Button Making Questions Answered, Ask ABM - Printing Multiple Designs in Build-a-Button 6.0

Can you print multiple different designs on a single page from Build-a-Button?  Absolutely!  This week Team ABM is going to show you how to accomplish one of the most asked for functions in Build-a-Button to help save on your paper cost by maximizing the potential of every sheet.

Build-a-Button has 2 options when it comes time to save that perfect design you just created.  If you choose “Save to Edit”, it saves your design as a txt file that can be opened again later in BAB for editing like scaling to a different size, changing a color, etc.  Then there’s “Save to Print” for when you are ready to print your graphics and don’t need to edit anything else.  This gives you the option to save as one of the more common graphic file types like pdf, jpg or png.  For the record, ABM always recommends that you save as both a txt file and a standard graphic file.  You just never know when you might need to tweak a design just a little and if you want to print different files on the same page, you are going to need that txt file to make it happen. 

Let's say you are making a set of ABM’s Ready to Print Alphabet or Numbers. You don’t need a full page just for the letter T and to use a whole sheet of paper for just the one button isn’t very practical so here’s where those txt files are going to save the day!  Once you have all of your buttons designed and you have chosen “Save to Edit” for each, you can line them up to print on the same page with just a few clicks. 

Once you open BAB, start by clicking on the “Save and Print” button.  Once thatdialogue box opens, you want to select “Load and Print”.  Here’s where you need to decide how you want to save your page.  It gives you the options of pdf, jpg or png.  Once you make your decision, it is going to ask you to name the file. For our alphabet example, "Awesome Alphabet" seems appropriate. After you name the file, you are ready to start selecting buttons to fill your page.   You can either click the “Choose Files” button and select them one by one, oryou can also click and drag the txt files in there. After each file you add, click on “Choose Files” again to continue adding additional buttons.  Once you have all of the buttons you want selected, click the “Upload” button. If you have a lot of files or a slower internet connection, it might take a minute, but be patient. Your page will show processing and then voilà!  You’re 1 click away from greatness.  Once you choose “Download File” all the images you want on your page will appear before you on one page ready to print out! 

Now you are one step closer to being a fellow button ninja!  For a refresher, or if you’re just a little more visual, check out our great Build-a-Button 6.0 Video Course.  It covers everything you need to know about BAB and even some things you didn’t know you needed to know.  Need some inspiration for all of those buttons?  Join us in The Pinback Button Making Community!  Ask questions, make friends and share ideas. See you there but until then, happy button making! 

 - by Brighid Brown, Director of Blogging and All Things Cool at ABM