We often get asked which type of lapel pin is the best. It’s a great question, because it allows us to educate our customers and potential customers to better understand the reasons different styles of lapel pins exist, and their uses & applications.
Lapel pins not only have a range of quality differences, but specific uses as well as design requirements for each style. We’ll start off at the top of the quality chart below.
Cloisonne – The highest quality lapel pins made
Cloisonne lapel pins are the highest quality lapel pins manufactured. This is our favorite style because no matter what the design, cloisonne pins always look amazing. Clean, clear, highly polished and jewelry-like, they are the choice of corporations and the president of the united states for a reason, and that’s because they are professional quality and last a very long time. Colors are separated by metal lines, and this is a requirement. For certain designs, silkscreen details can be applied to the surface of Cloisonne pins when necessary, such as very small text or wording, as well as details such as eyes on a character or trademark symbols on smaller pins.
Soft Enamel Lapel Pins - A great second best!
Soft enamel lapel pins are a great alternative to Cloisonne pins only if pricing is a higher priority than quality. Soft enamel lapel pins are still struck like Cloisonne pins, but the painting (color fill) process is different. The pins receive less paint, leaving them with a textured appearance. The best way to describe a Soft enamel lapel pin is to think of a swimming pool that has only been filled up half way compared to a Cloisonne which is all the way full. The recesses of the Soft enamel pin aren’t painted all the way to the surface, thereby leaving sunken-in colored areas. This process is great for pins of higher detail, since they look the best when there are smaller painted areas and more raised metal trimming lines. The larger the surface area of the paint, the less desirable the pins appear. This is usually also the same case for Die Struck lapel pins, which is next on our countdown.
Die Struck – A classic look that will always look great
Die struck lapel pins are amazing looking given the right design. Not all designs look great in die struck style, especially those designs that feature small text or wording, or fine detail on polished metal. Using the antique finish on die struck pins is the best way to convey small details. This allows for greater contrast between the raised trimming outlines and the recessed areas of the design. Die struck pins are still very high quality, however they are 3rd on our list because they don’t use any fancy painting or coloring.
Silkscreen Lapel Pins – When logos must remain “as-is”
Silkscreen lapel pins are typically reserved for designs that include a company logo that can’t be modified to receive trimming metal required by filled-colored pins such as Cloisonne and Soft enamel lapel pins. Silkscreen pins are similar to a t-shirt silkscreening process where each individual color is printed indepdently of the other. This allows colors to be overlayed onto one another, and eliminates the trimming metal outlines of traditional struck pins (Cloisonne, Soft Enamel, Die Struck). The most notable drawbacks to Silkscreen lapel pins is the requirement for an Epoxy coating to be added, which takes away from the overall appearance of the pin. Without the epoxy, the lapel pins are subject to scratching, which can remove the silkscreened colors. This doesn’t apply to Cloisonne pins which have added silkscreen colors, because Cloisonne lapel pins cannot have epoxy applied, therefore heightening the likelihood that colors can become scratched. Silkscreen pins are still very nice, very high quality pins, but have limited usages in the scope of lapel pins.
Offset Printed Pins – When Photographic Reproduction is Needed
Offset Printed lapel pins are only used when photographic reproduction is mandatory. This style of pin is needed when replicating the exact appearance of a photograph, paintined, or drawing that features gradient colors. Most images can be converted into a Cloisonne lapel pin style through the use of trimming metal to create solid shapes, however on occasion photographic reproduction is necessary, and this calls for Offset Printed lapel pins. Think of a photograph of a person simply being printed in a magazine, or onto photo paper from your computer’s printer. This is essentially the same process used for Printed pins. Now think of a cartoon character, a solid-colored image with trimming outlines defining the shape of the character against it’s background – this would be like converting a photograph into a traditional Cloisonne design. Sometimes gradient and photographic detail is required based on your needs and likes.
Trading Pins – A Use, Not a Style
Trading pins are not a specific type of pin, but rather a use for a pin. Trading pins can be manufactured as any style of pin, Cloisonne, Soft enamel, offset printed, etc. However the trading of pins has become one of the most common uses of pins, therefore spawning the need to refer to trading pins as their own theoretical “style”. Trading pins are most commonly made using the Soft Enamel process, however this popularity of style is followed very closely by Cloisonne, and other manufacturing processes.
Whew! We hope we’ve been informative enough to help you understand the different styles of lapel pins and their respective uses, and we’re always just a click or phone call away to answer any of your additional questions. We believe that part of being a great company means educating our customers, therefore making sure that what you order is going to be exactly what you need, and making our customers happy is #1 on our list!
Until next time – Your friends at Pins Unlimited
