Custom Pin Manufacturer from China

A FAQ Guide for Manufacturing and Selling of Enamel Pins

Sicpin Team

Enamel pins are all the rage in the fashion world, and entrepreneurs everywhere are figuring out how to capitalize on the business opportunity. These tiny metal pins are highly customizable and can come in any design, including alternative illustrations, brand logos, and anything else you can think of.

Enamel pins are an extension of people's personalities, giving them the opportunity to customize and decorate denim jackets, backpacks, hats, and more. From graphic designers to fashion gurus to major retailers like Urban Outfitters, creatives and pin makers worldwide have set out to build successful online businesses by translating their unique designs and creations into enamel lapel pins.

In this article, we've put together a comprehensive guide to designing, making, and selling enamel pins to help you learn how to make enamel pins and create your own online accessories powerhouse. We'll also cover how to make our bestselling enamel pin designs. Sell enamel pins with our free starter kit!

[Table of contents] Hide
1 1. Why are Enamel Pins Popular?
2 2. Types of Enamel Pins
3 3. Build a DIY Enamel Pin Business
4 4. How to Make Enamel Pins for Sale
5 5. Tips for Selling Enamel Pins Online

1. Why are Enamel Pins Popular?

At some point in their lives, most people have purchased enamel pins. They're easy-to-use fashion accessories that look great wherever they're placed. Enamel pins were considered small works of art and were sold and marketed as such. Most enamel pins cost between $8 and $12 but can go for much more.

Although inexpensive, they can be very profitable when designed and produced properly. Memorial pins have been around for decades. Walk into any rest stop or gift shop and you're likely to find pins of all kinds. Today, people wear pins to express themselves and to advertise the things they love.

A pin can be pinned anywhere: on a back page, a hat, a shirt, or even a pair of pants. On the cover of Entertainment Weekly, celebrities like Taylor Swift wear enamel pins as a fashion statement. Artists and illustrators are attracted to enamel pins for several reasons:

Enamel pins are inexpensive. Pin Lord, an online seller of enamel pins, estimates that every 100 pins will cost between $135 and $200. It's also possible that certain pins can be made overseas at a cheaper price. It's not often that you pay a few hundred dollars for a well-designed end product.

（Another related study case: Soft Enamel Pin Project from UAE)

2. Types of Enamel Pins

Enamel pins can be made in many different ways. The best and most affordable ones are listed below.

1) Soft Enamel

The most popular enamel pin material for beginners is soft enamel. You can choose from a variety of richer, more vibrant colors. The enamel pins can be customized with enamel paint. Your designs will have more textural detail when you use soft enamel, including border and edge details you can feel.

However, soft enamel pins are also far less durable than hard enamel pins and are prone to scratches. From a pin production standpoint, they are easy to manufacture but have a durability drawback. To make soft enamel pins, a coat of paint is applied to the recessed areas on the surface of the pin. The slightly higher metal between these recessed areas gives the pin a solid surface. These enamel pins are usually less expensive to produce.

2) Hard Enamel

Hard enamel is more durable and stronger than soft enamel, but is more expensive and often has more restrictions on coloring. Hard enamel pins may appear subdued and less vivid than soft enamel pins. Additionally, hard enamel pins use a clear resin coating on top for a texture-free, smooth finish.

If your pins need to withstand the elements and long-term durability is important to you, hard enamel is a good choice. For example, if your target audience is to hang enamel pins on outdoor backs, this pin might be a good choice.

（Another related post: Hard vs Soft Enamel Pins: What’s the Difference?)

 3) D mold

A 3D molded pin or die-cast pin is a pin made of metal. They are made by pouring molten metal under high pressure into a mold of your design. Zinc or tin pins made from 3D molded materials are typically more elegant and classic. Use die-cast pins when your intricate designs require cutouts or pins that aren't perfectly shaped. Imagine an animal, toy, airplane, or symbol designed well.

4) Offset Epoxy Pins

Epoxy pins have a clear plastic coating for soft enamel or offset lapel pins. You can add shine to your designs and protect them from damage with it. Epoxy coatings protect silkscreen paint or offset designs from fading or scratching over time.

5) Crash

Stamping pins are made by pressing a metal such as iron, gold, or copper onto a steel die. Tapping the metal creates a recessed area where you can add color options. Some manufacturers also sandblast the recessed areas for a two-tone metallic look.

3. Build a DIY Enamel Pin Business

Setting up an enamel pin business can be rewarding and profitable when done well. Even if you feel there is some competition in your niche, do it. As with any competitive market, if you focus on making incredible products and getting them in front of the right audience, you will profit. Start your business as a side hustle and slowly turn it into a full-time business. Make money online by learning how to sell pins and how to get them.

（Another related post: How to Display Enamel Pins to Increase Attractiveness)

4. How to Make Enamel Pins for Sale

Custom pins are a fun and satisfying way to turn your designs into gorgeous physical products, but make them look out of reach if you're not sure where to start. This tutorial is intended to help ambitious individuals like you. A person who wants to start their own enamel pin business but isn't sure how.

（Another related post: How to Make Profit from An Enamel Pin Business?)

1) Where to Start

The first step in building a new product or business is to research the right resources. So, if you found this article: congratulations! You've just finished step one and you've started making your first set of enamel pins. Using this guide and the right tools, you can make your own enamel pins in no time If you've never made enamel pins before or started your own business, you may find yourself asking questions like:

As we walk you through the entire process of designing, creating, and selling predesigned and custom badges, you'll find answers to all of these questions and more. So you can get started quickly, we've done all the research and hard work for you.

2) Find A Unique Niche Market

Want to know the secret to creating great products? Find your audience first. The rest of the process will be much simpler if you can narrow down a unique niche market for your enamel pins. Knowing your audience also means knowing how to design a great product and sell it to that audience.

Making and selling enamel pins online doesn't feel like work anymore when you first find a niche you're passionate about. It still takes time and effort, but if it's something you really care about, you'll enjoy every part of the process. When it comes to niches, there are two basic ways to find an audience: pick a niche you care about, or find a niche you already know or can easily learn to understand.

It only takes a little market research to find a passionate, engaged audience who will be a great fit for your brand. Take some time to browse your favorite enamel pin websites or social media profiles.

Make a note of what you like and what you think could be improved. Be sure to look outside the enamel pin niche for inspiration. You can always draw inspiration from other industries to help further grow your enamel pin business.

（Another related post: Enamel Pins for Backpacks for Kids: What is It & How to Pick?)

3) Use Your Own Niche Community

Create a business that caters to the values of a niche community if you're already a member. Any community with a specific, defined interest can be considered a niche. A niche can be any community of specific, definable interests. Not sure which niche you belong to? Take a look at your interests and think about the community around them.

4) Discover New Niche Communities

Targeting your own community can be a beneficial strategy, but sometimes it's best to find a new niche audience with new opportunities. There are a few different ways to find an active niche:

5) Determine if A Niche Community is Suitable

Once you've done some research and found a set of niche communities that fit your business, it's time to determine if they're a good fit for creating a successful, sustainable product. A simple framework for evaluating niche potential is as follows:

6) Create Your Custom Enamel Pin

You need to know what your enamel pins look like before you decide who you will sell them to. No design skills are required to make enamel pins. Your original designs can be transformed into physical products through a variety of options. No matter what your skill level is, you can use the following resources and tools to create beautiful enamel pins.

7) Design Your Own Pin

A lapel pin mockup can be created most easily using Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. Here are some free alternatives to Photoshop if you don't have access to it:

8) Collaborate with A Pin Designer

Maybe you're not confident in your design skills, or maybe you don't have the time to create your own designs. Whatever the reason, there are many great options for outsourcing the entire design process to talented designers from all over the world. You can partner with a company like Your Stuff Made that specializes in the design and manufacture of pins.

The brand is artist-run and owned, so you know you're getting high-quality custom pin designs at an affordable price. It also manufactures the pins at its ethically sourced and certified factory in China. For a minimum order of 100 pins ranging in size from 1-2 inches, you'll pay $130-$180.

There are also good marketplaces for hiring graphic designers and buying design resources:

Here are a few guidelines for designing enamel pins:

9) Factors Affecting Pricing

As a rule of thumb, it is important to keep costs as low as possible when ordering pins. The following factors increase the final price of the order:

In terms of order quantity, the manufacturer's main cost is to make the initial mold for your product. Once they've built the molds to cast your pins, the cost of adding more pins to your order won't impact your bottom line as much as the cost of creating the molds. When you're thinking about how big an order you should make, there are a few things to keep in mind.

（Another related post: What is the Price of Medals in China?)

10) Find a Manufacturer for Your Enamel Pins

There are many companies offering enamel pin manufacturing services in North America, Europe, and Asia. A quick Google search for enamel pin manufacturers yields a lot of different results. Here's a quick tour of a few options:

Alternatively, you can use Alibaba to find reliable manufacturers overseas. Networking with overseas manufacturers can be a daunting process. If this is your first time dealing with a manufacturer, you may not know where to start - but that's totally okay. Our guide "What are the 7 Key Tips for Selecting An Enamel Pin Manufacturer" contains everything you need to know about finding the perfect manufacturer for your product.

11) Specifications for the Manufacture of Enamel Pins

For enamel pins, there are a few details to keep in mind when contacting the manufacturer. Most enamel badge pin manufacturers allow you to customize the material the pin is made of, not just hard or soft enamel.

Make sure you ask to see all the enamel pin base options before adding dye. Likewise, you should inquire about the type of needle on the back of the needle, including whether it has a steel or rubber buckle.

Also, find out if your chosen manufacturer also allows you to customize how your pins are shipped. Enamel pins usually come in small plastic bags, but some manufacturers allow you to add a custom back card to each bag for a unique, professional touch. If backing cards are available, make sure you have obtained their exact design specifications, including color limits and bleed areas.

12) Validate Your Idea

Any reputable manufacturer will send you proof sheets or sample pins for you to check before ordering a complete product. Be sure to check this sample thoroughly to make sure the product is what you envisioned. After completing the product design, the next step is to verify the requirements. Order the smallest possible run first, then see how it goes. Once you've established that there is a high demand for your product, you can consider increasing the order size.

（Another related post: A Guide to Startup Company of Custom Award Medals)

5. Tips for Selling Enamel Pins Online

You now know what market you want to target, what enamel pins you want to sell, and your supply chain. Your Pins can be listed on marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy, but you'll need an online store. You can connect with shoppers and sell your products through an online store.

SCIpin, a leading seller of enamel pins,  showcases hundreds of pins on its e-commerce site. It has also expanded its product line to include keychains, pins, and hats. You can create your own DIY custom pins directly on the website.

When marketing your own enamel pin business, there are some recommended channels you can try:

One last note: make sure to take a good product photo for your pin. Shoppers will want to see the details, and you took the time to design them, so show them off.

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