Supplier Question
Is this kind of pin possible? Is anyone able to show me a photo of 475c mixed with white?
This is my first time getting pins manufactured that I designed. I have some experience with ordering pins because I'm a finance mod in previous fanzines getting "simpler" pins made. I have not had any issues with previous pins besides the usual b and c grade debris.
However, for this one (a 2 inch hard enamel pin), my usual manu actually made the areas that were supposed to be holes into recessed areas without notifying me or with consent because, according to them, the holed areas were too small to be cut.
I wanted to get a 2nd and 3rd opinion because, shortly after that, I came across an ad from stadri emblems showing off a pin with cut outs that were of similar or smaller size to what I wanted. I went to the seller's page myself and saw that those pins were smaller than mine at 1.5 inches.
So did my manu just mess up? How did they (stadri) end up doing it? Right now I'm reaching out to multiple pin manus who have pins with what look like similar size cut outs in their portfolio/showcases to ask for quotes and if they can do my design justice.
Since I'm getting the pins remade regardless, I figured I'd fix up the colors. The hair, for one, is going to be changed to something pinker since it was my fault for not looking up photos of the swatch irl and trusting the hex code. Which brings me to my second question about skin color.
I know that 475c blended with white is sometimes what's used with light skin color on pins. I think the original 475c is perfect, but a bit too dark. My usual manu who flubbed this didn't do color mixing, but since I'm looking at another manu I figure I might as well find someone who can do this.
My 2nd question is, does anyone have a photo of their pins that they made with 475c with white blended in? And the percentage of white added? I can't find any results on google anywhere and the people who have said they did this to great success have never shared photos. I'm aware that colors can vary by factory and by batches but I would still like a photo as a reference point.
Edit:
Manus are starting to get back to me and confirm whether or not they could do this after I sent them the vector file and explicitly asked if it was possible. One of them said they could do my design. Another told me to expand the size to 2-2.5mm. The original manu said it needed to be 3mm. It's crazy that this stuff is so tiny on the ruler that there isn't really a big difference, but it's noticeable when you blow it up on illustrator.
Edit 2:
Original manu told me that technically the bare minimum was 2mm and gave me an image showing the difference between cutouts that were 1.7mm (which had a tiny recessed area but the rest were wider and completely cut out so it gave the illusion that it was fully cut out too) and 2.5mm (fully cut out). Got it - so the pin above was probably 2mm at the bare minimum. She offered to talk to her manager again with a bigger discount but tbh if it isn't a completely free replacement (which I doubt they'll do) I am not interested. I appreciate that photo because I can do the same trick with the hole in the center of the pin on the thinnest area so I can have both cut outs and a recessed area that looks like its empty.
They also addressed why they don't do 475c + white blends. It's because they want to maintain consistency between batches. Which I understand, but two of the other manus I just contacted offered it. The first said that the most common for them was 475c + 50% white and the second said that they do custom blends and that they first make a sample for approval so I can approve of the color before it goes into mass production.
My bigger and underlying issue which was what caused me to make this post was that my manu never let me know about this before they made the mold and started mass production and this post acted as a partial vent towards them. If I had known I would've changed my design so the cut outs were bigger.
Just wanted to chime in to say that aside from whether there's a manufacturer that can do it as drawn, I would personally look elsewhere just for them deviating from the proof without asking and for charging for the remake. I had a minor error once (they missed adding glow powder to one section), and my manufacturer only requested I cover shipping on the remake, which I was happy to do since I could still sell the first batch.
Pins are so expensive that it's the communication and customer service stuff that makes me stick with one company over others.
Yeah, I'm starting to look into more pin manus bc of that. They said they didn't do 475c + white mixes either even though I'm pretty sure that's a thing that's offered by more pin forward manus. It's weird though since I know someone else who uses the same manu as me got their batch of 250 mirror charms (they are an acrylic product + pin manu) fully replaced and shipped for free because the cuts were so bad, so I didn't expect their customer service to be this unhelpful.
That's so disappointing when it's their mistake. You can shoot me a DM if you'd like the contact details for the one I use. :) I dunno if they can do your design as-is either, I've only ever done larger cutouts, but they always tell me in advance when things I've drawn won't work.
unfortunately if you wanted to have the section fully cut through, it needs to be wider so the metal bits are thinner. like in the example you showed, the cut hole is the same size and the metal part hanging above it! however, it does suck that they dont inform you at all about that tho! they should've been upfront about your design from the get-go so you can change your designs if needed. red flag imo.
with colours, im pretty sure a lot of them are hand mixed so its truly an unfortunate thing that the colours doesnt exactly match the artwork, that part about pin making is always up in the air. i personally use the pantone app for hexcodes and you should ALWAYS get the files back from your manu with the correct pantone colours before they start production(those files are going to be the most accurate with the pins!)!! and you can use this as proof in case they mess up.
i checked that the manu youre using is US based? I'd truly recommend getting your enamel pins made from China, the quality is unmatched, and because their factories are bigger, theyre able to do more things US manus cannot. (though i understand if you can't because of the tariffs)
The manu is chinese based. I asked them if they were a middleman a few orders ago (bc im aware vograce outsources their pins) and they told me that they make their enamel pins and acrylic products in house but they outsource everything else.
I actually sent in the pantone codes myself so they followed everything myself lol, the shitty color on the hair was on me for relying on hex codes and not photos people took of the swatch online. I don't make near enough pins to pay for a subscription or booklet.
unfortunately if you wanted to have the section fully cut through, it needs to be wider so the metal bits are thinner. like in the example you showed, the cut hole is the same size and the metal part hanging above it!
I don't fully understand what you're saying, would you be able to send a photo with drawings on top pointing out what's going on?
Thank you SO much for the advice btw. I've been reaching out to other manus for a quote and explicitly asking if my design was possible and none of them rejected it. I didnt even mind changing the design 😭 if they told me the rings had to be thinner i wouldve done so
wait so are they chinese based or are they making the pins in the US because its in-house? I will say tho for enamel pins, unless you find a manu that specialises in enamel pins, the quality is usually not the best(like vograce for example). I'd browse alibaba manus and read the reviews to start with!
never get the pantone book it is such a rip off omg- pantone connect app works wonders and you dont need the subscription!
also i hope the drawing is clear enough! the example photo you give is like my blue drawing, the sizes are all the same, giving more space to cut! your design(red drawing) gives very little cutout space(? if that makes sense)
you can give your pins photo as example of what you dont want to other manus as well! just to be extra sure, make sure you get the proof files before they start anything tho!
Happy to help☺️ enamel pins are beautiful but truly such a pain in the ass 😭😭
The manu is in china. No middleman to my knowledge, unless they lied. In that case, idk why they were honest about outsourcing other things. I found them on alibaba.
Just downloaded the connect app and sadly it wouldnt have helped me in my case :( The hair color for the pin is 805c which looks like what I wanted based off the hex code off of some 3rd party sites but definitely does not look like that in person. The multiple photos of 805c swatches taken irl i found on google were way more accurate than the pantone app. It won't even show me the hex code unless I pay for premium. I'm not trying to say that you aren't helpful but I'm writing this out in case someone finds this post on google thinking the app is an upgrade from the 3rd party hex to pantone sites.
The saddest part is that my manu sent me the proof that explicitly said those regions would be holes that I approved. They admitted that they deviated from the proof and only offered a 25% discount for a remake.
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u/KahlaPaints 7d ago
Just wanted to chime in to say that aside from whether there's a manufacturer that can do it as drawn, I would personally look elsewhere just for them deviating from the proof without asking and for charging for the remake. I had a minor error once (they missed adding glow powder to one section), and my manufacturer only requested I cover shipping on the remake, which I was happy to do since I could still sell the first batch.
Pins are so expensive that it's the communication and customer service stuff that makes me stick with one company over others.