the cutter that is included with this system
is important for a complete understanding of the button-making
process.
Badge-A-Minit's
Cut-A-Circle, which is included with the Badge-A-Minute bench
press priced at $139.95 shown above, is an all plastic circle
cutter that has a straight-edge cutting blade.
When
the blade is sharp, the cutter works quite well.
However,
because you use the same part of the blade for each cut, the
blade dulls quickly and needs to be replaced on a regular basis.
Badge-A-Minit's
Cut-A-Circle blades are not re-sharpenable.
Replacement
blades are sold in packs of two for $3.95. If you plan to make
lots of buttons, be sure to keep extra blades on hand.
Making
photo buttons with the BAM bench press system
One
of the BAM bench press short comings is its inability
to make professional-quality photo buttons using photographic
prints, such as those you would get from a photo lab.
To
make a photo button, users of the BAM bench press system
are required to change the setting on their BAM circle cutter
to its second setting, and cut the photograph to the size of
the "face" of the button.
By
taking this step, the bench press system then doesn't
have to wrap the photograph around the edge and up under the
button, as it does with buttons made using lighter paper.
The
drawback to this procedure, however, is that the photographic
image then stops on top of the button and the metal edge of the
button will show.
And
unless the image is trapped dead center on the face of the button,
your photograph will sit off-center.
The
BAM bench press system is made of...
Like
the BAM bench hand press, the BAM bench press system
is made of a plastic-like compound, and the six assembly rings
used for making 2-1/4" buttons are made of light-weight
plastic. Plastic is cheap and easy to produce, but it is not
a material that stands up well to the rigors of button-making.
Plastic
can stretch, warp, crack and break with repeated use.
Badge-A-Minit
does stand behind their bench press system with a lifetime
replacement warranty. But if you happen to break the press, or
any of the plastic assembly rings, you must first return the
broken item before you can get a free replacement. This could
easily take a week or more.
One
advantage users of the BAM bench press system have over
those using the BAM hand press is that they receive an
additional set of plastic assembly rings with the machine. So
if they should break one in the middle of a job, they can use
the second set until a replacement set arrives.
Return
policy
Badge-A-Minit
offers a 30-day return policy with their bench press system.
However,
you will be required to pay the postage to return the machine
and they will charge you 10% of the purchase price as re-stocking
fee if you do.
