Button Making Machines and Supplies Since 2001.

What Paper is Best for Buttons

Posted by Becky Buttons on 10/27/2021 to How-To
When you are making your own buttons, you'll need to print out your graphics on paper. The paper you use is important. Paper that is too thick can cause popped mylar, or buttons that don't crimp properly. A lot of people get tripped up on this question especially if they are using an inkjet printer. I'll explain why below. The first peice of information you need to determine the best paper is what printer are you using? Most importantly, is it Inkjet or Laser? 

INKJET PRINTING FOR BUTTONS

OUR TOP PICK: Epson Presentation Paper 4.9 mil Matte

Inkjet printers are offer excellent color and super high resolution at an affordable up-front cost. Most home printers or all-in-one printers use inkjet technology. When using this type of printer, the paper is very important.

Inkjet technology works by applying microscopic dots of ink onto paper. The smaller the ink dots, the higher the resolution. Inkjet paper is coated specifically to hold those tiny ink droplets in place. If you use uncoated regular office paper, the ink droplets will spread causing the resolution to decrease and the colors to bleed together. Now, it is physically possible to print on standard office paper in an inkjet printer, which causes some less scrulpulous paper manufacuturers to slap an "inkjet compatible!" label on the box (I'm looking at you, HP) but the quality still sucks. 


So what do you do? Well, most people having experienced this before run back out to the office supply store and pick up a premimum inkjet paper, which is freaking expensive, often times glossy, and too thick to work in your button maker anyway. Instead you just need honest to goodness, 28-32 lb stock, inkjet paper. Here at ButtonMakers, we recommend the Epson Presentation Paper Matte.

This paper delivers the same resolution and color depth as the fancy glossy paper, but at 4.7 mils, it is thin enough to punch out circles and press buttons with ease. It also has the added bonus of being a fast drying paper, so your buttons won't rust!

LASER PRINTING FOR BUTTONS

OUR TOP PICK: Boise Polaris Laser

If you are having prints made at a copy shop or professional printer, or if you have access to a high quality laser printer at work, school, or home, then you're golden. The quality of laser prints is not determined by the paper. If you like how it looks and it's 28-32 lbs or so, you are good to go!

Here at ButtonMakers we use the Boise Polaris Laser. It has a nice bright white undertone and is relatively static free which leads to less jams in the printer, and easier handling of cut button graphics.
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