Button Makers for Schools
The mechanical press that turns a piece of paper and a photo into a wearable pin. A genuine crowd-pleaser for school events, spirit weeks, and vinyl decoration projects.
A button maker is an under-$400 machine that turns a paper design into a 1.25" or 2.25" pin-back button. Every kid in the school takes one home from an event. It is one of the highest "delight per dollar" purchases a makerspace can make.
We almost always pair this with a heat press and vinyl cutter - the same workflow that lets kids design a button also lets them design a HTV patch, and the same heat press that finishes HTV can cure sublimation-printed buttons.
Short version
Start: 1.25" button maker. Kid-sized, safer, faster press, cheapest supplies.
Step up: 2.25" button maker for yearbook / spirit-week / fundraising scale. Bigger canvas, more expensive supplies.
Pair with: a Cricut EasyPress or similar heat press. Also solves HTV apparel.
Ongoing cost: button components + circle cutters. Plan a few hundred dollars a year for a working program.
1.25" button maker
A 1.25" (32mm) button is the goldilocks size for elementary. Big enough to see the design, small enough that the machine's press arm is short and kids can work it themselves. Supplies are cheaper per button. A class of 25 can each make 2-3 buttons in a single period.
Brands worth looking at:
- American Button Machines - the pro-grade option, stocks a "School Series" specifically aimed at classrooms. Lifetime warranty, US-based support, quality dies. Expect $250+ for the 1.25" school kit.
- People Power Press - progressive / nonprofit-aligned vendor, bundles an artwork design book with school kits. Similar price point.
- Amazon generic 1.25" button makers - $80-150. Adequate for a one-time event or a proving-out purchase. Not built for daily classroom use; the press mechanism wears.
What comes in the kit: the press, a set of dies (the metal "cups" that hold the button parts during pressing), a manual circle cutter, and a starter pack of button components. A "button component" is the metal shell + clear mylar film + pin back + paper insert - all sold together in "sets."
Supplies budget: expect around $30-$50 for 100 1.25" button sets from a real vendor. If you are making 100 buttons a quarter (one per kid in two grades), you burn through $150 a year in supplies. Budget it into the program.
2.25" button maker
2.25" (58mm) is the "political-button" size - bigger canvas for designs with text, easier to center a photo, more visible from across a gym. If the program is running yearbook buttons, graduation pins, fundraising buttons that go home to parents, the bigger size looks more polished.
The tradeoff: the press arm is longer, which is harder for a 3rd grader to operate without help. Supplies are 2x-3x the price per button. The machine is physically larger on the table.
Real vendors: American Button Machines School Series 2.25" is the class-leader. UMakeButtons economy kit is a cheaper alternative for the same button size.
Multi-size machines: some machines, including the Amazon multi-size button maker kits, advertise that they handle 1", 1.25", and 2.25" by swapping dies. These look great on paper. In practice the die swap is fiddly, parts go missing, and the budget machines are not precise enough to press all three sizes cleanly. For a school, buy one size at a time and commit to it.
Cricut EasyPress / Heat press
The heat press is the closer. It is the same tool we recommend on the Cricut + vinyl page - an EasyPress or similar heat press finishes heat-transfer vinyl on T-shirts and hats. The same machine can:
- Press HTV onto the fabric backing of a sewn patch (see sewing machines)
- Cure sublimation-printed paper that goes on a button insert (for rich photo-quality designs)
- Press iron-on designs onto cotton canvas pouches, tote bags, or pennants as gifts
Buying a heat press for the button station specifically is not the goal. The goal is: if you have a vinyl program, you already own a heat press; if you are starting both programs at once, they share this one purchase.
Cricut-HTV compatibility: any HTV material Cricut sells works on an EasyPress with the temperature and time settings the Cricut Heat Guide app recommends. Third-party HTV (Siser EasyWeed, Styletech) works the same way - look up the manufacturer's time and temperature, set the press, go.
Button components + circle cutters + templates
The ongoing cost of a button program is button components. A "set" is the shell, mylar, pin back, and paper insert. Buy 100 or 250 at a time for a meaningful discount vs. 25-packs.
Where to buy the good stuff:
- American Button Machines parts - same brand as the press, same fit. About $0.15 per 1.25" set in bulk.
- UMakeButtons parts - similar pricing, different-brand-compatible parts. Check die compatibility.
- Amazon button parts (1.25") - cheapest option; quality varies. Check reviews for "fits my press" comments before buying.
Circle cutters: the paper templates kids design on need to be cut to the exact diameter the press needs. Most kits include a manual circle cutter - basically a rotary blade in a pivot jig. It works for 5 kids per cutter per class. If you have multiple kits running, buy a spare. Extra circle cutters on Amazon.
Templates: Canva, Google Slides, and the button machine vendor's own software all work for designing button inserts. Most kids will use Canva - set up a school template with the right circle size and let them drag photos in.
What to pair with buttons
The programs that naturally use a button maker.
Vinyl cutter
Kids design a logo in Cricut Design Space, cut it on the Cricut, and also press it onto a button insert as a permanent decoration.
School photos / field trip snaps
Kids' own photos are the highest-engagement button input. A class field trip, a reading buddies event, a school play - print the photo, cut the circle, press the button.
Student council elections
Campaign buttons are a built-in civics lesson. Every candidate makes a button; the winner's design goes home as a "thanks for voting" button for the whole class.
Reading incentives
A "I read 100 pages" button is something kids actually wear. The librarian or reading specialist is usually thrilled to own this program.
Community art projects
Partner with an older grade to design and produce a run of 300 buttons for a school-wide event. Kids see their design on everyone in the building.
Fundraiser output
PTA / PTO buttons with school branding at a fall festival booth, $1 each. Pays back a button maker in a single year.
What to skip
Common mistakes with button maker programs.
The cheapest generic button machine for a real classroom program
A $40 "button maker" from Amazon with a no-name brand is fine for one afternoon of kitchen-table crafting. In a classroom running 20+ kids through the press in a block, the cheap dies loosen, the press arm bends, and the machine fails halfway through. A real school-grade press at $200 lasts 10+ years. The math favors the real machine within the first semester.
Agree to Disagree ›Multi-size "does everything" button makers as your main press
A machine that swaps dies to make 1", 1.25", and 2.25" buttons sounds like a deal. In practice, the die swaps take 5+ minutes, parts end up on different tables, and the cheaper multi-size machines are not precise enough to make clean buttons in all three sizes. Pick a size and buy a single-size press for that size. Add a second press for the second size when the program warrants it.
Agree to Disagree ›Proprietary "cartridge" button makers
A few vendors sell machines that only accept their own button component "cartridges" - sealed packs that lock you into their supply chain at a 2x-3x price premium over open-market button components. These are the XYZprinting of the button world. Avoid. The open standard is 1" / 1.25" / 2.25" shells; any machine that makes you buy its own parts is a trap.
Agree to Disagree ›Buying a $300 machine for a one-time event
If you are making 100 buttons for a single event and the program will not continue, do not buy a machine. Rent one from your district's curriculum library, borrow one from a neighboring school, or use an on-demand printer service. A one-event use case is not a makerspace purchase.
Agree to Disagree ›Running out of button components mid-class
The "what to skip" version of this is: do not treat button parts like filament. You cannot pause a button lesson at 20 minutes in because you ran out of shells. Count shells before the lesson. Buy at 2x the estimated need. Extras store forever in a shoebox.
Agree to Disagree ›All the links
Vendors and retailers referenced on this page. No affiliate arrangements.