» posted on Monday, December 29th, 2008 at 9:31 am by ABM

Buttons for Bands: Using a Button Maker for Band Promotion

Some of the most common pieces of rock and roll memorabilia are novelty pinback buttons. Pinback buttons are sold at many concerts and some have grown to become collectors items. Often no larger than 1 inch in diameter, pinback buttons can carry a significant memory for their owners.

From classic groups such as the Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead, to more modern acts like Dave Matthews Band and Rage Against the Machine, numerous bands sell pinback buttons as souvenirs for their fans.

On your next trip to your local mall, stop for a minute and look around. You will almost certainly encounter at least one teenager who has festooned their clothing and backpack with a number of 1 inch pinback buttons of their favorite bands.

Given the popularity of pinback buttons as novelty items, a smaller local band is sure to benefit from the sale of souvenir buttons. Adding a free 1″ button to the sale of a band’s cd is a great marketing tool to help get the word out. Beginning bands or a small indie record label with a tight budget can easily harness the effective use and low cost marketing strategy of small 1″ buttons that deliver a big bang for the buck. With a 1″ button maker from American Button Machines, a local band can quickly produce a large number of pinback buttons without a significant investment of time or money.

A button maker from American Button Machines is extremely easy to use. The button makers contains two rotating dies on a press that quickly and easily produces pinback buttons which are available in many different sizes and shapes.

(If the movie is not visible, view the video here.

To make a 1″ button, it is necessary to first design the graphic, which can be done on a computer. No special paper is need to make a pinback button. The custom graphic can then be printed off on a regular computer printer using regular printer paper. Then a Circle Cutter is used to cut the graphic to size. The graphic is then placed on top of the button shell in the first die on the button maker, along with the mylar laminate front to protect the image and give it a glossy appearance. The die is then rotated and the lever is pulled once. The button-back (aka collet) is then placed in the second die, which is then rotated into the press. The lever is pulled a second time and the result is a custom 1″ pinback button. With a little practice, the whole pressing process can take less than 5 seconds to complete.

With a 1″ button maker from American Button Machines, a local band can quickly produce a number of custom pinback buttons for sale to fans. These buttons are always popular with music fans and can be a good source of money for a band, as well as an effective marketing tool.