ABC of Lapel Pins

A = America. Made in USA is a big thing – unfortunately the price for most USA made pins is 3-5 times higher than 99% of all pins which are made in China. Labor costs are just too high in America to be price competitive.  We do have a couple of sources for certain USA made products if you are looking for larger quantities.

B = Big. Kids love big pins. For baseball trading pins bigger is better generally 1.5 to 3 inches. For a little more they become the favorites. Conversely, you do not want large pins if you expect them to be worn on shirts or jackets.  Typical lapel pins are .75 to 1.25 inch in size.

C = Cloisonné. Pronounced Cloy – sohn – nay. Hardly anybody makes authentic cloisonné pins anymore. Hard enamel is essentially cloisonné but offers the full Pantone Matching System (PMS) of over 1000 colors while authentic cloisonné only offers about 140 colors. We can make authentic cloisonné pins if you desire. Make sure you request Authentic Cloisonné if that is your preference.

D = Delivery time. How long will it take to get the pins? Generally two or three weeks from order to delivery for diestruck or enamel pins.  Ask if you need them sooner.  Also consider the photodome pin (offset printed) if you need them in a week or less.

E = Etched pins. Also called photo-etched pins, this type of pin is often times overlooked. It uses a thinner metal (.08 to 1 mm thick vs. 1.2mm thick) with an epoxy dome covering.  These pins are a good choice if your pin is larger than two inches and still want a lighter pin. Some pin companies will steer you to a photo-etched pin because it’s cheaper to manufacture than hard enamel.

F = Factory. Factories are in China (except for the photodome pins which are made in Utah). There are a couple of factories in the USA but because of high labor costs, pins run at least three-times higher than pins from Asia. Eventhough pins are made in China it only takes 2 days to get them here once they are made.

G = Guarantee. This is a service business. We are only as good as our last customer experience. If something goes wrong along the way, our employees are empowered to fix it immediately.  Your experience with us will be different than most companies. We do the right thing for the right reasons.  View our customer comments on the left side bottom and hear what others have experienced.

H = Hard Enamel. Many pin manufacturers call hard enamel pins cloisonné. They aren’t actually authentic cloisonné but they’re very close. Filling in the recessed areas on the pins with a glass-powder and baking in an oven make authentic cloisonné. Hard enamel pins are made with epoxy and then hardened by heat. The advantage of hard-enamel pins is in the colors. You can match to any of the PMS colors which now number over 1000 colors. Authentic cloisonné only offers about 140 colors.  The average person would not be able to tell the difference.

I = Iron. To provide a less expensive option in pins, we use soft-enamel iron or soft-enamel copper as the base metal for our pins.  These are surprisingly high-quality. These pins are very low-cost – about 70% of our business is with this type of pin because of the lower cost yet quality look of the pin.

J = Jell-O. What does Jell-O have to do with pins, you ask? Well, after the Salt Lake City Olympics green Jell-O pin appeared in Time magazine, it’s value immediately shot-up to over $150! For a little $5 pin…..

K = karats – as in 24k. Our gold-plated pins are 24k.

L = Little League. or hockey, cheerleading, soccer, skating or any organized youth league. Kids love lapel pins and trade them at games and tournaments, school competitions and more. Baseball trading pins are particularly hot during the summer in connection with the World Little League tournaments around the country.

M = Metal. Lapel pins are made of metal. Usually, it’s copper, iron, or brass underneath the plating. Pins made of iron are the least expensive pins made. One way to tell if it is iron? Put a magnet up to the pin.

N = Novel. We have some novel ideas to turn your pin into a cute novelty. Blinking lights, sliders, bobble-heads, dangles, etc.

O = Other. PinPros makes other things besides pins. We can make golf divot tools, ball-markers, key chains, challenge coins, medals, key fobs, cuff-links and much more.  If you don’t see it on our site just ask – we have sources for just about anything.

P = Plating. Pins are normally plated in gold, silver, bronze, copper, nickel or black nickel. They can also be plated in a combination of two colors. Normally, the two colors are gold and silver. Antique plating adds definition – especially to die-struck pins.

Q = Quote. All pin companies are happy to give you a quote however, all quotes are different. It’s not what’s in the quote; it’s what’s left out of the quote. Shipping is usually not described. Handling charges are not described. Extra colors, setups, art, etc. are sometimes left off the quote. With Pinpros the price we quote includes everything – we mean everything.

R = Recognition. Lapel pins are excellent for a low-cost way to recognize employees, volunteers, donation-givers, and others.

S = Silk Screen. We can silk screen text or graphics on the face of a pin. This is useful when you do not want the metal lines around the edges of your colors. It’s also sometimes mandatory if the text or graphic is small.

T = Trading. Pin trading is very popular. Not only among kids but adults too. There are thousands of adults that collect Olympic pins, Hard Rock pins, hot-air balloon pins, Lions Club pins, Kiwanis Club, Destination Imagination pins, Odyssey of the Mind pins, baseball pins, pathfinder pins and many, many more.

U = Understand. Understanding all the jargon associated with lapel pins can be overwhelming for a first time buyer – no problem we make it easy as 1-2-3.  Just email us and we will walk you through the entire process.

V = Volume. Making the first pin is very expensive for us. But after the first one, additional pins are very inexpensive. So, if you order larger quantities, we pass the savings along to you. Like the saying goes, “the more you buy, the more you save.”  Our minimum order is 100 pieces, you will receive price breaks at 100, 200, 300, 500, 750, 1000, 2000, 3000, 5000, 10000.

W = Weddings. Lapel pins at weddings? Well, maybe that’s not your cup-of-tea but how about a custom lapel pin with a magnet on the back instead of a nail? Then, it can be used on a refrigerator or other metal base. These make great table-top gifts.

X = X-ray. Taking pins in your carry-on bags through airport x-ray machines will also cause a hand-search of your bags. Be prepared!

Y = Yankees. The New York Yankees baseball club sells more lapel pins than any other baseball club. Those New Yorkers love their pins!

Z = Zoo. Zoos are a hot-spot for pins. People love animals and they love animal pins. Most zoos have lots of pins in stock.