Price increases and order delays.  No company wants to be responsible for them, and no buyer wants to be inconvenienced by them.

However, sometimes such occurrences are inevitable, and the magnet production industry is currently struggling with these issues.  As a global leader, Adams has been able to limit their impact more than other companies during these industry-wide challenges. But over the past few months even we have not been immune to the realities of the global economic situation.

If you’ve placed an order recently, you may have noticed that we are experiencing price increases and lead time extensions on some of our magnetic assemblies. As a valued customer you deserve to know why these things are happening. (more…)

Important questions to ask before magnet production

For any successful signage project, communication with clients is critical, and magnets are no different. Though magnets are a low-maintenance signage option, there are still certain considerations to ensure your clients are receiving the best products available. From manufacturing to application, there are elements that can directly affect how the magnet performs in various environments, and they must be identified before you even begin production. (more…)

Question: David Sharpe writes:  We have a flatbed printer and solvent printer and we are looking for the best magnetic product to use for Car Magnets. One of our clients just had some of the ones that we are using blow off of her car.

Answer: Unfortunately, this issue is not as uncommon as you would think, mostly because there are a number of possible contributing factors.  However, let’s start by addressing your question specifically.

When making magnetic car signs we first have to be concerned with the thickness of the magnetic sheet.  Its thickness is directly related to its strength (pounds of pull).  It has been universally accepted throughout our industry that the minimum acceptable thickness for automobile signs is .030”, also commonly referred to as 30mil.  Anything less than .030” may not provide the pounds of pull required to withstand the external forces an automobile sign is subjected to.
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Question: Deborah Foster writes: We have a greeting card company and want to expand to refrigerator magnets. What is the least expensive way to get into this and the least labor intensive?

Answer: There are several ways you could expand into refrigerator magnets.  A few ideas include:

1. Tipping or gluing printed magnets into your existing card designs.  The magnets could match the artwork of your current card designs.
2. Adding a magnet strip to the inside front cover of existing card designs.  This would work well if you offer cards that have photo frames incorporated into the cover.  Adams can provide magnetic strips with adhesive pre-cut or scored to the desired size.
3. You could expand into postcard greetings that have magnets glued or laminated to them.

If you want an easy and inexpensive way to make prototypes of your refrigerator magnet ideas, you can use our PrintMAG magnet sheet in your ink jet printer to make mock-ups.

There are companies like Magnetic Attractions or Rainbow Magnetics who print magnets and can package them in bulk or individually for retail, or they can tip/glue and laminate them to card stock.  They can even print the card stock if you like.

Please let us know if you’d like to see samples of what we describe above, or if you have any additional questions.  If you’d like to discuss any of this in person, please give us a call at 800-222-6686.  Thanks Deborah!

We are often asked about shipping magnets by air, and thought we’d take a minute to write about it.  Adams Magnetic Products’ general policy is to ship all magnetized products using ground transportation.  When necessary, we can prepare magnets for air shipment with sufficient shielding to make sure they travel safely.

In order for magnets to be shipped by air: Flux measurements of all packages containing magnets must measure less than 0.00525 gauss 15 feet from the package.  When not packaged properly for air shipment purposes, magnets are considered “dangerous goods” and the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) must be followed.

Packaging magnetic materials for air shipment must be accomplished considering the above. Powerful magnetic components and assemblies need to be shielded so that magnetic fields will meet air shipment criteria.  We recommend that you consult your carrier for more information and guidelines.

An example of how magnetic fields can be contained is illustrated in the images below.

Unshielded Magnet

Shielded Magnet

Important: This post does not fully state the regulations. The information provided herein is intended to inform that FAA and IATA regulations exist and that they should be understood before shipping magnets by air.

TabMAG Neo Disc

We’ve expanded our neodymium (Neo) magnetic to include these powerful, compact magnetic discs with adhesive backing and a new, easy pull-tab. The liner covering the adhesive on these strong TabMAG Neo magnets has a protruding tab for easy removal. Once removed, the adhesive is exposed and the magnet can be quickly applied to packaging, displays, fixtures and other closure or presentation applications.
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pull test equipment in action

Question: “Scott the PAINTER” from California asks: I recently purchased several round base style magnets from the hardware store and they don’t seem to work properly.  I spoke with the folks at the store and they told me there is nothing wrong with them.  They attached them to those orange beams in the store and they worked great.  I am using them on the roof of my car to hold a small sign for my business.  The packaging stated that they would hold 80 pounds.  In the store they felt really strong but when I applied them to the roof of my car it felt like I could pull them off with less then 80 pounds of effort.  Can you explain to me why this is happening?  My car is made of steel.  I have already had one sign blow off and I can’t afford to loose another one, please help.

Answer: Hello Scott,  Thank you for your post.  This is a common issue we have experienced with magnetic assemblies.  When Adams Magnetic Products or any other magnet manufacturer test their assemblies we base the results on a .375″ thick piece of steel (more…)

Our strong selection of overstock magnets could have just what you need for your next project!  We’ve just updated our overstock list, and added images and pricing for all our overstock magnetic assemblies.  Take a look and you may find something you’d like to have around to test in future projects.  If you see anything you want to try, let us know and we’ll send you a sample.  Here’s a link to the full list with images, descriptions and pricing: ADAMS OVERSTOCK.  When you get there, just select what type of magnet you’re looking for from the drop down menu, and press GO!