Magnet Printing Techniques

Magnet printing is a powerful way to put your brand, products and services in front of targeted prospects day after day, year after year. Magnet printing techniques vary by printing company, but there are some tried-and-true tenets you should consider before you sit down at the drawing board (or computer monitor, as it is). Understanding the finishing process and knowing what you want the final printed magnet to look like will help dictate your design method, so heed the following magnet printing techniques during your setup process to ensure a perfect project every time.

Start with a template

Template setup is one of the most tedious tasks in the design business, mainly because it is boring – graphic designers want to get to the fun stuff! You can bypass almost all of the fuss of template setup by downloading free magnet printing templates. These templates do not have any graphic elements in them, so the sky is the limit when it comes to your design. What they do have, however, are time-saving features such as bleed lines, cutlines and safe area lines so you know how to position your layout for perfect printing. Magnet layout printing templates are also already sized correctly in the proper resolution and in the correct color mode, so all you have to do is open one in your favorite graphic editing program and start drawing.

Print test copies

Sometimes it's easy to get lost in how a project looks on your computer screen and overlook odd positioning, sizing or colors that look great on your monitor – but not so great as a printed piece. This is true for every type of printed marketing material, even magnets, so to combat this you should always print a test copy on your local desktop printer to evaluate your design before you send it to your printing company. Even better, consider how it is going to be used, cut it out and stick a piece of tape on the back so you can affix it in likely areas to demonstrate how effective it will be. If you're designing a refrigerator magnet with a calendar and your branded identity, try it out at home for a few days to see how many times your eyes are drawn to your design when you go for a glass of milk. If you ignore it, your customers will, too – but if you are compelled to glance at it every time, you have a winning magnet design that's ready to print.

Get a hardcopy proof

Finally, you should order a hardcopy proof of your magnet to double-check color accuracy and make sure there aren't any typos before you order your final print run. This takes time and adds a small fee, but it's well worth it if you catch unnecessary mistakes. Consider it an incredibly cheap insurance plan for you and your clients. Once you've established a good relationship with your printing company and have similar magnet printing projects, you can probably skip the hardcopy proof and opt for an electronic proof, which will save time and money and is also an eco-friendly magnet printing alternative.