How Are Enamel Pins Made? A Friendly, Step-by-Step Breakdown from the Pin People Themselves

So you’ve got a great idea for an enamel pin. Maybe it’s your logo, a tribute to a cause, a character you sketched during a meeting (we won’t tell), or something you’ve always wanted to see brought to life in shiny metal. But now you’re wondering—how does a simple idea turn into a polished, professional enamel pin?

At Dream Maker Pins, we’ve been bringing designs to life since 2016, and let us tell you—there’s a little bit of science, a lot of skill, and just enough sparkle involved.

Here’s a friendly walkthrough of the real enamel pin production process—no fluff, no gatekeeping, just straight talk from your favorite pin pros.

1. Design File Prep

It all starts with your artwork.

You send us your design—vector files like AI or EPS are best, but we can also work with a high-res PNG or even a hand-drawn concept (yep, we have artists on deck to help refine it).

Once we’ve got your idea, we prep it for production by turning it into a digital blueprint. This shows exactly where the metal lines will go and how the enamel will be filled—kind of like a coloring book page, but cooler.

Need help creating artwork from scratch? We’ve got you covered. We have a team of artists ready to create your vision for a fair cost. 

2. Mold Creation

This is where your art becomes real. A mold is made based on your approved blueprint—it’s like a cookie cutter version of your design, made from steel instead of sugar.

The mold gets used to stamp your design into sheets of metal. It’s precise, tough, and reusable.

3. Stamping the Base

Your mold gets pressed into metal—usually iron, brass, or zinc alloy—depending on the complexity and finish of your design.

The stamping process creates raised metal lines (the parts of your design that separate each color), while the recessed areas will eventually be filled with enamel. These ridges are key—they keep the colors in place like little walls.

4. Cutting & Plating

Next, the stamped pins are cut out one by one. If your pin is a simple circle or square, that’s easy. If it has custom shapes, edges, or cutouts, this part gets a little more involved—but don’t worry, we’re pros.

After cutting, the metal gets plated in the finish you chose: shiny gold, silver, black nickel, rose gold, antique brass, rainbow, matte black—you name it.

👉Want to explore your plating options? Check out our Customer Projects Page for inspiration.

5. Filling with Enamel

Now comes the color!

Each area of your design gets hand-filled with colored enamel. Depending on whether you chose soft enamel or hard enamel, the process looks a little different:

• Soft enamel: The enamel sits slightly lower than the raised metal lines, creating a textured feel.

• Hard enamel: The enamel is overfilled and then polished smooth until it’s flush with the metal for a sleek, high-gloss finish.

No matter which you choose, it’s all done with care—often by hand—for accuracy and vibrancy.

6. Baking or Polishing

Soft enamel pins go into an oven to harden the enamel. Hard enamel pins, on the other hand, skip the baking and get polished like a tiny badge of honor.

This step seals in the color and makes the pins durable enough to handle real life (jackets, backpacks, lanyards, you name it).

7. Adding the Backing

Next, a pin post (or two) is soldered onto the back of each pin.

At Dream Maker Pins, our pins come standard with rubber pin backs (great for comfort and easy wear), but you can upgrade to locking backs if you want extra security—especially for bags or outerwear.

8. Quality Check

Each pin goes through a quality check. We look for things like uneven enamel fills, plating flaws, missing posts, and anything else that doesn’t meet our standards.

We’re not robots—and neither are our pins—but we take pride in catching imperfections before anything leaves our shop.

9. Packaging

Once they’ve passed inspection, your pins get mounted on a custom backing card (if you chose one), popped into protective bags, and packed up for shipping.

Our standard packaging is sleek and secure, but we also offer custom card designs if you want to make a real statement or sell your pins as part of a product line.

That’s the Whole Process—Start to Finish!

Your pin journey goes from concept → art → mold → metal → color → quality check → packaging → shipped to your door.

It’s a process that blends creativity, precision, and a bit of patience—but the result is something totally unique to you.

Ready to Start Your Own Project?

Whether you're dreaming up a fundraiser pin, a community initiative, a merch drop, or something totally personal, we’d love to help bring it to life.

✨ Start your custom project now
✨ Or get more info

Still have questions about pricing? We wrote a full guide to walk you through the numbers (no guesswork, no surprises):
Read: How Much Do Custom Enamel Pins Cost?

Enamel pins may be small, but they carry big meaning. Whether you’re commemorating a milestone, raising awareness, or simply adding something fun to your brand, creating your own pins is easier than you think—and we’re here to walk you through every step.

Because at Dream Maker Pins, we don’t just make pins. We help you turn ideas into keepsakes, conversation starters, and little pieces of art that people actually want to wear.