How to Make Enamel Pins

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posted on 6 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Enamel pins, sometimes called lapel pins, are small pins that are worn at the lapel of a jacket. They can also be attached to backpacks, purses, or other articles of clothing. With the rise of tumblr and Instagram, enamel pins have become an increasingly popular way of expressing identity. Many artists use social media to promote and sell their pins. Unfortunately, these pins are not safe to make by yourself at home, as a lot of specialized equipment is needed. But, once you have a design, the process of turning it into a physical pin using a manufacturer is fairly straightforward!

Steps

Creating a Design

Come up with an idea. You can look to television shows, books, and movies for inspiration, featuring your favorite characters on your pins. Pins are a great medium for fanart. You can also think about combining fun lettering and icons. Keep a small sketchbook with you, so that whenever inspiration strikes you can quickly jot down your ideas. Online communities are great places to start if you’re looking for ideas. Possible starting points are the Facebook groups Pin Nation or PinTrades, or the Enamel Pins tumblr page. On Instagram, noteworthy enthusiast accounts include @pincommunity, @pinoftheday, and @pin_lord.

Choose a graphic design program to use. You can start with a hand-drawn sketch, but manufacturers will need your design to be sent in a printable vector file. (Vector graphics are the most crisp and clear, and they’re usually AI, PSD, or EPS/PDF files.) Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator are best-suited for this. But, if you can’t afford these programs, there are several alternatives! The base requirement is that the program you use has layers, as your line work and colors should be separated. Public libraries or schools will often have Adobe Creative Suite installed on public computers. Adobe also usually offers free trial periods for their products. Vectr is a free graphics editor that you can download or use online. Vectr is pretty simple and doesn’t have as steep of a learning curve as other, more intricate graphics programs. Inkscape has more features than Vectr, and it’s also open-source—meaning users are able to edit its source code if they want to change aspects of it.

Draw your design with clean, connecting lines. It’s super important to make sure that all of your lines connect to one another. If you have any unconnected lines, color will spill out into places that you don’t want it during the manufacturing process. If you can, try to avoid small text or details on your designs, as it does not always translate well in manufacturing. Be sure to indicate if there are parts of your pin that you want cut out! Placing a red X over these areas is generally the way to indicate that these sections need cut out.

Choose which colors you want to use. Only use solid colors in your design, as gradient or transparent colors won’t translate onto a pin. Use the Pantone color matching system to ensure that your colors are accurate. The Pantone system is a way of organizing colors, and it’s used by most designers and printers to ensure color accuracy. When you send in a design, be sure to include color swatches that are labeled with the numbers of the colors you want. It’s best to invest in a set of Pantone color swatches, but there’s also a free online tool to help you match your colors within the Pantone system: https://www.pantone.com/color-finder

Choose hard enamel if you want a more durable pin with a smooth surface. There are 2 types of enamel that you can use to make your pins: hard and soft. Hard enamel produces a polished, flat pin because the enamel is added before the plating, and each color has to be baked one by one. This means that they take more time and labor, so producing these pins is typically more expensive.

Opt for soft enamel if you want a pin with a textured surface. Soft enamel pins have recessed enamel because, in production, the image is first stamped in metal and cut to the right size. Then, all of the enamel is poured into the recessed areas, which is why it’s important to have all your lines connected so the colors stay separated. Generally, the colors are brighter and more vibrant with soft enamel pins.

Choosing a Manufacturer

Decide where you want your pins to be made. The pin industry has been growing rapidly as of late. This means that there are now manufacturers all over the world. Manufacturers in Asia tend to be cheaper than those in North America and Europe, but be mindful of potential problems caused by language barriers. A quick Google search for manufacturers is a good starting point, but because there are so many it can be helpful to get a referral from someone you know. Additionally, Alibaba is a great way to find trustworthy overseas providers, as they feature user reviews that can verify the quality of a particular manufacturer: https://www.alibaba.com/. Global Sources offers a similar service: http://www.globalsources.com/.

Describe what you want your pins to look like to get a quote. You’ll want to know exactly what you want before reaching out to a manufacturer. Tell them how many pins you want, the dimensions of your pins, and your preference of hard or soft enamel. They can then provide you with a quote for cost.

Ask questions about other specs of the pins. Before settling on a manufacturer, ask questions about different parts of the pin production process to make sure that your pins will be produced the way that you want. The following considerations are especially important if you’re looking to sell your pins. How long is the production process? It should take between 2-4 weeks. What will the bases of the pins be like? Will they be colored? How heavy will they be? What type of needle will be affixed to the back of the pin? Will it have a clasp or rubber backing? How much will shipping cost? There are different ways manufacturers can ship your pins in terms of packaging. What kind of backing card will the pin be attached to? Or will it be put in a plastic bag?

Request a sample. If the manufacturer that you’re reaching out to is reputable, they should be perfectly willing to send you a sample of their work if you ask. Request an example pin that is similar spec-wise to what you are looking to buy. This can help you make a final decision.

Ordering Your Pins

Order 1 month before you need the pins so they arrive on time. It will generally be 2-4 weeks before your pins arrive at your doorstep, so consider the timing of your order, especially if the pins you’re ordering are seasonal. You wouldn’t want holiday pins to arrive after the holidays have passed!

Communicate clearly with the manufacturer. Be extremely clear and specific in any descriptions of the pin you want to be produced. Provide the exact dimensions of your pin. It’s better to be more specific than too vague, as this could result in a pin that doesn’t match your creative vision.

Stay within your budget. Ordering pins doesn’t have to be extremely expensive if you are mindful of how cost is determined. Your cost will be affected a lot by what type of material you choose to have your pins made of, the complexity of your designs, the plating (the outlines and back of pin) color, and the type of backing (the piece on the back of the pin that attaches it to a garment). The bulk of what you’re paying for from your manufacturer is the process to create new molds to stamp your pins. This means that re-ordering existing molds is relatively inexpensive, and ordering in bulk can lower costs even more. If you want to keep costs down, limit the amount of new molds that you order.