Magnetic and magnetic-receptive materials are well suited for display and point of purchase applications like menus and promotional signs, anything where messaging may change on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The ease of change out is appealing especially to retail workers with little to no experience handling signage.

Magnets come in various thicknesses. Over the years, “thin” materials have become popular. For the purposes of this article, we define thin magnetic material as anything around 7- to 17-mil or 0.007 to 0.017 inches thick.

What’s the Buzz?

Thin magnetic material is developed and used by a number of different industries. For printing, one of the reasons “thin is in” is because it runs better on printer hardware compared to its thicker gauge counterparts.

According to Stephen McLevey, business development and Flexmag commercial manager, Arnold Magnetic Technologies, the print industry is driving demand. “The material needs to be thinner and lighter so that it can be processed on the printers used in today’s marketplace.”

Debunking Myths

A common misconception is that the thicker the magnet, the more powerful the attraction. Weary of using thinner magnetic material because of this? You shouldn’t be.

“The statement is true as long as the material is of the same grade. We are able to produce a stronger, thinner magnet by using higher energy materials,” says McLevey.