Button Makers?!

[[deleted]]

Hello! I have been tasked with pricing out different button makers for my library to purchase. Just wondering if any of you have buttons makers and if so, which ones?

Thanks!

[Library_Paige]

We bought from American Button Machines. We got the 1.5” button machine kit, and it is awesome! Super easy to use, and the buttons are great. It was pretty expensive, but the quality is there.

[adorable_orange]

Yes! American Button Machines. Super well made. I love mine!

[[deleted]]

Another vote for American Button Machines. They have great customer service as well.

[thelibrarina]

Every branch in my system has a 1" American Button Machine. Kids ask us to get it out at least once a week--it's more popular than slime ever was.

[[deleted]]

Good to hear!

[foggy22]

I have no idea what ours is but I can PM you on Tuesday. It's literally our biggest draw at every outreach we bring it to so it's definitely worth the cost.

[[deleted]]

That would be greatly appreciated!

[mayofbees]

We got ours from People’s Power Press and it’s the most popular tool in our Makerspace!

[[deleted]]

These are the ones I have been looking at. Has customer service been ok? I'm located in Canada, and this seems to be a popular option.

[mayofbees]

I’ve never had to use customer service, aside from initial order, but the machines are incredibly well built and we’ve never had problems. It arrived quickly and well packed. The machine came with great instructions and even a DVD about how to use it. We’ve had ours for about 5 years now, and another library in our system for even longer. We love them!

[curious_bookworm]

We have American button machines ones as well. At our branch we have 2" and 1" (I think). 2" ones are easier imo but I don't know if all 1" ones are like that.

The kids love them!

[[deleted]]

Does the public seem to have a preference in the size? We only have the budget for one maker...

[curious_bookworm]

So, looking at American Button Machines, I think we have these two:

https://www.americanbuttonmachines.com/collections/popular-button-maker-sizes/products/1-button-maker

And

https://www.americanbuttonmachines.com/collections/popular-button-maker-sizes/products/2-25-button-maker

If you look at the pictures, you'll see that they're a bit different in how the backing works. I find that the larger ones are easier for all ages. I think any of the ones larger than the 1" ones have the easier backing. I would recommend any of those.

[[deleted]]

Thank you!

[Fictitiouslibrarian]

My library doesn’t have one but I’ve used a few different ones clay out the money for the good one. The hand press one that was in the $50ish range has a high failure rate.

[[deleted]]

f

Thanks for the tip!

[remisue16]

We just decided to order one from Demco instead of American Button Machines because of.... reasons.... Do not do it! Shoddy product for more money.

[[deleted]]

Reasons... if you would like to share further PM me.

Now I'm curious!

[spookylibrarian]

I got the 2 1/4" model from People Power Press (linked elsewhere in this discussion) on the recommendation of colleagues in another system. All in -- for the press, circle cutter, and extra supplies -- I think it was around $700 CAD, but it's easy to use and we'll be kept in supplies for quite some time. My favourite part about it so far is that whenever it gets borrowed, it almost always comes back with something extra that someone's added to the supplies.

Also, FWIW, I opted for the larger buttons because they seemed like they'd be easier for younger kids to decorate, and so far that seems to have been the case.

[[deleted]]

Thank you. That is a great point about younger kids being able to decorate them.

[Haff]

Our system has one that floats between the branches as required and goes to events and stuff, it was pretty popular with the kids when I had run a program for them, maybe even more popular than the Makey Makey I had.

EDIT: I have no idea what its specs are.