China OEM Gold Plated Pin - Kunshan manufacturer dyed black metal lapel pins custom soft enamel pin – Kunshan Source

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Soft enamel pins are die struck, underfilled with enamel (full color) and then baked in an oven so the enamel can cure. The result is a textured surface where you can feel the raised metal and the recessed enamel cavities. Unlike other metal pins like hard enamel pins, they are not smooth to the touch. Soft enamel are the most popular style of custom enamel pins and are likely what you have in mind when you think of a custom lapel pin.
Once the plating is ready, there are three steps to completing a soft enamel pin.
1. Electroplating or dying the plating: the process of adding an outer layer of metal, like gold or silver, to the pin’s base of iron or zinc alloy. The plating can also be dyed with a color at this stage.
2. Enameling: put liquefied colored enamel in the cavities of the metal base. In soft enamel pins, each cavity is only partially filled. That’s why you can feel the raised metal edges in soft enamel pins.In this wizardly little example, the silver plating is raised, forming both the outer edge of the pin as well as some of the design elements. The colored enamel is recessed.
3. Baking: the pin gets placed in an oven and baked to set the enamel.

Soft enamel pins allow more design flexibility

1. Soft enamel pins have two design advantages since they don’t go through the polishing step in the production process.
2. They work well with both simple and complex designs
3. Polishing rounds out the metal edges of a hard enamel pin. Some complex pin artwork needs some edges to remain sharp or the design becomes blurred. Since soft enamel pins don’t go through the polishing step, every exposed metal edge stays sharp.