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Especially with the upcoming May elections, button pins make excellent campaign materials. But even minus the election fever, a growing market has been riding on the button pin wave, such as graphic artists and teenagers that use them as accessories. They also serve as affordable gift items, sometimes with mirrors or pins as their back covers.

Aside from its market potential, the button pin business can be launched with ease because of minimal cash outlay, plus it doesn't require you to lease any commercial space. The button pin press set and 2.25" mold costs P11,000, while the 2.25" desktop cutter costs P6,000.

The typical size for a button pin is 2.25" but, if one would want to offer other sizes, other molds are available from P4,000 to P6,000. These molds are made from heavy duty solid stainless metal. Setting up this business also requires a computer and a printer.

Materials:
Button pin press
Button pin set including metal plate, mylar film and back cover that can be either bottle opener with magnet, P10.50/pc, pin badge, P4/pc, mirror keychain, P10.50/pc, or clip badge, P6/pc
Inkjet paper, P150/100pcs

Procedure:

Step 1: Print the images to be made into button pins on inkjet paper. Cut the images manually using scissors or using a desktop cutter. Set aside the cut images.

Step 2: Assemble the machine. Place your preferred size of mold. For this project, use 2.5". Make sure the parts are attached correctly.

Each mold has three parts, the upper part used for pressing and the other two parts to be placed on the left and right side of the machine. The one with excess vertical steel should go to the left side, while the one with a black plastic ring on top should go to the right.

Step 3: Once the machine is properly assembled, get the metal plate and place it on the mold at the left. Place the printed image at a 12 o'clock angle on top of it, then affix the mylar film. Press the button maker.

Step 4: On the mold at the right side, place the back cover face-down at an 11 o'clock angle.

Step 5: Shift to the other mold containing the back cover. Press. Button pin ready!

Step 6: Do the same for other back covers except for mirror keychains and clip badges.

For clip badges, repeat steps one to five, except the black plastic ring should be removed. Note that a clip badge has a thicker back cover than a pin badge, which is why the ring has to be removed.    

For mirror keychain, on the other hand, the image is positioned at 3 o'clock and the back cover at 2 o'clock or a bit tilted to the left. Plus, the chain should be inserted in the opening at the side of the mold. The black plastic ring is also removed.

Computing the cost per pin is easy once you have computed the cost of the ink. In Ronrox Corp., they estimated that a full-page print consumes about 1/2ml per color of ink, which will still depend if other colors are used.

Meanwhile, the price of ink is P100 per 100ml. Let's say the print uses four basic colors so that would mean 2ml of ink per page. Per page, you can lay out 11 circular images, so that means 11 pins.

To get the production cost for 11 pins you can use the following calculation for guidance:
          P2 (2ml ink)
      +  P1.50 (inkjet paper)
      __P44 (11 pcs of pin badge)
         P47.50 for 11 pins or P4.32 per pin
 
Depending on your market, you can charge anywhere from P8 to P10(wholesale) or P35 to P40 for personalized designs.

Tips:

• Inkjet paper is used instead of regular bond paper to avoid smears and smudging. This type of paper is coated and acts like a photo paper.

• Back covers are always positioned less than 10 degrees with the position of the image, or should be tilted to the left so that the pin or clip would affix correctly with the image. This is because the mold moves around when pressed.

• Make sure to press the machine firmly when attaching the back cover.

• Button pins can also be laminated if customers prefer a matte or scratch-free glossy finish. But, if laminated, the mylar film should be removed and the process employed should be cold lamination.

Ronrox Corporation
Unit-16 Grace Park Commercial Complex, J. Teodoro St., 4th Ave., West, Caloocan City
Telephone: (02) 994.0749; (02) 497.5950
Fax: (02) 365.3025  
E-mail: ronrox_mktg@yahoo.com
Website: www.ronrox.com.ph