Buttons

Bumper Stickers

Designing Your Custom Button,
Bumper Sticker, or Decal

This page describes how to go about having a button, sticker, or decal made using your own design.

If you have an idea, but want me to create the design for your button the thing to do is to call or email me with your idea, and we’ll go from there. Your button design can include any combination of colors and fonts, graphics and images. That means that the possibilities are endless, and that’s why the process should start with us talking about your idea and what is possible within your budget. Call me at 612-703-6157, or email me at jeff@rivercitybuttons.com.

NOTE:  If it’s not buttons you need, but bumper stickers, decals, or other custom stickers, the options are too numerous to explain them all here. Just call or email with your idea and I’ll tell you how to proceed.  If buttons are what you are interested in, keep reading.

DESIGNING YOUR OWN BUTTON

If you want to design your own button, PLEASE READ THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE BEFORE YOU SEND IN ANYTHING, because it’s a little trickier than you may think. If you don’t understand any of the following guidelines, please call before you spend too much time on it. I’ll let you know if what you have in mind will besomething I can work with.

SUBMITTING ORIGINAL, OR HAND-DRAWN, ARTWORK

If you have a hand-drawn artwork, you can mail it or hand-deliver it to the shop. Do not FAX anything or send a PHOTOCOPY—they won’t work. I’ll have to have the original. Send or deliver your original artwork to:

River City Buttons
3745 Minnehaha Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55406

SUBMITTING ARTWORK AS AN ELECTRONIC FILE

If you want to submit your art as an electronic file I can work with the following formats:

* The best format to use is Adobe Illustrator. These are files with the extension “.ai”. Since I don’t have every font there is, you would be wise to convert all fonts to paths/outlines (or, you could send me the font files to download, if you have them).

I can also usually work with:
* Photoshop files. These are files with the extension “.psd”
* Encapsulated PostScript files. These are files with the extension “.eps”
* Portable Document Format, or PDF files. These are files with the extension “.pdf”

Any image files (.jpg, .psd) should be saved at a resolution of 300 dpi, if possible.

Remember, if your idea is very simple, or if you just want something legible and straightforward, it may be easier for both of us to have me design it here at the shop. There is usually no extra charge for making simple designs.

For an illustrator pdf template email jeff@rivercitybuttons.com, please specify the button size you want to design to.

Remember that what we see on computer screens never looks exactly like the physical object that will be your button or sticker. After all, color made by mixing light on a monitor screen is different than color made by mixing ink on paper. Usually we will get very close. I work in the CMYK format, not with Pantone colors. With custom designs I will always send you a proof copy before production begins. No buttons willbe made until you approve the design that you receive as a proof. If you live or work nearby and wish to come in to the shop to see an actual mock-up of your button, that can also be done; just ask.

ARTWORK SIZING

If you are submitting button artwork in electronic form, be advised that the background color must extend beyond the visible area all the way to the diameter of the “cut” that is made when preparing the buttons for production. This is because the artwork will wrap around the edges of the buttons, and some areas beyond the clearly-visible areas will show around the edges.

For an illustrator pdf template email jeff@rivercitybuttons.com, please specify the button size you want to design to.

Here are the dimensions of the visible surface, and the dimensions to which the background colors should extend, for each size of button that River City Buttons will be making for you or your allies, friends, or customers:

FOR A 1.25" BUTTON:
The diameter of the clearly visible area should be no more than 1 and 1/8"
The metric equivalent is 1.125".
The cutline must extend to exactly 1 and 9/16"
The metric equivalent is 1.5625"

FOR A 1.75" BUTTON:
The diameter of the clearly visible area should be no more than 1 and 9/16"
The metric equivalent is1.5625".
The cutline must extend to exactly 2 and 3/64"
The metric equivalent is 2.0468 inches.

FOR A 2.25" BUTTON:
The diameter of the clearly visible area should be no more than 2 and 1/8"
The metric equivalent is 2.125".
The cutline must extend to exactly 2 and 9/16"
The metric equivalent is 2.5625".

FOR A 3" BUTTON:
The diameter of the clearly visible area should be no more than 2 and 7/8"
The metric equivalent is 2.875".
The cutline must extend to exactly 3 and 3/8".
The metric equivalent is 3.375".

In all cases—especially if the background color is white—you should include a “cut line,” which is a black circle at the outermost edge of the background. For example, the cut line for a 3" button should be a circle with a 3.375" diameter. This line tells me where to cut the circle, and helps me make certain your artwork is centered on your button.