Stickers and Magnets
Magnets can be made in a host of ways. Some successful methods I’ve explored include laminating small prints and affixing craft magnets to the back. Self-adhesive magnets and magnet sheets or rolls come in a variety of sizes and types, including a standard business card size. Print out a design of the right size, slap a strip, sheet or craft magnet on the back, and you’ve got an attractive, easy magnet. I highly recommend the laminating, as magnets are the kind of thing that are often in high-mess areas, and you want these to hold up well. I do not recommend most magnet sheets that you run through your printer: these magnets tend to be weak in sticking power, tear easily and aren’t always waterproof. The image quality is also not as good as you will get on high-resolution print paper.
Stickers can be made with a simple strip of two-sided tape (with peel-off backing) on the back of a laminated print. They can also be printed on a number of sticker papers available at local copy stores. The downside to these sticker papers is that you are restricted in size and shape. Quality can come with a large price tag, and you generally have to print an entire letter-sized sheet of them at once. It can be tricky getting your image perfectly aligned with the die-cut (shaped cut-out) stickers.
For great, professional-looking stickers and magnets, consider a Xyron sticker/magnet maker. They come in a variety of sizes and are more fun than a pillowcase full of kittens. These machines laminate and apply the backing (adhesive, magnet or a second side of lamination) in one easy, heat-free step. The replacement cartridges can be pricey, but they are widely available in craft stores everywhere. I recommend making the initial product purchase on-line at Xyron.com if you choose this method; even with shipping (to Alaska!) I saved more than $50 from local retail prices.
Mugs
Ceramic mugs require specialized equipment to press oneself. The transfers for regular ceramic mugs work only with dye sublimation printers, and a specific, circular-shaped heat press is needed to transfer the image to the mug. The quality of this press is crucial; a poor press will cause poor color transfer, bleeding, and in extreme cases, cracking due to uneven heating. Mugs are heavy and expensive to ship, as well as fragile. For their hassle, the returns are not that high. If you’re set on mugs, consider buying them in bulk from a company that specializes in such printing, or going through an on-demand company that will handle drop-shipping (and the associated hassles) for you.
Another mug option is screen printing, usually onto insulated mugs. As with t-shirts, this is the action of pressing a permanent ink through a screen to produce your pattern. This is a much more complicated set-up than the screen printing onto t-shirts however, since the ink is being applied to a curved surface. This is a job for a company which already has the setup for it.
One other option is a ’snap-in’ mug. These are two-part kits, where a print is squeezed between a mug body and a clear plastic protective exterior. A whole range of products come in snap-in style, including keychains, mugs, snow-globes, buttons, clocks, and watches. These are easy to assemble, fairly cheap, usually available in small minimum quantities, and you aren’t limited to a single design or color. They do tend to look fairly cheap, unfortunately.
Stay Current
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: keep in touch with the current technology! Products and methods for making them are changing faster than politicians switch platforms. There will be a better, faster, more efficient or more attractive way to do things tomorrow or the next day. Now if only they could figure out how to put more hours in each day.
Check out Ellen Million Graphics for more ’stuff’.
Article by Ellen Million.
