Buttons: components
The three main parts of every button: the cap, shaft and nail, are described below.
Cap The most visible, top part of the button featuring your company's logo or type. Standard Cap Sizes: 27 Line (17 mm diameter) is the standard size for a jean button (at the top of the fly). 22 Line (14 mm) is standard for fly buttons.
cap materials
Brass The majority of tack buttons feature brass caps, because it is the most affordable and the easiest to work with. Brass is durable, providing years of wear for the consumer, but is not suitable for most industrial washes, and so is best applied afterwards. A stamping process with a low-cost mould allows the cap to be embossed or debussed with your logo, type or other graphics.
ALLOY Recommended primarily for heavy denim, an alloy cap is very heavy and thick which requires casting instead of stamping. Alloy is approximately 3 times more expensive than brass and requires substantially longer development time.
STAINLESS STEEL More durable than brass in industrial washes, stainless steel provides a matte silver appearance, and is stamped with the same process as brass.
Shank The cylindrical part of the button that extends perpendicularly down to the garment. Open bottom shanks receive a single prong nail, while closed bottom shanks are pierced by a double prong nail.
shank materials
Iron The most common material used for button shanks due to its strength, affordability and ease of manufacturing.
Plastic Made of a strong nylon and usually black, plastic shanks are the lightest and most affordable option. They are ideal for use on lighter fabrics such as twill and flannel, but are also quite strong and suitable for denim.
Iron with Plastic The best of both, featuring the lightness of plastic inside with authentic look of iron on the exterior of the shank.
Brass Approximately 10% more expensive than iron shanks, brass shanks are only used if you need the shank to match exactly with a brass cap.
Nail A metal pin with a head that is forced through the fabric and into the bottom of the shank, securing the button to the garment.
nail materials
Nails are commonly manufactured in aluminum, nickel or brass, which are stronger than aluminum. Plastic threaded screw-type nails are designed for plastic shanks.
