Materials and construction
What a fridge magnet is made of, from flexible magnetic sheet to hard ferrite and neodymium, and how that changes what it does.
Read the guide →What a fridge magnet is made of, and how to get one that works
The material behind the print decides whether a magnet holds a calendar or slides down the door by Friday. This site works through the layers from the magnetic sheet outward, for a run of five thousand promotional magnets or one photo magnet made for a single fridge.
Check your artwork resolution before you send it to a printerFind the guide you need
Five ways into the site, depending on whether you are ordering, troubleshooting or checking artwork before you send it.
Ordering specifications
What to specify when ordering printed promotional magnets, including thickness, lamination and bleed, so the print matches what you approved.
Read the guide →Why it won't stick
The most common reason a magnet slides down a fridge door is the door itself. Check which applies to yours.
Read the guide →Safety around children and pets
Small magnets and neodymium magnets carry a specific swallowing hazard. Read the position and what to do if one goes missing.
Read the guide →Artwork resolution checker
Check whether your image file will print at 300 dpi at the size you need before you send it to a printer.
UK printers and suppliers
Named UK printers listed with the specifics a buyer needs: minimum order quantity, magnet thickness and material, and turnaround time.
See the directory →A fridge magnet is a material decision wearing a printed face
A fridge magnet is really two separate decisions bolted together: the magnetic material underneath, which does the work of holding it to the door, and the printed or moulded face on top, which is what the reader actually notices. Getting one that works means matching the first to the door it has to grip, and the second to how long you want it kept.
What holds it to the door
The material is usually one of three things: a flexible magnetic sheet (ferrite powder bound into a rubber-like sheet, the type behind most printed promotional magnets), hard ferrite (a rigid ceramic magnet, common in cheaper novelty pieces), or neodymium (a rare-earth magnet, far stronger for its size and the type used where a magnet needs to hold real weight). Thickness matters as much as material: a 0.4 mm sheet holds itself to a clean door, while 0.6 mm or 0.75 mm is what you specify if the magnet needs to hold paper as well. The full breakdown of what each material is and where it is used is in What a Fridge Magnet Is Made Of.
Whether it will stick at all
None of that matters if the door itself will not take a magnet. Some stainless steel doors are finished in a non-magnetic grade, and no magnet, however strong, will hold to them. Before specifying anything, it is worth knowing which doors this affects and why.
Who actually prints these
The UK fridge magnet printer directory lists suppliers by the specifics a buyer actually needs to compare before placing an order: the minimum order quantity a printer will accept, the magnet material and thickness they run (commonly 0.5 mm or 0.7 mm steel-backed vinyl for promotional batches), and the turnaround time they quote. It is a working list, so treat every figure on it as a starting point for a conversation. Confirm current stock, cost and lead time directly with the printer, and where a trade body membership such as the British Promotional Merchandise Association or a Companies House registration is stated, check it before committing to a large run.
Where to go next
This site is organised as a set of guides, covering construction, ordering specifications, safety around small magnets, and print setup. All guides lists them by topic, so you can go straight to the one that matches what you are ordering or troubleshooting. If you already have artwork ready to send to a printer, the artwork resolution checker will tell you whether it is set up at a printable size and resolution before you send it, though it checks the file you give it and cannot confirm what a printer will accept.
Find the section you need, or check your artwork before it goes to print
Materials and construction, ordering specifications, why a magnet won't stick, and safety around small magnets are covered separately, so you can go straight to the one that answers your question. If you're specifying a print run, the printer directory lists UK suppliers alongside the details a buyer needs to compare, such as minimum order quantity, magnet thickness and material, and turnaround, so confirm those figures with the supplier before you order.