PINS PINS PINS PINS PINS ***Up to Date 2022*** The Ultimate list of custom Enamel Pin Manufacturers and Why You Want to Work With Them 2022 Do you love enamel pins as much as we do? They're the perfect way to add a touch of personality and kawaii flair to any outfit or backpack. Not to mention, they make great gifts! In this comprehensive guide, we'll teach you how to create your own custom enamel pin designs and where to have your own pins made. So what are you waiting for? Let's get started! A Pre-amble about custom enamel pin manufacturers Before we get to the good stuff, we need to talk! As an entrepreneur, to create and design custom enamel pins for manufacture will be a fun, lucrative and rewarding business venture for you and your customers. However, before you begin working with a custom enamel pin manufacturer, there are a few things you need to know. In this article, we will go over the essentials of custom enamel pin manufacturing, including key considerations such as price, quality, quantity, design, and more. Putting a new idea into a design and then sending it out for manufacturing to receive a final product is incredibly rewarding but if it's not something you have done before, it can be a bewildering task to tackle. Hopefully, this blog post will help you find a great starting point and guide you gently through the process of finding reliable factory partners to work with. Enamel Pin Review Enamel pins have been around for a long time, but have recently have regained more popularity than ever as a fashion accessory. They are often seen adorning the lapels of well-dressed men and women, celebrities & icons, but can also be found on backpacks, hats, and jackets. Custom enamel pins are a great way to show your personality, promote your brand, create a message, fill a trade show or commemorate an event. When you decide to create custom enamel pins, there are a few things you need to consider before production begins. Some of the most important factors include price, quality, quantity, production time start, and design. And of course, how do you choose a factory to create and manufacture your custom hard enamel pin designs. Next up we will take a closer look at each of these factors. Here is a handy list of questions in list form, that also functions as the contents of this guide. We will start working through momentarily so buckle up and get ready to get your fill of custom enamel pin knowledge. Facts - What you need to know about global economics, cultural differences and pin manufacture, a general overview Deets on Design Let's talk cash money, Dinero, the bread. Turnover. What is the time between my order and the product received at my door What is the payment process? Huston, we have a problem. What happens if something goes wrong? So how do I find a factory to do the work for me? I found a factory, what now? Enamel Camel Approved list of Enamel Pin manufacturers you can trust. SO lets get started .......... Facts - What you need to know about global economics, cultural differences, and pin manufacture The machinery needed to manufacture enamel pins is heavy duty and has a high investment price. Currently, to our knowledge, there are no large pin producers or factories in Europe the UK, or the USA. Enamel pins are produced predominantly in the Kunshan region of China, giving them the monopoly on the custom enamel pin market, so the area is otherwise known as the 'pin capital of the world' The volume and diversity of pins produced by this region ensure that the factories have the manpower, equipment, and tools to produce batches of your custom pins in a small quantity, usually as low as 100 units. With a direct link to the factory, you will always be able to negotiate the lowest price because you are cutting out the middle man. Communicating with a factory and workforce that is different from your own culture has its nuances but well-informed individuals with presentable manners and a little business savvy will get along fine( read between the lines Karen, you will not succeed here!!!!) Understanding communication methods is key to your success here. A language barrier, massive time difference, and lack of customer service phones may be frustrating but in the next couple of paragraphs, you will learn how to communicate your order smoothly and succeed in getting your custom enamel pins made. Deets on Design for custom enamel pins. I have a more in-depth post about the mechanics of custom enamel pin design for success so this is just a lil review chapter. But please check that post to delve further into the specifics surrounding your product's artwork. You are free to design whatever will fill your heart with desire and fill your back office with orders. However, there are a few important points I wanted to highlight that will affect production time. The more complex the design, the longer it takes and the 丨 unit price. Do not use shading Do not use small lettering Use clearly defined lines between color areas Find out what format the final proof for your pins should be presented in. If in doubt, hire a design service to perfect your custom enamel pin design Be careful with popular themes, do not attempt to reproduce other artists' images. Do not create designs that infringe on copyrights - you have been warned lapel pin freaks! Let's talk cash money, Dinero, the bread. As an entrepreneur, you will be interested in the cost price of custom enamel pins so you can ensure your final pricing projection will create a profit. So what should you be paying for custom enamel pins direct from the factory? As we mentioned before, the minimum order for custom enamel pins will be 100 units. Custom enamel pin producers will charge $145 to $220 to fill an order of 100 units This price is assuming that you are opting for a simple, 1-2 inch sized hard or soft enamel pin. The more add-ons you choose and the more elaborate the design, the more expensive the final product will be. Most factories have a standard price list that they will send you at the start of negotiations after they have your final proof artwork Turnover. What is the time between my order and when I receive the finished product received at my door Look, this is not amazon 2 hr delivery so slow your roll........ Turnover or Turnaround time is the length of time it takes for the entire manufacturing process. From the time you approve the production proof to the time, it reaches your door. Making custom hard enamel pins or making custom soft enamel pins is a labor of love and requires patience to complete. It's handy to know exactly when you will receive your finished product so that you can plan your marketing campaign, product launch event, pre-launch times, order fill rates, and final delivery to your customer. A good genral industry standard would be approx 10 days if it's put on rush ($$) or 15-20 days to for regular production. This time should include the production and shipping time of your enamel pins. What is the payment process? Unfortunately, there is no industry standard payment method for custom pins, however, it would be highly prudent to use Paypal with their goods and services option. It's also prudent to agree to 50/50 payment terms for enamel pins. So you will pay a 50% deposit to start the process and 50% once the enamel pins custom designs are finished BUT before they are shipped. This gives you a little recourse if the factory does not fill your custom pins order. DO NOT Bank or wire transfer, unless you have used the vendor several times before for enamel pins, had no issues whatsoever and they are a trusted contact. Huston, we have a problem. What happens if something goes wrong? I cannot stress this enough. DO NOT SKIP THE SAMPLES, so you can assess the quality of this factory's existing work before you get into a custom pins deal with them. ALWAYS OPT FOR A 50/50 PAYMENT STRUCTURE ON CUSTOM PINS. ALWAYS GET HIGH RES PHOTOS OF THE FINISHED CUSTOM PINS BEFORE SENDING THE FINAL PAYMENT. Yes, the sample adds time and cost to your production timeline. ( lol lapel pins samples are not free) but you may be able to iron out kinks before those kinks are a serious issue. If you end up with piles of dodgy products, objects that do not reflect your own artwork scratched soft enamel, wrong metal preference, enamel fill issues, or bad quality hard enamel there is no Amazon Returns Policy!!!!! You can attempt to negotiate with the factory and resolve the issue with your enamel pins. If you have taken the sample route, done a 50/50 payment structure, and accepted high res photos of the finished pins and it turns out to be a genuine mistake, then most reputable factories will work with you to amend the enamel pin order. However, if the factory won't work with you to resolve the issues on the enamel pins, you can create a Paypal claim. This is a lengthy process and you must provide detailed and absolute proof of the error to Paypal's claim department to have any hope of winning the claim. Paypal claim policy page So how do I find a factory that will work with me? Alibaba.com was my go-to for custom hard enamel pins for a long time and still is for certain hard enamel and soft enamel items. ( there are some ENAMELCAMEL.com approved vendors that specialize in hard enamel pins and soft enamel pins that I love to work with at the end of this blog post.) Alibaba.com has so many options for enamel pins the search can be overwhelming. You will need to do the work to narrow down the options you find by using the search filters and your requirements. When searching for partners to manufacture my pins, I like to check off the boxes that say “Trade Assurance" “Gold Suppliers.” and “Assessed Supplier”. I like to check to see if the business has been open for more than 2 years and then I put the company's name into google with the word 'scam' and do a reverse image search on their image listings. While this is no guarantee that the company is legit or free of wrongdoing, even after your efforts. These steps help mitigate the risk a little. Once I have a shortlist of 5 eligible vendors that can help me produce my hard enamel or soft enamel pins. I prep this quick and simple inquiry email to send to each of them. Dear Sirs I am looking to have custom enamel pins manufactured and would like to ask the following questions. Do you offer samples or mock-ups? What is your turnaround time on enamel pins once the artwork is approved? What is the cost to produce 100 units of this product? What is your payment process? Do you accept 50% upfront and 50% when you send a photo of the finished product? Best Regards Enamel Camel I attach a low res version of the artwork, (not the final proof PDF) to the email. The low res image should hinder anything nefarious from happening to your original enamel pin artwork. The factory that gets back to me fastest with the best terms wins (my business) I found a factory, what now? Happy days, the search is over. We found a new BFF pin factory and we are ready to get started on our enamel pin order. Now the hard bit is over your workflow should look something like this. Send artwork, the final proof should be in an acceptable format. Get final proof approved by factory. (modify proof if necessary) Confirm the number of units, final cost, shipping cost. Pay the 50% upfront deposit so they can start production Factory fires up the furnaces and makes your pin Factory sends high res photos of the final product The final product is amazing, you approve it and send the final 50% payment The Factory ships your product and issues you with a tracking number. You receive your pins and live happily ever after Congrats, we are so happy for you, you just produced your first custom enamel pin Enamel Camel Approved list of Enamel Pin manufacturers you can trust for 2022 Alibaba can be a trial and error game when it comes to making custom enamel pins, however here are some vendors outside of Alibaba I have nothing but great things to say about. These guys are great if you are nervous about your first order and need a little extra customer service or designer support to create custom enamel pins and accessories for your store. Yourstuffmade.com These guys are at the top because they come with the highest accolades having worked with some of the biggest brands on the planet. They are a very busy company with a great customer service department and design team that accepts thousands of orders a day. They work with a wide range of custom products and accessories including soft enamel pins and hard enamel pins so if you are thinking of adding a new line to your e-commerce store, these guys can help you outside the pin genre. What I like the most is that they ensure ethically sourced products and make the business world a better place. They have a solid customer service and sales team, a polished production process, fair production time, and the option to customize and add your branding or logo before the final custom pins are packaged and you receive the final delivery. Its also easy to check your order status with these guys. Very occasionally, they run a very good seasonal discount to encourage existing customers to fill more orders. It is always a pleasure having your order filled and being a customer with these guys Price per 100 1-2 inch standard units - $130-180 Erich Gift Factory direct outfit. Easy to use, great to work with, one of the cheaper options but with great quality custom enamel pins available. They also do a 10 day rush order if you need custom enamel pins NOW! They produce both soft enamel pins and hard enamel pins from your own artwork and give free design advice ( up to a certain point) I love that they have locally based offices around the globe so you can work with someone in your country or continent that can work in your currency ( such a pain to change currency when you do a product cost analysis!!!). This outfit is most customers' choice because of the competitive pricing. Price per 100 1-2 inch standard units - $130-170 jiayuepins.com Ask for Sabrina, she is the best, great eye for detail, and is very specific about product requirements to fill your lapel pins order, she is a great help if this is your first order. They produce both hard enamel and soft enamel pins for you to customize. Nothing but amazing things to say about the projects we have worked on together. They sometimes offer a new customer discount for artists if you sign up for a membership account on the site to receive their latest custom enamel pin news. Their in-house designers are always helpful when creating your first proof. They have plenty of metal plating options and can also create other accessories from your artwork and fill additional creating needs. delivery has always been a breeze with this shop. Price per 100 1-2 inch standard units - $130-190 Thanks for reading this post. Please let us know in the comments below if you have any custom enamel pin ideas or tips you would like to share. Do you have an idea for custom hard enamel pins ? or a Logo you need to be converted into pins ? Contact Us now for help with that. Take a look at our ENAMEL PINS DESIGN blog post to fill you in on the details of producing your first digital proof, working with free design enamel pins, and more info on pre-production pins. Check our social contact details as we fill our channels full of pin madness every day. And don't forget to take a look at the custom hard enamel pins store for special offers Look @ our custom hard enamel pins page here and do not forget to fill in the email for to subscribe to the latest custom hard enamel pins news