Race Medals and More!

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Nick

Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of the Vermont Corporate Cup 5K held each year in Montpelier, VT. PinSource was proud to be chosen as the supplier for this year’s finishing medals. Our own Matt Marshall was given the job of designing and producing these high quality medals that were distributed to over 3,000 runners!

PinSource sent a team of 7 to Montpelier to complete the race. Our very own Kevin McMahon won his age division with a fantastic time of 18:07. The rest of the group came in far behind Kevin in our bid to travel the 3.1 miles. Overall, it was a fantastic evening of running fun.

The Vermont Corporate Cup is a great event that brings together a huge number of Vermont based businesses to support health and wellness in the workplace. The proceeds from this event benefit the many programs and events of the Vermont Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. For more information about the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, please visit their official web page at: http://www.vermontfitness.org.

If you are hosting an event and are in need of your own custom medals that look as good as these ones, contact PinSource by email at info@pinsource.com or call us any time at 800.678.9288.

 

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The Multi-Step Process Used to Create Lapel Pins

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Nick

One a recent trip to visit one of our lapel pin factories, I got to experience firsthand how each custom pin is created!

Creating a custom lapel pin is a highly detailed process that involves many steps from original concept to completion. To give you an idea of how the process works, here is a brief overview of what it takes to create a lapel pin.

First, a die must be made to stamp an exact representation of your design onto a sheet of metal. This die is an inverted version of the finished design layout. It is pressed into a sheet of metal, stamping your image into its surface.

Cutting dies must then be made to cut your pin out in the exact shape you desire. Depending on the complexity of your pin design, these can range from simple shapes to highly detailed outlines of the image that will be featured on your custom lapel pin.

Once your design is cut out of the sheet of metal, the pin backing must be soldered onto each piece.

At this point, your pin can be plated with the metal finish of your choosing. The metal is then thoroughly cleaned and polished to bring it to the desired shine.

For enamel pins, soft enamel is applied by hand through the use of a variety of small syringes. A unique syringe is used to apply each color to the pin’s surface. A great amount of care and attention to detail is needed to achieve the desired result, and this step requires a steady hand and precision application. Any excess enamel must be carefully cleaned from metal surfaces where it is not desired.

Once the enamel has been applied, the pins must be baked at around 450 degrees F for 12-15 minutes. This allows the enamel to harden, giving it the characteristic look and feel of a custom enamel lapel pin.

After the pins have cooled, an optional clear epoxy coating can be applied to the colored surface to prevent scratching and wear. This epoxy helps to give the appearance of depth to the pin’s image, and can help the detail of your design stand out.

Through these steps, your design can go from concept to a fully completed pin. At Pinsource, we exercise the utmost care and precision throughout the pin construction process, ensuring that you get only the best possible results from your custom lapel pin order. That’s because when you order from Pinsource, you are guaranteed quality.

 

 

 

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Why Lapel Pins are Great for Recognition Ceremonies

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Nick

 

High employee morale has been definitely proven to lead to increased workplace productivity, better employee retention and improved safety. Employee satisfaction is a critical part of any work environment, and there are a wide variety of methods employers use to enhance morale. Recognition ceremonies are a tried and true way to improve overall job satisfaction that is both effective and inexpensive.

Recognition pins can serve as a source of pride for employees, highlighting their professional accomplishments and outstanding commitment to an organization’s goals. These ceremonies show employees that their efforts are appreciated, and they offer employers the opportunity to address the specific areas in which certain team members excel. This can have the dual benefit of increasing job satisfaction while simultaneously holding up certain individuals as examples for their coworkers.

Custom lapel pins are a great way of carrying the morale-boosting effects of a recognition ceremony to the day-to-day operations of your business. Even though a recognition ceremony is a single event, a recognition pin is a lasting token of appreciation that can keep employees striving for exceptional job performance. Lapel pins also help boost customer confidence by displaying the extraordinary accomplishments of your staff.

Custom lapel pins can allow employers to show appreciation for the diverse skills of their employees, from perfect attendance to excellent customer service. They can be personalized to highlight the unique strengths of each employee, enabling employers to connect with their workers on a personal level rather than offering each person the same item as everyone on the staff (which is the workplace equivalent of receiving a “participation” trophy).

Some interesting award ideas include offering pins for perfect attendance, workplace safety compliance, achieving or exceeding set sales goals or outstanding customer satisfaction.

The more creative the design of your employee recognition pins, the better. Try to make each pin stand out, highlighting the particular achievements of each award recipient. Including the company’s logo can be a useful identifier for potential customers and future employees, as it shows to the world that your workforce is honored for their accomplishments. It also demonstrates that your employees’ job performance warrants special merit.

Custom lapel pins are the perfect way to express the recognition your staff deserves. Give PinSource a call today at 1-800-678-9288, email us at Info@PinSource.com or visit our website to find out how to order your recognition pins!

 

 

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PVC: Truly Unique & 3D Lapel Pins

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Nick

 

 

 

 

PVC lapel pins bring a splash of color to any occasion. A material that can be used to achieve a variety of colors and complex 3D shapes, PVC is the perfect medium for bringing your unique design ideas to life—from corporate logos and professional needs to caricatures and complex artistic designs.

The process by which PVC pins are made is fairly simple and straightforward, and can accomplish stunning results. A mold is made of your original design, and PVC is layered into the mold to achieve the desired color distribution and relief. Unlike other processes, PVC molding can render a fully three-dimensional image with as much or as little detail as you require.

 

The PVC material used in the creation of custom lapel pins comes in a variety of colors. Using the Pantone Matching System (PMS), we can achieve virtually any color profile you need, giving you an accurate representation of any logo or image you wish to construct. PVC even comes in neon, transparent, sparkly and glow-in-the-dark varieties, making the possibilities for your PVC lapel pins virtually endless.

The versatility offered by the PMS system allows us to effectively recreate designs and logos with a high degree of accuracy. This makes PVC an excellent material for creating promotional pins for corporate events. Using PVC is a great way of making sure your image comes out exactly right, down to color and degree of relief. Corporate logos often serve as a large source of pride for individuals in that company, and PVC is a great way of ensuring the most accurate representation of a logo while achieving exact color matching and image layout.

PVC pins are flexible and durable, allowing them to assume heavy wear and tear before breaking or permanently deforming. The wear resistance of PVC, coupled with its ability to accurately capture the likenesses of cartoonish characters, makes it the ideal material to use when creating pins for children. Custom PVC pins can also make for a great way to celebrate a child’s developmental milestones or scholastic achievements, or they can be made just for the fun of it.

With PVC, there are practically no limitations to what you can put on your custom lapel pins. The only real limit is your imagination.

Give PinSource a call today at 800.678.9288 to make your PVC pin dreams a reality

 

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The (Surprisingly) Rich History of Lapel Pins – No Joke!

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Nick

PinSouce – Your Lapel Pin History Lesson

The significance of lapel pins has varied dramatically since their inception during the American Civil War. Originally, these pins were worn by all soldiers as a unit marker. This made it easy to quickly organize large amounts of troops in the field. While at first they were worn simply for ease of identification and organization, the pins quickly became a source of pride among the troops. Lapel pins quickly became a source of unification and camaraderie in a time of strong division for the nation.

In World War I, the significance of lapel pins changed. Instead of being used to indicate troops’ unit affiliation, the pins were bestowed upon individuals in recognition of bravery and exemplary commitment to service. This practice continues to this day. Honorary pins are often a source of great pride for servicemen and women, and are frequently handed down the line, from generation to generation.

Following the First World War, lapel pins and button badges became a popular way for people to display their affiliation with political or social groups. This became particularly prevalent in the 1960s. During the turmoil and uncertainty of the Civil Rights era, lapel pins and button badges became common emblems indicating strong affiliation with, or against, the movement for social and civil equality.

During the late 70s and 80s, this trend re-emerged. However, like pretty much everything in the 80s, pins were less about making any sort of significant statement and more about the fad of accumulating as many as possible.

It’s interesting to look back at how the use of lapel pins has changed over the years. Even more interesting is that their particular use at any given moment in history bears a vague reflection of the times themselves. From their use as a quick reference in a disorganized, brother against brother civil war and the honor-bound service in the First World War, to their use as political banners in the slogan-shouting 60s and crass egocentrism of the 80s, the changing application of lapel pins is quite distinctive of each generation that has embraced them.

It’s only a matter of speculation what the current generation’s choice in pins will say about them, but if history has shown us anything, it will likely be a fair representation.

If you’re interested in finding out more information about custom lapel pins email us at info@pinsource.com, click here for a quote or give us a call any time at 800.678.9288

 

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PinSource Celebrates its 27th Anniversary in the Custom Lapel Pin Business

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Nick

 

The PinSource Story

April will mark the 27th year PinSource has been in the custom lapel pin business. During that time, we’ve designed lapel pins for companies big and small. The pins we design are made to be both collectable and highly recognizable, and we make sure that our customers get the greatest value possible out of our high-quality products

A division of SUI International, Ltd., a company that works to build brands and enhance corporate images worldwide, PinSource is committed to helping our customers put their best “face” forward. In addition to its internal branding divisions, SUI has close operational ties to suppliers of all sorts of branding materials. SUI and PinSource are fully devoted to their clientele’s promotions, and have the global resources to bring the results you need—regardless of the industry or the type of brand your represent.

Our custom lapel pins add resonance to company branding efforts through three important features: they are small and easily worn, they are eye catching and they help forge a strong recognition of branding images. Also, lapel pins add the commonly missing human element to corporate branding efforts. Instead of perceiving a corporation as a faceless entity, lapel pins allow customers to associate brand logos with the individuals wearing them.

PinSource has grown to become an internationally renowned manufacturer of lapel pins, with offices and locations across the globe. We maintain close connections to the manufacturing and distributing ends of our operation, making sure that our customers get their orders filled in exactly the manner and time frame expected.

Our list of clients has included some of the largest brands in the world, as well as some of the smallest businesses. We work to provide the greatest level of satisfaction to all of our customers, no matter the size of the order.

At PinSource, we want to help your branding and promotional efforts, whether you are ordering from us as an individual or as a corporate entity. We create custom lapel pins for all sorts of occasions, including sports pins, recognition pins, years of service pins, promotional pins or any other event or occasion in which you might need to create a pin. At PinSource, your satisfaction matters!

Give us a call today 800.678.9288, or email us at info@pinsource.com to see why we’ve been around for so long!

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The Detail and Precision Offered by Die Struck Lapel Pins

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Nick

 

 

Die struck lapel pins are the perfect way to incorporate a great level of detail and precision into your pin design. The perfection that can be achieved through the die stamping process can convey a great deal of intricacy without the image appearing too cluttered. This is because the three-dimensional quality of the metal allows the eye to distinguish between the finer elements in the image, making it clearer than a two-dimensional representation.

 

The fact that die struck lapel pins are three dimensional creates some interesting shading options. The finish on these pins may vary with the depth of the stamping, creating a heightened illusion of relief and bringing out the detail of your design even further. Most often, the deeper areas are given an antiqued finish, while the shallower areas take on a high polish. Combined with the three-dimensional quality of the metal, the finish embellishes the difference between the depths of material, which gives finished lapel pins much finer detail.

 

The die stamping process is fairly simple and straightforward. A die is created bearing an inverted relief version of the final image, which is stamped into your choice of metal. The die presses the inverted image into the metal, leaving an imprint of the final image.

 

Die stamping is preferred over other methods of creating custom lapel pins, as many other processes, like cloisonné, require the metal to have a rather high lead content. Not only is it unhealthy to have continuous contact with lead, but it is also a very heavy metal, which can distress clothing when worn. Die struck lapel pins can be made out of a wider range of lead-free metals, making them comfortable and safe for any purpose.

 

Die struck lapel pins make for an excellent way to celebrate special occasions. At PinSource, we can create pins for any type of event, including sports pins, recognition pins, years of service pins or promotional giveaway items. Whatever sort of die struck pin you require, PinSource is where you can turn.

Give us a call today, 1-800-678-9288 or email us at Info@pinsource.com

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St. Patrick’s Day: Let’s all holler for the shamrock lapel pin on my collar

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Nick

Stylish & Green!

St. Patrick’s Day is just a few days away.  It’s one of my favorite holidays for sure: it’s essentially a day for all things green and lots of partying .  Forget Christmas: from green clothing to green beer and even rivers dyed, green it seems like everyone in every city is trying to embody this holiday’s spirit. If you haven’t started planning what you’re doing yet, you better get started, because you’re running out of time!

 

If you ask me, the perfect St. Patrick’s Day ensemble is necessary to ensure your day will be a great success.  A sturdy green plastic hat, leftover green Mardi Gras beads, and a basic green t-shirt are the tried and true classics that can be found in most of our closets for this once yearly celebration,

 

But how about a St. Patrick’s Day lapel pin?  It’s definitely the accessory that will elevate your outfit to the next level. That little lapel pin will be the jewel of your crown, the piece de résistance that no one else is rocking. Your good time gateway will be instantly opened through copious trade offers for your shamrock lapel pin.   After a full day of festivities, it’s sure to become an invaluable bartering piece when you’re out of cash and hankering for one more Guinness.  Having one of these shamrock pins on hand is sure to give pin trading a whole new meaning.

 

Give Pinsource a call today so we can help you help yourself this St. Patty’s Day! We offer a wide range of in stock products  and also offer custom lapel pins, lanyards, magnets and just about anything else you might want to celebrate in style.

 

 

 

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FREE Shipping!!!

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Nick

Just in time for the holidays I saw this article in Time.com about the importance of free shipping!

My wife and I have split our holiday shopping between local area stores and online vendors, but one thing that’s been consistent has been that any online retail purchases have been accompanied with FREE shipping. Whether it was a coupon or part of a preferred service (Amazon.com, and Zappos.com) a limited time offer (LL Bean.com) or as part of the purchase (Costco.com) we have received FREE shipping of our purchase to our door.

I try to offer free shipping with my pin orders, and wherever else possible. I know when you are factoring costs it’s nice to not need to ask, “What other charges are there?”.
Granted, we ship a lot of products to a lot of places around the globe, and sometimes expedited services mean a premium to the cost of freight, but it never hurts to ask!
By the way….My Christmas card:

5×7 Folded Card
View the entire collection of cards.
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How to Take Photos of Pins …also known as What is the Flower Icon On My Camera?

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Nick

Invariably there comes a time where you need or want to take a photo of your pin, coin, lanyard, patch. Anything that may have a lot of detail but be pretty small in size.
The most common solution is to grab your camera and snap off a few pictures.
But wait…It’s all blurry. What happened?
Maybe you’ll just back up and send that photo.
Or crop it.
Hmm. Not very sharp.
What to do… What to do… Macrophotography! Here’s my “Twitter” explanation: Normal camera function has a focal length of about a foot. Macro enables the camera to focus on extremely (like 1/2″) close subjects.
• PS – that fits as a tweet!
• Double PS – The link regarding focal length WILL put you to sleep. Use with caution!
For this blog I’m using a 2008 Sony (DSC-H3) point and shoot. It has the macro button (the ubiquitous flower symbol) on the back.

Without the macro feature engaged the photo is a blur unless I hold the camera about a foot away. But… if I engage the macro it will focus even with the lens almost touching the pin!

 

Wow! That is SHARP!
And not just pins, it works for everything – here’s a coin photo without the macro…
and with the macro.
You can pick up every detail – even that the coin has soft enamel giving the coin an embossed colored look!
And patches, too; you can even see the detail of the stitching.
Two quick points to note:
1. NO ZOOMING! See that W and T. Make sure you are as wide (that’s the W) as possible on the shot.
2. NO FLASH! See this icon?
Push it till you get this icon!
Just make sure you are in a well lit area, and it helps to have a white background for pins (I used our office stationary but even copy paper will do).
But don’t just use it for pins and patches and coins! Macrophotography is great for nature photos, kids, and much, much more! Have fun out there friends!!
*Recognize the pin? Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades Champagne. Custom pin, custom packaged in a custom box. Fitting for the Number 1 Champagne in the world!!
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