How to Actually Use the We R Memory Keepers Button Press
I've been using this button press since they first came out, and honestly it's one of those tools that looks straightforward until you try it for the first time and your buttons come out crooked or the image keeps slipping. Here's what actually works. The machine uses three separate dies — one for the face, one for the pin backing, and one for the metal shell. You feed them into the press individually. That's the basic mechanism, but the details are where people mess up. Start by setting the top die to the size you want. The dial on the side of the machine has size markings, but they're not always precise. I measured my actual crimps with calipers and found the 1-inch setting was producing roughly 58mm buttons instead of 60mm. If you need exact sizing for print layouts, calibrate your press against a known good unit or measure your output and adjust your image dimensions accordingly. This saves you from discovering three hours later that your photos are slightly cropped.
For the image itself, you need to cut it slightly larger than the button face. The paper gets stretched over the metal shell and tucked underneath during the crimping process. I usually add a 1/4 inch border around my images. Anything smaller and the edges show. Anything larger and you're trimming excess paper after every single button, which adds maybe twenty minutes to a batch of twenty. The pin back is the part that trips people up most. You insert the pin into the second die and make sure it's oriented correctly — the flat side of the pin needs to face down toward the metal shell. I learned this the hard way after crushing about six pins and realizing the mechanism wouldn't close properly. Once I got the orientation right, the crimp went through cleanly on the first attempt every time. Here's the part nobody mentions in the manual: the pressure adjustment. The lever has a resistance setting, and if it's set too tight the dies won't release properly. Too loose and the crimp doesn't seal. My press started acting up about a year in when the tension spring began to weaken. I solved it by tightening the adjustment screw on the back of the lever with a small hex key — probably a 2mm size. This restored proper closing force without needing any replacement parts.
Material selection matters more than you'd think. Standard copy paper works fine for quick tests, but it wrinkles under the crimp. Photo paper gives a much cleaner result but is slightly more expensive. I use pre-cut circular blank inserts for consistency — they cost about three cents each and eliminate the trimming step entirely. The tradeoff is you're locked into whatever diameters they sell in, which typically covers 1 inch, 1.5 inches, and 2 inches. Common pitfalls to avoid: Don't skip aligning the metal shell in the die before pressing. If it's off-center even slightly, the crimp will create a visible gap around the edge. I've seen people redo entire batches because of this. Take an extra five seconds to visually confirm the shell is centered.
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Another issue is using glossy cardstock that's too thick. Anything heavier than 80lb cover stock tends to resist the crimp and creates a weak seal. The buttons fall apart within a day or two. Stick to materials under 0.015 inches thick and you should be fine. The machine also struggles with textured papers or anything with a raised surface. The die presses directly against the image, so texture translates into an uneven seal. Smooth surfaces only. If you're producing more than about fifty buttons in a sitting, take breaks between batches. The mechanism heats up from friction and the plastic components can warp slightly if you run it continuously for extended periods. I usually stop after thirty or so and let it cool for ten minutes. Makes no difference to quality but extends the life of the tool significantly.
The We R Memory Keepers Button Press Instructions cover the basic operation, but they don't address most of the real-world issues that come up during actual production. Once you figure out your material preferences and calibrate the sizing, it's fast enough to produce a full sheet of buttons in under fifteen minutes. The learning curve is mostly about getting comfortable with the alignment steps and understanding what materials work versus what just looks good in theory.
