Design Tips

Guidelines for designers:

Prepare the art so that the longest dimension is 2 inches.

Use a .75 stroke for metal plating to separate Pantone colors.

Minimum dimension for color areas is a 1.5 stroke.

A full color offset printing process allows for use of gradient colors (shaded), The pins are printed directly on a metal base (usually Stainless Steel) and coated with a thin layer of epoxy.

When it comes to stamped pins, there are a few guidelines that your final designs will need to follow:

Only solid colors can be used to make a stamped enamel pin, which means our designs cannot use gradients or transparent colors. All colors must be separated by plating lines. We can create your pin using the printed process if gradient and/or transparent colors are mandatory.

Due to the size of stamped pins, we also need to avoid using small text or very fine details in your designs as it will not be possible to stamp, fill and clearly see or read. Again, printed pins provide more flexibility to show detail at smaller sizes. While we can work with a JPG or PNG of your design, a Vector file is ideal for stamped pins. A 300 DPI file is the ideal for printed pins.

MANUFACTURING SPECIFICATIONS FOR STAMPED PINS

For stamped pins, there are a few details that you should keep in mind:

We can customize the materials used for your pins, beyond hard or soft enamel, to enhance your design. We will always offer recommendations if we think we have additional options to make your design even better! If you have something particular in mind, make sure to ask to see all the options available.

Additionally, we can let you customize the way your pins are shipped. Our pins usually arrive in small plastic bags, but we have a variety of packaging options. We can even add a custom backing card to each bag for a unique, professional touch. If backing cards are available, make sure you’re given the exact design specifications for them including color limitations and bleed area.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE PRICING

As a rule of thumb, everyone wants to keep costs low when ordering pins. Here’s a look at the factors that increase the final price of your order:

The number of colors used in your design The complexity of your design The size of your pin The quantity of your order In terms of order quantity, the main cost for manufacturers is building the initial mold for your product. Once they’ve built the mold to cast your pin, the cost to add more pins to your order is not as impactful on your bottom line as the cost of creating the mold. Just something to keep in mind when you’re considering how large of an order you should make.