Learn how to create thick, professional quality save the date magnets from the comfort of your own home computer in this do it yourself wedding project. We have tested this project ourselves and the results are amazing. You can’t possibly buy magnets of this quality for the price of making them yourself. Assuming all you need to purchase are the magnet supplies, these magnets will end up costing you about $0.30 each. This project will create very thick custom magnets (not the thin, floppy ones!) that your friends and family will proudly display on their refrigerators. You can also use this same project to make “Thank You” magnets to mail with your thank you cards or after the wedding, create “Change of Address” magnets if you and your hubby move to a new home.
Here’s what you will need:
- PC Computer with Adobe Photoshop
- Engagement Photo or other design for the magnets
The design should be 3.5″ x 2″ at 300dpi resolution for best results.
- Color Inkjet printer for heavyweight paper
You need a printer that has a manual feed option if you want to use the heavy magnet paper. We tested the HP Deskjet 9800. If the thinner magnet material is what you want to use, then most inkjet printers will work. Check your printer specifications to see what your printer is capable of.
- Printable glossy magnetic sheets
The best magnetic sheets are available online at www.MagnetValley.com. The 20-24 mil glossy magnetic sheets are the heaviest and produce the highest quality magnet. These are about as thick as 10 sheets of regular copy paper. The 14-16 mil glossy magnetic sheets are also available. They are noticeably thinner and more flexible, but still produce a nice magnet. They are about as thick as 5 sheets of regular copy paper. We highly suggest the glossy finish on the magnet sheets.
- UV laminate sheets (optional)
The UV laminate sheets go over the top of the magnets and prevent them from fading. If you do not use them, magnets left in direct sunlight will noticeably fade within a few weeks. The UV laminate sheets are available from www.texascraft.com. We have found that the Glossy UV sheets produce the best quality magnets. These adhesive sheets are applied over the printed sheet before cutting.
- Paper cutter
To cut the magnets, we suggest using a paper cutter than has a strong arm and ruler base for measuring. We used the GBC Classic Cut paper trimmer. These are readily available at most office supply stores.
The first thing to do is to create the design for your magnets. The magnet design needs to be 3.5″ x 2″ at 300 dpi resolution. It needs to be at this high resolution so that when you print, it will look very crisp and clear. If you are computer savvy, creating the design should be simple using Adobe Photoshop or another design software program. If you don’t know how to do this, you may want to ask a friend to help you or ask your photographer or invitation designer to see if they can assist you in creating a simple design.
Once you have your design created, flatten any layers used in Photoshop and save it as a TIF file. The reason we do this is so we don’t lose any image quality. Now we are going to create a new file that is the size of an 8.5 x 11 page. This is going to be the page that we print the magnets from. On this page, we will paste 10 copies of the magnet design so that we print 10 magnets on one page. The document should measure 8.5″ x 11″ at 300 dpi resolution. Give a .5″ margin at the top and bottom and a .75″ margin on the left and right. If you’d like, you can download our PSD template of this page to use.
Paste your magnet design once in each of the 10 spots in the grid. Turn on the guidelines if you can’t see the light blue guidelines marking the spaces for the magnets. You also want to make sure you have “Snap” turned on so that the images all line up with the guidelines. Save this file to your computer.
Now you are ready to print your magnets. You may need to do a few test prints on regular paper or photo paper before you actually print on the magnetic sheets. Do this to make sure that your magnet design prints the way you see them on the screen. Once you are ready, insert your first sheet of magnetic paper into the printer and print the magnets from Adobe Photoshop. Before printing, adjust your printer preferences to print at highest quality on glossy photo paper or heavyweight glossy photo paper. Please note it may take your printer up to 5 minutes to print each sheet. Once a sheet of magnets has printed, set it aside and let the ink dry for about 5 minutes.
If you have decided to use the UV laminate overlay, now is the time to apply these to the magnet sheets. This can be a little tricky, it is similar to laying a big clear sticker over the top of the magnets. The most important thing is to not get any air bubbles between the laminate sheet and the magnet sheet. It may be helpful to have an extra set of hands around to hold the magnet sheet still while you apply the laminate.
Peel the backing from the laminate sheet to expose the adhesive side. We found that it was easiest to start at the top of the sheet, laying the laminate carefully on top and smoothing it slowely over the rest of the sheet. Use a kleenex or soft cloth to rub the laminate while you adhere it to the magnet sheet. Once the sheet is completely down, use a kleenex or soft cloth to rub the laminate, getting all the tiny air bubbles out. The laminate sheets are usually larger than the magnets. If so, use scissors to trim away any excess laminate sheet. If your scissors get gummy from cutting the laminates, use Goo Gone to clean them.
We are now ready to cut the magnets. We found that the easiest thing to do was to cut the borders off the magnets first. Trim .5″ from the top and bottom of the sheet. Then trim .75″ off the left and right hand side. Next trim the magnets into 2 strips, 3.5″ wide. Finally, trim each magnet apart at 2″ tall. You may have some hairline edges to trim off. This is normal and easy to trim with the paper cutter. Don’t try using scissors, the magnet material is too thick for scissors. We found that a good, quick chop on the paper cutter will allow you to get these little edges. If you go too slow, they will not cut. (please watch your fingers!)
Repeat the laminate and cutting process for all of the sheets of magnets that you have printed. Include the magnets with your Save the Date Cards or stay tuned for an upcoming DIY wedding project to make envelopes and note-cards to mail your magnets in.
