Soft Enamel Pins VS Hard Enamel Pins | The True Difference

Do you love a smoother and glossy surface on your custom enamel pins or a ridged surface whose details you can feel with your fingers?

Well, if you chose the first, you opted for hard enamel pins. And if you went for the second, you’ve chosen soft enamel pins.

A textured or smooth finish is the true difference between soft and hard enamel pins. However, there are other details in the process and materials that create a basis for core differences between soft and hard enamel pins.

This article will give you a complete picture of the difference between hard and soft enamel pins. But let’s start with a quick description of enamel pins. It will help you understand the rest of the article better.

What Are Enamel Pins?

Enamel pins are a type of lapel pin used on clothing or other apparel to send a promotional, achievement, allegiance, or fashion statement.

They are called enamel pins because they are made with enamel paint, a type of paint that creates an appealing glossy coat on the pin surface once it dries.  

Enamel pins have long been in fashion. In current times, these fashion and promotional products have taken the wildest designs to suit every wearer’s fashion taste or need.

Although enamel pins can be of different types, the two most common are soft and hard enamel pins. So, if you plan to order custom enamel pins, knowing the difference between soft and hard enamel pins will help you make the best choice for the occasion.

So, what exactly is the difference between hard and soft enamel pins? Read on to find out.

The Differences Between Soft and Hard Enamel Pins

To tell the difference between soft and hard enamel pins, focus on the following features.

The Finished Surface Texture

As mentioned at the beginning, the main difference between soft enamel and hard enamel pins is the texture of the finished surface. This difference comes from the details when making soft and hard enamel pins.

We’ll focus on the process of making hard and soft enamel pins in the next point. For now, here are the visual and feel differences that make the surface texture of a soft and hard enamel pin different.

You’ll be interested to know that the ridged surface of soft enamel pins can be smoothed by applying an epoxy resin coating, making them look like hard enamel pins. That also protects the enamel and metal ridges and gives the pin a longer life.

 The Creation Process

The smooth finish of a hard enamel pin and the textured surface of a soft enamel pin result from the details in the creation process.

Making hard and soft enamel pins starts with the same step: creating a mold from the design and punching it to create the pin’s metal base. However, the next steps in making soft and hard enamel pins are different.

Generally, hard enamel pins have a longer and more resource and labor-consuming process compared to the less demanding method of creating soft-enamel pins.

Let’s explain that better.

Steps in Making Soft Enamel Pins

Step 1. Pin Cutting and Polishing

Once the mold is made, it is used to cut the pins from steel or zinc alloy. The pins are then polished to remove any rough spots before the backing is attached, and additional polishing is done to refine their quality.

Step 2. Electroplating

Electroplating entails cleaning the polished pins with acid water to purify them, thoroughly rinsing them with water, and then dipping them into the metal plating trough to add the desired metal coat (copper, silver, or gold). The plating is then dried by baking.

Step 3. Enamel Filling

Once the plating is dry, the pins are arranged on a flat surface, and a needle is used to add color to the pin using the digital model. The color is not filled to the brim of the metal edges but is left at a recessed level, which gives soft enamel pins their ridged surface.

Step 4. Baking

Once all the colors are added, the pins are baked to harden the enamel. And voila! The soft enamel pin is now ready to ship to the customer.

Steps in Making Hard Enamel Pins

Step 1. Pin Cutting

Like soft enamel pins, making hard enamel pins begins with cutting the pins using the mold. As a difference, though, hard enamel pins are cut directly from a plate with the desired metal. Once the pins are cut, the backing is attached.

Step 2. Enamel Filling and Baking

Filling the hard enamel pins with color takes time because, after each color is applied, the pin is baked to harden it before the next color is added. That means a hard enamel pin is baked as many times as the number of colors used.

Step 3. Polishing

Polishing hard enamel pins happens after the baking because it levels the filled color sections and any raised metal edges so that everything is even and has a smooth finish.

Step 4. Electroplating

For hard enamel pins, electroplating places a thin metal layer over the exposed metal edges. The pins are then baked again to firm the coating, after which they are ready for packaging to send to the customer.

As you must have noticed, the process of making soft and hard enamel pins has the same steps. However, the steps happen at different points in the process. Let’s highlight that difference for you in a table.

Most importantly, a key difference in making soft and hard enamel pins is that, unlike soft enamel where the pin is colored fully before baking, hard enamel pins are baked after each color application, and the multiple baking times are time and resource-consuming.

Durability

While soft enamel pins aren’t as soft as their name makes them sound, they are also not as tough as their hard enamel counterparts. Thanks to the extra heat-curing of hard enamel pins, they are studier and, thus, more durable than soft enamel pins.

Besides, the polishing that produces the smooth surface on hard enamel pins makes them resistant to scratches. Instead, the higher metal edges and exposed enamel filling on soft enamel pins make them vulnerable to wear.

But, as mentioned earlier, you can protect the surface of soft enamel pins with an epoxy resin coating.

Design and Finish Details

Although both soft and hard enamel pins work well with a vast range of designs, soft enamel pins allow more design flexibility.

Here are 3 reasons why.

Earlier Pin Polishing and Raised Metal Edges

First, unlike hard enamel that is polished to flatten out the metal edges, soft enamel polishing happens before coloring. The enamel filling deliberately leaves the edges raised and the colored areas recessed. For that reason, some complex artwork and designs that need sharp edges to pop are best realized on soft enamel pins. Check the fine details on this wedding theme soft enamel pin.

Instead, polishing after coloring and baking can make the design lines on hard enamel pins less striking, especially when the design has lots of color and line details, as in the case of the rainbow design.

Intensity of Color Contrasts

Post-coloring and baking polishing have a good and not-so-good effect on enamel pin coloring.

When hard enamel is polished after coloring and baking, it can tone down the color details on the pin, especially on design lines. Also, the gold and silver metal edges on hard enamel pins are toned down with polishing, which can make them less effective in creating color contrast.

Instead, the earlier metal polishing on soft enamel and the raised edges create a clear contrast in color and design lines, giving soft enamel pins a somewhat 3D-like raised effect.

Metal Finish Options

Because electroplating is done on soft enamel pins before adding the enamel, certain metal finishes are only possible on soft enamel. That’s because more metal coating options can be added to the soft enamel pin mold during electroplating.

For example, it is easier to create a black mold for a soft enamel pin than a hard enamel pin. With hard enamel, your only option is black nickel.

The Cost

It’s no secret that hard enamel pins will cost you a bit more than soft enamel pins. There are two key reasons why.

Hard Enamel Pins are Time and Resource Consuming

You know the saying, “Time is money”? It’s a perfect description of hard enamel pins when it comes to cost.

Because of the many times your hard enamel pins have to go into the oven, more time and resources are needed to make them. Additionally, the polishing after baking takes additional time, which can reflect on your custom enamel pins invoice.

Instead, soft enamel pins are easier and faster to make, so they come with a thinner price tag.

Hard Enamel Pins have a Real and Apparent Better Quality

We mentioned earlier that hard enamel pins are toughened more by the longer curing time, which makes them longer-lasting.

Also, while the raised edges and textured feel add a unique value to soft enamel pins, plenty of customers also consider hard enamel pins to have greater value because of their glossy and smooth appealing finish. That makes hard enamel pins the more elegant choice, explaining their possible additional cost.

With all that info in mind, you are probably wondering if to go for soft or hard enamel pins. Let’s sort that out for you in the following section.

Soft Enamel or Hard Enamel Pins? What Should You Choose?

From all we’ve said so far, it’s obvious that opting for soft or hard enamel is a matter of personal preference, as each has its uniqueness.

Besides, your choice may depend on the occasion and purpose of the custom enamel pins.

Nonetheless, this summary on when to choose soft vs hard enamel pins will come in handy when deciding.

Final Thoughts

Custom enamel pins are great fashion apparel and effective promotional items. However, deciding between soft and hard enamel pins can be a daunting task.

The key difference between soft and hard enamel pins is that soft enamel pins have a textured finish, while hard enamel pins have a glossy and smooth finish. That difference happens because of the details in the production process and impacts on durability and cost for both pin types.

Whether you go for soft or hard enamel pins is a question or personal choice. You will realize the fashion or promotional purpose of enamel pins, whichever type you choose.

Sources

• SMITH & WARREN: What’s the difference between Hard Enamel and Soft Enamel?
• GS-JJ: Soft Enamel VS Hard Enamel Pins.
• WizardPins. Soft Enamel vs Hard Enamel Pins - The Differences.
• Stadri Emblems. Hard vs Soft Enamel Pins - The Real Differences.
• Wikipedia. Enamel paint.