Policies

Button Making Policies

1. Introduction
2. Access and Communications
3. Acceptable Use
4. Copyright
5. Accepted Formats
6. Payment Options
7. Processing and Turnaround Time
8. Button Pickups
9. Button Issues
10. Other Button Services

1. The Spirit of the Button Making Service

The Button Making Service has been established for the primary use of Loyola students faculty and staff in support of individual or group endeavors that may benefit from buttons. Buttons serve as a communication tool; signaling affinity, building group unity, rasing event awareness and more. We offer three sizes and  are able to process orders of individual buttons or large batches.

2. Access and Communications

Access to use the Button Making Service is available to active members of the University such as Students, Faculty and Staff. Access is not available for Alumni, Friends of the Library, Reciprocal Borrowers/Visiting Scholars, Library Community Access Members, Emeritus/Retirees, Contractors or Sponsored Guests. We reserve the right to revoke access for individuals that attempt to submit multiple requests that violate the submission policies and guidelines outlined here within.

Requests for Button must be submitted via the Online Button Submission Form. Upon submission, communications will occur entirely via email as necessary when it relates to review of the submitted files, or other questions pertaining to the submission. We may contact Department Budget Administrators as well if there are discrepancies with the provided University Account Code when this is selected as a payment method.

3. Acceptable Use

Our Button Making Serivces are primarily intended for such individual, club, team, and group use for students. There are however limitations of use, and such proceeding examples would fall outside of the spirit of the Button Making Service in which we cannot provide support:

• Duplication of copywritten materials without accompanying Letter of Copyright Permission for Print Use from the copyright holder.
• High volume of requests and/or quantities that exceed our print limitations.

Digital Media Services reserves the right to decline and cancel any button orders that upon review are considered in possible conflict with Loyola Community Standards and/or Code of Conduct. 

We have a maximum quantity limit of 50 buttons per order, per individual. If we observe attempts to circumvent these limits by way of multiple submissions, we will indicate we cannot process these request, referring you to our external vendors.

4. Copyright

4.1 Copyright Limitations

As we supervise and review submitted files requested for button printing, we are cognizant of copyright considerations. Printing is considered an act of duplication, whether one or multiple copies are requested, we strive to ensure we are following University policies related to copyrighted materials.

• The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code, 1976) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 is designed to protect copyright holders from online theft.
• Copying, distributing, downloading, and uploading information on the Internet may infringe on the rights of the copyright owner. Even an innocent, unintentional infringement has the potential to violate the law. Every audio, visual or written work has copyright protection unless that protection has expired or the creator places it in the public domain. The work does not have to have a copyright notice or a copyright symbol to be protected by copyright. If a client cannot determine whether or not a work is copyrighted assume that it is copyrighted.

For more information regarding resources, visit these recommended resources:

• Copyright Resources at Loyola University Chicago
• Fair Use Checklist at Loyola University Chicago
• United States Copyright Office

4.2 Request Letter for Permission to Print Copyrighted Materials

Digital Media Services staff and student workers will adhere to and not knowingly violate the intent and the specifics of copyright laws. Support for duplication of materials cannot be granted by Digital Media Services without expressed written consent from the copyright owner. This includes, but is not limited to, use of third party sites or tools to download, extract or rip audio, video or other multimedia from websites or sources; duplication of media, including large format printing, or upload of media with watermark, trademark, copyright information and/or non-Loyola branded identifiers.

It is the user’s responsibility to determine whether information is copyrighted, whether it meets the criteria for "Fair Use", and to seek permission from the copyright holder for its use as necessary. As Digital Media Services support made be requested in the compilation or creation of multimedia projects, there is no way we can identify the final placement will be valid or within the realm of "Fair Use" guidelines.

Copyright ownership information can usually be found in the recorded or printed material itself or on labels or covers. Before using any image, make sure the copyright restrictions are understood and that permission has been obtained to use the image for use by Individual, Educational Institution or Entity you may be representing.

5. Accepted Formats

You can create and develop your button in several applications, however we can only process and print  Image (.JPG, .PNG, .AI, .PSD, .pdf, .pptx) files.

For best results, please submit artwork according to the following guidelines:
• Art is in CMYK Color
• Art is at least 300 dpi
• All fonts are outlined
• All linked images are embedded in file
• Fonts are 5pt size or above
• Line weight is 0.5pt thick or above
• Art is at least the size of your chosen button

• Using .ai, .psd, or .pptx with any text content can result in complications. This is due to potential differences in fonts on the computers we use, and the system substituting any unrecognized fonts- this can result in text that is bigger or smaller than intended. To avoid this, please outline fonts in Illustrator, or save your files as a .pdf before submitting. During our review process, we may request the file be resubmited if we see clear concerns for text size/placement due to font changes. Please see the page for more information.

6. Payment Options

Payments for button orders may be made in two methods:

• Rambler Bucks from your Loyola ID Card. Loyola members can add Rambler Bucks funds to their Loyola ID cards by visiting the Campus Card office pages. Rambler Bucks can be loaded onto these cards via cash at ValuePort terminals located around campus, or through debit or credit cards online via the Online Card Office. Payment will be deducted at the time of button order pickup.
• University Account Code transfers. Departments may provide University Account Codes/Accounting Units (UAC or AUs) as identified during the poster submission process. We will verify the account codes provided in reference with the Finance Department. A budget administrator's name and email will be required in such instances, for verification of account code or approval where necessary. Transfers will be submitted to the Finance Department at the end of each month. In June each year as the End of Fiscal Year approaches, any poster orders listing University Account Codes submitted after June 15th will be charged in the proceeding Fiscal Year after July 1st.

We do not accept cash, check or debit/credit cards as forms of payment. Please refer to the Rambler Bucks payment method above as you may use these methods to load your Loyola ID with Rambler Bucks.

Buttons that remain unclaimed after 14-days from notification may be repurposed and charges will occur. University Account Code transfer charges will list the order at the end of the month, and for individuals submitting payment via Rambler Bucks, an Invoice will be created and sent from the Equipment Loan Program system, and remain present preventing access to the loan program until the balance is paid. Such Invoices are ineligible for appeal, and balances that exceed $25 will be transferred to the bursar with an eBill line item in LOCUS. Individuals found with multiple unpaid button orders may have access to the Button Making Service restricted.

7. Processing and Turnaround Time

Processing orders requires review of each button order submission to verify numerous factors per our policies and to help ensure the success of your order. We review orders on three main criteria:

• Subject-centering and Scaling. Most images from our phones or online are rectangular, but our buttons are circular in shape. We strive to ensure the subject of the image is properly scaled and placed to fill the button size requested, but depending on the image there may be concerns of blank space on the edges. In the event the provided image file raises concerns when scaled to a circular button template we will contact submitters to seek confirmation to proceed with printing or to ask for a new image file. A good way to ensure this isn't an issue is to use our provided where you can layout your image exactly as intended.
• Pixelation. Pixelation is caused when an image is displayed at a large size, subsequently causing image pixels to be more apparent and look blocky. We review images and photos embedded in order submissions and will communicate with submitters on options to continue processing if there are any issues with this, or reply with an updated file that may have the photo or image imported into the project file, so it will be more amiable to larger scaling sizes.
• Copyright. As detailed above, we assess images to best ensure the integrity of the Institution, that we are not knowingly duplicating materials that are or may have copyright. We will provide our policies and instructions for receiving Copyright Clearance Letters from original copyright holders.
• Account Code confirmations. In the event the submitted provides a University Account Code or AU that we cannot validate, we will reply to the submitter and/or Budget Administrator to confirm there is not a typo with the listed account code. We may also contact the the Finance Department for further confirmation where necessary.
• Quantity limitations. In the event we observe quantity requests exceeding our policies, or numerous/sequential submissions attempting to work around our quantity limits, a Digital Media Services supervisor will provide further information regarding our quantity limitations and referral to external services in order to complete such requests.

Once all of the above conditions have been met, we guarantee buttons will be manufactured in 72-hours. Although in some instances we may process buttons within shorter periods of time, whether due to low traffic in our service locations and low volume of requests in our order queue, we cannot make any guarantees for orders to be processed in under 72-hours. This period of time affords us the ability to coordinate and review in the event any technical issues occur requiring maintenance to the button maker we have at each campus location.

8. Button Pickups

At the time of order submission, clients have the option to indicate the name of an individual that will pickup the button order on their behalf once the order is completed. Upon completion of processing and preparing the order, we will send a Ready For Pickup notification. After the original submitter or identified individual completing the pickup retrieves the order, we will send a Pickup Confirmation email that may serve as a digital receipt. A paper slip will also be provided with the poster for your own records. Buttons will be stored and transfered to the client in a plastic zip top bag.

9. Button Issues

Clients are responsible to review their button orders at the time of pickup. If a significant button issue is identified at the time of pickup that was otherwise overlooked when processing, please notify our staff immediately to evaluate before you leave. Refunds are not provided, however if the issue is determined as valid and significant, impacting the quality, a reproduction run of the affected buttons will be done, once, without additional charge. Such reviews are at the discretion of the button making staff to evaluate and determine on case by case basis.

10. Other Button Services

This list identifies some outside vendors or resources that offer similar button making services:

• Busy Beaver
• Rock Buttons

 As a disclaimer, Digital Media Services (DMS) does not endorse, guarantee, warrant or recommend any of these products or services vendors may offer. In addition, DMS makes no representations or warranties about the types of services, quality of care, source of payment or billing practices of outside vendors. DMS does not verify these licenses, accreditations, certifications or other credentials of any outside vendor or its employees.