Over the years the interest in fridge magnets has waned due to the rise in popularity of stainless steel fridges, but I have always thought they were once one of the best tools for “top of the mind awareness”. A client asked us to design one so I did a little research into the sticktoitnessof stainless steel and learned the following:
Some stainless steel fridges will, in fact, work for fridge magnets — especially if the magnet is fairly strong. The most magnet-friendly appliances have a thin sheet of stainless steel as a decorative face over a metal core that’s more ferromagnetic — meaning a metal that magnets will stick to. Many “stainless steel” refrigerators are made differently on the front than they are on the sides. If your fridge magnets won’t stick to the door, try the side of it — if your kitchen arrangement allows easy access to it, of course. And to get really technical there are several different types of stainless steels. The two main types are austenitic and ferritic, each of which exhibits a different atomic arrangement. Due to this difference, ferritic stainless steels are generally magnetic while austenitic stainless steels usually are not.
Where can you get them printed? Vistaprint.ca advertisies 100 for $92.61 (5.5″ x 4″). MagnetsUSA advertises a 4″ x 6″ magnet at qty 100 for $104.00 (USD)