How to make photo magnets.

Way 1

Print on magnet sheets.

The cheapest way to start. You print straight onto a magnet sheet in an inkjet printer, then cut the magnets apart.

1. 1

   Lay out your photos

   Crop each photo square and line them up in a grid. A letter sheet fits 20 magnets at 2" × 2", four across and five down.

2. 2

   Print one sheet at a time

   Feed the sheet through the rear or manual tray, not the main paper tray. Set the paper type to heavy matte photo paper, quality to best, and turn two-sided printing off.

3. 3

   Let the ink dry

   Leave the sheet to dry before you cut, seal, or stack it. One printing guide says to give it a full 24 hours.

4. 4

   Seal it if it will get handled

   Spray on two light coats of clear UV-resistant spray from 10 to 12 inches away, 15 minutes apart. It stops fingerprints smudging the ink.

5. 5

   Cut them apart

   A paper trimmer, or a rotary cutter with a metal ruler, gives cleaner edges than scissors.

Avery's 5-sheet pack costs $15.60 on sale or $19.50 regular, which works out to 16¢ to 20¢ a magnet. A 50-sheet pack from CompAndSave, about $60, brings it down to about 6¢. Ink is extra.

Way 2

Stick photo prints to magnet sheets.

If you have a photo printer, this gives you real photo paper on a thicker magnet. Self-adhesive magnet sheets, often sold as flexible magnet sheets, come cut to 4" × 6".

1. 1

   Print your photos

   Print at 4" × 6", the same size as the magnet sheet. Each print gives you six 2" × 2" magnets.

2. 2

   Stick the print down

   Peel the protective film off the magnet sheet and press the print carefully onto the sticky side.

3. 3

   Trim

   Cut the print and the magnet together to the size you want.

DIYMAG's 18-pack of 4" × 6" adhesive sheets costs $11.99, so about 11¢ a magnet before the print. Total Element's sheets are 20 mil thick, thicker than Avery's 12 mil printable sheet.

Way 3

Glue photos under glass gems.

Flat-backed glass gems, about 1" across, turn small photos into domed magnets. Ceramic tiles work in a similar way at 2" × 2".

1. 1

   Print the photo to fit the gem

   Size each photo to the gem and print it. A laser print won't smudge. If you print on an inkjet, let it dry overnight and spray both sides with hairspray. Skip glossy photo paper, because Mod Podge won't dry properly on it.

2. 2

   Glue it face down

   Brush a thin layer of Mod Podge Gloss on the flat side of the gem, press the photo on face down, and smooth it with your fingers.

3. 3

   Let it dry

   Leave it 15 to 20 minutes. If you glue paper over the back to finish it, let that dry overnight.

4. 4

   Glue on the magnet

   Hot glue a magnet to the back.

Small ceramic magnets cost about 24¢ each in a pack of 50. For 2" × 2" tiles, glue the photo down with Mod Podge, let it dry, add a second coat on top, and glue a magnet to the back. Every gem and tile needs drying time, so this is the slowest of the four ways.

Way 4

Use a magnet press.

This is how vendors make the magnets they sell at markets and events. The photo sits under clear film on a metal shell with a thick magnet back, so it looks finished and holds well.

1. 1

   Print at the press's cut size

   The photo wraps around the edge of the metal shell, so you print it bigger than the magnet. For a 2" × 2" American Button Machines press, the print is 2.717" across.

2. 2

   Punch or cut it out

   A punch made for your press cuts each photo to the right size in one go. For rounds, an adjustable circle cutter does the same job.

3. 3

   Press the front

   Put the shell in the first die, then your photo face up, then the clear film on top, and press. The film protects the photo.

4. 4

   Press the back

   Put the magnet back in the second die and press again. American Button Machines says a finished piece takes under five seconds.

A steel 2.25" round press costs about $295. Square presses run about $500 to $2,200 for the press alone, more as a kit. Supplies cost 13¢ to 40¢ a magnet when you buy 1,000 sets, and about twice that or more in packs of 100. The magnet press buyer's guide compares the presses and what their supplies cost.

Photo size

How big your photo needs to be.

Print at 300 pixels for every inch and the magnet comes out sharp. Portland Button Works asks for 300 DPI on its press templates too.

Troubleshooting

Common problems and how to fix them.

• The magnet sheet curls or jams

  Feed one sheet at a time through the rear or manual tray, and only feed sheets that lie flat. Avery says printers with a U-turn paper path jam more often on magnet sheet. Store sheets flat, with plain paper between them.

• The magnet slides down the fridge

  Printable sheet is thin. Avery's is 12 mil, and Avery says it isn't strong enough to hold several sheets of paper. For a firmer hold, use 20 mil adhesive sheet, or a press magnet set, which comes with a 60 mil magnet.

• The ink smudges

  Inkjet ink can take up to a day to dry on magnet sheet. Let it dry fully, then seal it with clear spray.

• Mod Podge stays tacky

  A thick coat won't dry, so brush on a thin layer. Mod Podge also won't dry properly on glossy photo paper. Reprint on plain paper.

• The photo lands off-center in a press

  You printed at the magnet size, not the cut size. Use your press maker's template, and press a test sheet before a big run.

• Press parts don't fit

  American Button Machines says its 2.25" press doesn't take imported 58 mm or Badge-A-Minit supplies, and its 2" × 2" sets don't fit metric square presses. Buy supplies made for your press.

Selling them

Making photo magnets to sell?

Once you have a press, the slow part is getting photos from customers and laying them out to print. With Vixie, customers upload and crop their own photos on their phones, at your booth or in your online store. Print Studio lays the orders out on a sheet, sized for your press, with cut guides for each magnet.

Questions

Photo magnet FAQ