There are several methods of pin production each of which have their own advantages and disadvantages.

	Cloisonné	Semi-Cloisonné	Soft Enamel	Photo Etched
Base Metal	Copper	Copper or Brass	Copper or Brass	Brass
Stamping	Die-struck	Die-struck	Die-struck	Photo-etched
Colour Material	Coloured powdered glass	Coloured resin	Enamel paint	Enamel paint
Surface	Hard, flat, smooth	Hard, flat, smooth	Raised edges unless covered by epoxy resin identified as a dome across the pin	Raised edges (less evident than soft enamel pin)
Manufacture	Individual colours are hand applied one or two at a time and baked until hard at 800F	As for cloisonné pins apart from colour being epoxy resin rather than glass	Paint is applied by hand, but in one go rather than one colour at a time	Several images of the same design are coloured and baked. Covered with a clear epoxy coating for protection
Advantages	Durable and scratch resistant Valued by collectors	Perceived value similar to cloisonné More colours available than cloisonné Shorter production time than cloisonné Greater scratch resistance than cloisonné	Less expensive than cloisonné More colours available than cloisonné Shorter production time than cloisonné Greater pin design detail than cloisonné	Maximum pin design detail Shortest production time Cheapest to produce
Disadvantages	Expensive to produce Least amount of pin design detail Fewest colours available Longest production time Glass can be chipped if hit hard enough	Less scratch resistant than cloisonné Can be confused with cloisonné	Perceived value less than cloisonné Chips can occur unless covered with resin White colour can 'yellow' over time	Thinner than other pins Lower perceived value than other pins Less durable than other pins

The manufacturer has a number of methods to produce a pin, but they break down into 3 main areas...

Stamping

An actual size drawing of the pin is used to cut 3 steel templates or dies. One for the shape, one for the design and one for the backstamp. Following this, squares of the base metal are cut and the dies used to stamp the front and back designs and then cut the shape (removing excess metal) around the design. This results in a metal pin with raised metal edges on the pin surface. These edges then enclose and retain the colour to be applied in the next stage.

Colouring

The design is coloured using either enamel paint, powdered glass or coloured resin. Depending on the design and the material to be used a single colour or multiple colours are applied and then baked until dry. In soft-enamel or photo-etched pins, all of the colours are applied in one go and baked at apporximately 100F until dry. In the cloisonné process where powdered glass is used, individual colours are applied and baked at 800F. In the semi-cloisonné process coloured resins are applied one or two at a time and baked until hard.

Finishing

Each pin is polished to remove excess glass or paint and for soft-enamel or photo-etched pins, a clear epoxy coating is applied to protect the colours from scratching. Then the finding post (or pin) is attached with glue or solder. Finally, the pin may be plated to give the metal areas a consistent bright nickel (silver looking), bronze or gold finish.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the '1996 Olympic Games Countdown - The Official Book of Olympic Games Pin Collecting' for assistance in providing the information on this page

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