Rosia Rin @rosiarin - Tumblr Blog

PIN MAKING TIPS

Hellos! This is Lu, the owner of ETERNO. I was asked on multiple occasions to talk about how I started pin making and thought it would be nice to share it with you all :)

Please keep in mind that everyone's journey is different and how you will start will be different from mine and others. What I will share is my personal experience and is not meant to reflect the entire community as a whole! Another thing to keep in mind, I am based in California, USA. A lot of what I will be talking about (legally that is), is how I've done it and what I've been advised to do, please speak to a legal consultant regarding any legal paperwork, this post is simply meant to be a guide to make it easier for you!

I began thinking of opening up my own business in late 2020, I knew I wanted to make something I liked and to be completely honest, I did not intend on becoming a pin maker at first, but the more I collected, the more I enjoyed it and wanted to make pins of the characters I liked the most, so with that being said, here are a few tips and things I've learned along the way:

-PAPERWORK & INTRO-

Before you do anything, think of it this way, are you planning to only make a few designs a year or are you planning to start a business that you plan to work on for the long while?

If it's simply just a few designs that will not impact your taxes, you will not have to worry about it reaching the threshold, but please check the amount for your state/country as every place is different with its rules and requirements. On the other hand, if you're planning to work on a lot more than a few designs or even expand your business to more than just pins, I'd highly suggest to consider opening an LLC from the get-go.

-DESIGNING-

Legal matters aside, what you'll have to think about next would be your designs. Are you planning to draw them yourself or commission an artist? Are you planning to sell fanart or original designs?

First, you'll have to understand the process of creating the artwork, keep in mind that enamel pins are made of metal (regardless of the plating), so there are two major things that you'll need to think about while creating the designs; the line art is where the metal will be raised, and the colors in-between is where the enamel filling will go.

above is an example of one of the pins I've had the chance to make this year, the black lines are an indication of where I wanted to have the metal be raised, and the colors are the enamel fillings! This particular one also included screen printing, but I'll get to that in a bit!

I use the Procreate app on my iPad, but you can use any program/app that allows you to save the designs as PNG, which seems to be more preferable by manufacturers than JPEG. Most manufacturers are fine with just the design being submitted as PNG, but do keep in mind that you will have to discuss changes for the final artwork a bit more than submitting a vectored artwork! Here's a great video that goes in-depth about how vectoring works! The simplest thing to do is to have two different PNG documents, one for the line art alone, and the second for the line art + colors.

Additionally, what will impact the final look of your pin is the size and plating. Say you're making a pin without any screen print or additional effects, the smaller the pin, the more details you'll have to consider taking out, or else they might not turn out too well. One thing I did to help me understand how my first pin will turn out, once I finished the drawing, I resized it and printed it out to the size the actual pin will be made!

Plating also plays a huge role in how the result will look like. The two major enamel pin types are soft enamel and hard enamel. Soft enamel allows you to add more details as the result will not be polished down as much, but the filling will not be leveled up to the raised metal. On the other hand, hard enamel is a lot more durable and gives off a better shine, but do keep in mind that to level everything, the front of the pin will have to be polished down, which results in the raised metal lines becoming thicker, it may also distort the final look.

MORE EXAMPLES < this video shows more examples of how the two platings differ.

-MANUFACTURING-

Now that you have your design ready, how will you find someone to turn them into pins? There are A LOT of manufacturers out there and please, do not go with the first manufacturer that contacts you/you find!! I’ve worked with Manus from both IG and Alibaba, and so far I’ve found the ones on Alibaba to be more reliable. It gives an extra step of protection, unlike manufacturers who work solely on IG, which typically ask for money to be sent via PayPal, which only allows protection for up to 90 days, but don't let that discourage you from reaching out to representatives on IG as well.

I would highly recommend opening up an Alibaba account before speaking to manufacturers, regardless of the platform. Most of them are also on Alibaba, so you can ask them to send you the invoice through there, even If your entire conversation was through elsewhere!

Helpful Manu Video < this is a video talking about Washi Tape manufacturers, but it’s essentially the same concept when you’re looking for a supplier.

Before reaching out to a supplier, have the following ready to discuss with them:

Quantity of pins you’re planning to make (most suppliers ask for an MOQ)

Size + Colors

Any additional effects?

Plating option(s): Soft enamel or Hard enamel?

Backstamp (this is your logo/backing design if you’re planning to include it)

Most of what will be discussed below are about pricing and how each of the above points impacts the price:

The reason why you’ll need to have those ready, especially the MOQ, which is the Minimum Order Quantity, is to make it easier for the suppliers to quote you. Most manufacturers ask for a MOQ of 50 pieces to account for the metal sheets they have to use and prevent them from wasting the rest of the sheet. It is also cheaper for you to stay at or above the MOQ, that way you’ll avoid paying the “Small Quantity Fee”. However, some suppliers say they are willing to go below 50 pieces or do not have a MOQ, but once you receive your invoice you’ll notice an additional $10-20, which is typically under the header “MOQ fee”.

The size of the pins will drastically change the price for you, a 1-inch pin is a lot cheaper than a 3-inches pin, but keep your design in mind when you think of the size! Some suppliers are also limited on their pin sizing, make sure to discuss that with them before you pay for anything, especially if your design will include small cutouts in between. Since every manufacturer is different, not all of them are capable or have the machinery to help them make those small cutouts, which will affect the look of your pin. Same thing with coloring. While most suppliers base their prices on the size of the pin, some charge more for any additional color above their limit. Most of the ones I’ve seen require your artwork to be 6-9 colors max, anything more and it’s an additional fee.

Additional effects will always be an extra fee regardless of who you end up working with. Those include and are not limited to, screen-printing, sandblast, glitter, pearl effect, etc. If you’re considering variants, you might want to think of adding effects.

Plating is another that will either hike up your price or keep it within budget. Typically soft enamel pins are cheaper to make than hard enamel, the reason for that is because they wouldn’t have to use as much enamel filling and polishing isn’t necessary at the end. Plating is also isn’t limited to just the enamel type, but the type of metal used for the pins, too; black nickel, gold, silver, rose gold, copper, etc. The most common ones are black nickel, gold, and silver. In some cases, suppliers may charge more for any other plating. Consider discussing with the supplier whether they’re able to use a certain metal with your desired plating. For example, one of my suppliers recently told me that they avoid using copper for soft enamel pins as it has a higher flaw rate.

Lastly, do you want a back stamp? That is where your logo/business name goes on the back of the pin. Not every supplier will be willing to go with whatever you desire to have on the back, some only agree to simple lettering, so it’s always best to ask them about that beforehand if you’re only looking to make a design on the back rather than simply your shop’s name. Keep in mind that back stamps almost always, if not always, come at an extra cost.

Side note: ask multiple manufacturers for quotes, do not go with the first person that will respond to you! I asked for quotes from about 9 different manufactures that I found on Alibaba before I settled on one!

Once you gain momentum, they will start reaching out to you asking if they can quote on a design, especially on IG, which happens very frequently for pin makers, which is also why most of us ask to not send any order inquires on there as it might get lost! One thing I’ve learned the hard way about working with a well-known supplier, meaning they cater to well-known makers that request high quantity of pins, they will push your design to the end of the queue!! Do not make the same mistake and go with a popular supplier! I worked with one once and that was the biggest mistake I’ve made in my entire journey, it was money wasted.

If that’s the case, how will you know which one to choose then? It’s always tough to work with a new supplier regardless, but a rule of thumb, self-fund your first design! Whether it be your first pin ever, or when working with a new supplier. Never, ever, mess with other people’s money especially if you don’t have an idea of how the pins will turn out! Not only would you save yourself the hassle of worrying about the wait time and people asking for updates, you’ll have a better understanding of how that supplier works, how long it takes them to produce your desired quantity, and also you’ll have something to present to your customers that if they’ll plan to support you with pre-ordering, they’ll know what to expect.

PS: ask your supplier to ship your pins facing each other (enamel side towards each other) to avoid as much damage as possible!!!

-BACKING/APPRECIATION CARDS-

Say now that you’ve found a manufacturer to work with and your design is in production, are you planning to have backing cards that go along with the pins? Or do you want to just include a Thank You card?

Although this is an added step, one that I think is worth it!

GotPrint and Vistaprint are always great options to consider if you’re looking to make either or both made! Both are suppliers in the U.S. and they have discounts now and then!

-BUDGETING-

How much should you save? Well, it all depends on which route you’ll end up taking. It is expensive if you’re opening up a business regardless, but generally, you’ll want to have $1000-1500 saved up to account for production and any additional costs you might need to consider along the way.

-PRICING-

Ultimately it’s up to you how much you’ll want to price your products, but you will always have to consider the following:

Did you commission an artist? Or how much time did you spend on the design?

Production cost (this is the entire amount the supplier charged including their shipping and transaction fees)

Backing cards?

Shipping products: bubble mailers, boxes (for bigger orders if necessary)

Labels + label printer (you do not need a label printer to start! You can use a regular printer too)

Selling platform fees

-SELLING PLATFORM-

Now that you have everything you need, where will you sell it?

A lot of people, including myself, started on Etsy. It is a great place to gain traction as it is a marketplace so it's very easy to use, plus it allows you to ship worldwide. Eventually, most people move on to either BigCartel or Shopify. There are other selling sites as well, but those seem to be the most common two out there. Each site has its handful of Pros and Cons.

Here's a VIDEO that does a great job explaining the highs and lows of each one of the most popular sites.

Some obstacles that I've faced and have learned from:

Buying more stock that I was able to sell.

Placing too much trust on the voting polls (NEVER rely on that, however many voted yes on getting a design, if you're self-funding it, only get 1/2-3/4 the amount...)

I priced most of my pins very low, which worked against me considering how much stock I had left.

higher flaw rate than I accounted for, which resulted in having far more seconds than standard grade pins.

I hope this post has helped you in a way! If you have anymore questions, you're always welcome to DM or send an email :)