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Taking
a close look at
Badge-A-Minit's hand press button-making system
The
reason most people purchase the BAM hand press is that
the advertised priced is only $39.95.
But
what many of those people probably don't realize is that for
their money they only receive 10 pinback button sets. And a circle
cutter for cutting their designs is not included.
Add
250 pinback button sets and a circle cutter, and the price of
a BAM hand press would increase dramatically ... to $179.00
Operating
the BAM hand press
Of
all the button machines compared, the BAM hand press is
the most difficult to operate.
Even
experienced users are be able to produce little more than one
button/badge a minute with a BAM hand press (hence their
name... Badge-A-Minit).
Compare
that to the Model 225's rate of up to 5 buttons in a single
a minute.
One
of the reasons the BAM hand press is that slow to operate
is that you must use six different plastic assembly rings in
the creation of each button. Each ring must be positioned and
manipulated in the proper manner and proper sequence for each
and every button you ever make.
Badge-A-Minit's
web site says the BAM hand press system includes "easy
to follow instructions".
After reading the following bulletin, taken verbatim from Badge-a-Minit's
own newsletter, Button Talk (Button Talk, Fall 1998),
let's see if you agree.
That
article, entitled "The Red Ring Holds the Key!",
starts out by saying that making buttons with a Badge-A- Minit
hand press is "truly a simple process".
The Red Ring Holds
the Key!
"In following
the steps on how to make a button, consider this; you have already
placed your artwork into the blue ring with the gold ring secured
under the tabs on the blue ring, and have snapped it into place
with both the beige disc and gray ring using even pressure.
The next step
involves the red ring - insert the gold ring and again push straight
down, pushing it down into the gold ring. Leaving the red ring
where it is, you then flip it over and insert the button back,
lining up the pin with lines in the blue ring. You then place
the green ring in after the button back, which creates a colorful
"sandwich" of assembly rings.
This is where
many of you have trouble. When you take this "sandwich"
to the hand press to crimp everything together, remember this
hint: make sure your red ring is on top! The red ring has an
indented circle on it that is the same size as the metal tooth
that comes out of the hand press. The indent is an indicator
to you of where to line up the assembled sandwich on the press
so that your buttons will turn out beautifully after you've squeezed
the press firmly (with the sandwich inside)!
Some put the
assembled "sandwich" in upside down with green ring
on top and this is wrong because the pressure is not applied
properly. Likewise, if the red ring is on top but not centered
in the indent, you can seriously damage it by crimping in the
wrong place. So the key is, to keep the red ring on top and
line up the indent with the press before crimping and your buttons
will come out looking sleek and professional!
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Physical
strength necessary to operate the BAM hand press
Of
all the machines compared, the BAM hand press requires
the greatest amount of hand strength to be able to make buttons.
The
BAM hand press is operated by squeezing the machine's
handles together, so if you have weak hands or any sort of arthritic
condition, this is not the machine for you.
What
actually takes place when making a button
Consider
for a moment what takes place when you are 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
that making a bed tucks the excess portion of the sheets and
blankets up under the mattress.
The
button back is also pressed into the front, and the edge of the
button is crimped to hold it all together.
Plastic
assembly rings are not nearly as efficient in transferring mechanical
energy into the button parts, as is steel. (Which is why carpenters
use hammers made of steel, not plastic or aluminum!)
And
the BAM hand press uses assembly rings made of plastic
which cause many of the quality issues discussed below.
Quality of buttons the BAM hand press can produce
The
most common complaint heard about the Badge-A-Minit hand press
is the number of rejects (bad buttons) it makes.
No
matter how careful you are, the percentage of rejected buttons
it produces, 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 first stage of the button-making process.
Each
rejected button will cost you just over 21 cents (if you use
BAM parts purchased in a quantity of 250) and that price doesn't
take into account the cost of any additional printed/purchased
designs you may need.
Other
quality issues common to buttons made with a BAM hand press
is that they sometimes will have paper or plastic sticking out
the side, they often have edges that are rough and somewhat serrated,
and the edge often has "points", caused when the design
doesn't fold tightly over the edge of the button.
The
photo below shows a button that was made with a BAM hand press
on the left, and a button made with the Model 225 on the
right.
The
red lines in the photo direct you to the "points" on
the edge of the Badge-A-Minit button.
Notice, if you will, the smooth edge of the button that was made
with the Model 225.
Professional-quality
buttons have smooth, tightly crimped edges and will not fall
apart after being made. They also won't have paper or plastic
sticking out the sides. So buttons made with the BAM hand
press are really not well-suited for re-sale.
Badge-A-Minit's
Cut-A-Circle circle cutter
Since
cutting your artwork 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 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 the same part of the blade is used for each and every
cut, the blade dulls quickly and will need to be replaced on
a regular basis.
And
the cutting blade on Badge-A-Minit's Cut-A-Circle is not re-sharpenable.
Replacement
blades are sold in packs of two for $3.95. If you plan to make
lots of buttons, you want to be sure and keep extra blades on
hand at all times.
Making
photo buttons with the BAM hand press
One
of the short comings of the BAM hand press 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 hand press are instructed
to change the setting on their circle cutter to its second setting,
and cut the photograph so it fits on the "face" of
the button.
By
taking this step, the BAM hand press doesn't wrap the
photograph over the edge and up under the button, as it would
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 allows the metal edge
of the button to show.
And
unless the image is trapped dead center on the face of the button,
your photograph will sit off-center.
The
BAM hand press is made of...
The
BAM hand press is made of a plastic-like compound, and
it's six assembly rings are made of light-weight plastic. Plastic
is cheap and easy to produce, but it is not a material that can
stand 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 hand press with a lifetime replacement
warranty. But if you should break the press or one of the plastic
rings, you must first return the broken part before you will
get a free replacement. This could easily take a week or more.
If
you break the press or one of the parts in the middle of a job,
you will not be able to continue until you have replaced that
broken part.
You
do have the option of purchasing an extra set of plastic rings
to keep on hand, but that would add an additional $21.95 to the
price shown above.
Return
policy
Badge-A-Minit
offers a 30-day return policy with their hand press.
However,
you will be required to pay the postage to return the machine,
and they will charge you a 10% re-stocking fee if you return
the machine.
Pro's and Con's with
the BAM hand press
Pros of
the BAM hand press
Least
expensive button-making machine available
Cons of
the BAM hand press
The machine is slow and difficult to operate
Its made of a plastic-like compound
It will produce a high number of reject buttons
It doesn't create "professional-quality" buttons
It won't work well with photo-weight paper
Operating the machine is hard on your hands
Manual Cut-A-Circle circle cutter isn't fully adjustable, and
it's blades must be replaced on a regular basis to do good cuts.
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When you're
finished reading about this button machine,
click here to return to the comparison
home page.
(800) 243-8293 or (623) 869-8233
(Canadian customers...
you can reach us using our 800 number)
The mailing
address for Dr. Don's Buttons is:
3906 W. Morrow Drive Glendale, Arizona 85308
We Gladly Accept Purchase Orders
from Schools, Hospitals, and Government Agencies
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