» Photo Etched Lapel Pins

How Photo Etched Pins Are Made

Photo etched lapel pins are manufactured by taking an image of your design and transfering it from film onto the surface of a sheet of metal. Your design is then etched into the brass or copper using an acid etching process. Then all of the acids and other impurities are carefully cleaned from the surface. The indentations created by the acid etching process are then filled with the enamel colors. Each color is applied by hand, one at a time, using different sized syringes. The sheet of metal is then fired at 450° for 15 minutes. The lapel pins are then cut from the sheet according to your custom design. Non-colored (raised) sections of the lapel pins are then plated and polished to a shiny finish. An optional epoxy protective coating (dome) can then be applied to protect the color enamels from being scratched or damaged.

Compared to cloisonne lapel pins, photo etched lapel pins are less expensive. But, still have a high percieved value. The biggest advantage to photo etched lapel pins is that the process offers you much more detail and flexability in design and selection of colors. This allows your imagination to run creatively for an elaborate lapel pin design.

As with all of the high quality lapel pins that we manufacture, our quality control, attention to detail and 23 years of lapel pin design and manufacturing experience ensure your lapel pins are made to the highest possible standards.

The Benefits of Photo Etched Pins

Photo etched lapel pins offer the greatest flexability in design and color choice. And they are best suited for higly detailed and complex designs. Designs with shadows, gradients and fades can be exactly reproduced using another process called Offset Printing. Please call, fax or email us for more information on this lapel pin manufacturing process.