Soft Enamel VS. Hard Enamel Pins

Many people do not really know about the two main types of custom enamel pins – hard enamel and soft enamel pins. There are quite a few distinctions between them which may affect your choice of enamel pin order in the future. We receive many inquiries and questions about the differences between these two types. In this post, we will briefly discuss them.

 

SOFT ENAMEL PINS

 

A soft enamel pin has a raised and textured feel; since the outline of the design is can still be evidently felt. A lot of people opt to get soft enamel pins since they are cheaper to produce. If you only need custom lapel pins in fun, colorful, cute designs, you can simply get soft enamel pins.

 

To create a soft enamel pin, the design is stamped in the metal to be cut to size. The metal outline is then plated with the chosen metal plating. The colored enamel is then added and the pin is put through the oven to bake and harden. The dry enamel clings to the edges of the metal line and its edges recess below the line. This creates the textured feel of the soft enamel pin. At this point, you may add epoxy resin coating to smoothen the pin and make it appear more flat. Since plating the metal is done before adding the enamel, you can achieve different metal platings as opposed to hard enamel.

 

 

HARD ENAMEL PINS

 

A hard enamel pin is more durable, more polished looking and clean. This is because creating a hard enamel pin requires more steps than the soft enamel. It’s clean and flat look is also more appealing to brands for their promotional items.

 

To create a hard enamel, the enamel is added and polished flat so it can be at the same level as the metal outlines. Each color is baked one by one in the oven which explains its thorough procedure than the soft enamel. Once all the colors have been added then the badge can be electroplated and polished again to complete the pin. The grinding and polishing makes them incompatible with certain metal finishes. If you want a standard gold or silver metal plating, then hard enamel might be a good choice for your design. The outcome is a flat and smooth pin that does not have much texture.

 

Ties N Cuffs has been in the business of creating premium quality custom enamel pins for many huge brands in Australia. We guarantee you high quality, durable, custom lapel pins in any shape, form, and size for your brand or personal use. Just hit us up with your logo or design, and we’ll work out the rest in a breeze.

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