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Why a second batch can look different

A pin goes through several steps: the mould is struck or cast, the metal is plated, enamel is filled and cured, the attachment goes on, and the pins are packed. Each step has a little natural variation. On a first order nobody notices, because there is nothing to compare against. On a reorder, you are holding the first batch in your other hand, and small differences add up.

These are the differences you are most likely to see:

• Colour. A red that was matched to a screenshot the first time gets matched to a different screenshot the second time.
• Plating. You asked for "gold" and got shiny gold. This time someone reads "gold" and picks a paler or antique version.
• Pin backs. A rubber clutch where you had a deluxe clutch, or a back stamp that has moved.
• Backing cards. A card in a slightly different white, or with the hole in a new place.
• Artwork. You fixed a typo after the first order and forgot. Now the reorder uses whichever file was nearest.

None of these come down to luck. Each one is something you can write down once and hand over every time you reorder.

Keep four things from your first order

Put these in one folder the day your first pins arrive. If someone else takes over the merch, or a year goes by, this folder is the whole specification.

The two pins matter more than they look. A digital proof shows layout and colour references, but it is a flat image on a screen. A real pin from your first batch shows the plating, the shine and the enamel colours exactly as your customers saw them. When the new proof arrives, you compare against the pin, not your memory.

Getting the colours to match

Colour is where most reorder complaints start, because everyone judges it in a second and a little differently. The fix is to stop describing colours and start naming them. Pin enamel is mixed to a Pantone reference. On your proof, every enamel colour is listed beside its Pantone code, like the two proofs below. Those codes are what your reorder should use.

To get the closest match:

• Reuse the codes from your approved proof. If you only had hex or RGB values the first time, look up the nearest Pantone in our enamel colour guide and write it into your order notes.
• Compare in daylight. Warm indoor lights make whites look cream and blues look grey. Hold your old pin and the proof up by a window.
• Say if the old and new pins will be sold together. A tiny shade difference is invisible across two seasons. On the same display card, side by side, it can show. If that is your plan, tell us in the notes and the colours will be checked against your first batch.

Expect close, not identical. Enamel is a pigment mixed by hand, and the metal around it changes how a colour reads. A careful reorder looks like the same pin. Two pins from the same batch can also differ by a hair.

Name your plating exactly

"Gold" covers several finishes. Shiny gold, antique gold and rose gold all count as gold, and they look nothing alike next to each other. The same goes for silver against black nickel.

On a reorder, use the plating name exactly as it appears on the product page. A hard enamel pin comes in Shiny Gold, Shiny Silver, Shiny Copper, Black Nickel and Rose Gold. A soft enamel pin has more finishes to choose from, including antique, dyed and rainbow options. If you pick the same option you picked the first time, the plating matches. If you are not sure which one you chose, your order number tells us.

Plating colour also shifts slightly from one plating run to the next, the same way paint does between tins. If you are ordering several designs that will be sold as a set, order them together. Pins plated in the same run match each other best.

Pin backs and backing cards

These two get mixed up, and both catch people out on a reorder. Pin backs are the clutches that hold the pin on fabric. Backing cards are the printed cards the pin is mounted on for selling or giving away. Our guide to pin size, shape and backing covers choosing them the first time. On a reorder, the job is to repeat them exactly.

• Name the exact enamel pin back. "Clutch" is not enough. Rubber Clutch, Deluxe Clutch, Military Clutch and Magnet Backing all look and feel different, and customers who own the first batch will notice. Pick the same option on the product page as last time.
• Keep the post count. A wide pin with two posts and a reorder with one will hang differently on a jacket. If you had two, choose the two-clutch option again.
• Keep your backing card print file. Pin backing cards are where small changes show most: a new white, a shifted hole, a missing barcode. Save the final print file with your approved proof, and upload it again with the reorder.
• Check the hole position against the pin. If the card has a die-cut slot or a hole for the post, the new pins have to sit in the same place. This is one more reason not to change the number or position of posts.

A Custom Printed Paper Card carries a one-time setup fee on your first order. On a reorder of the same card, that fee is not charged again.

Your mould, and what you do not pay twice

The mould is the steel die that gives your pin its shape and its raised metal lines. It is made for your first order, and it is the reason a reorder of the same design can match so closely: the shape comes from the same tool.

Here is what that means for your reorder at MZIHO:

If it has been more than two years, send your order number anyway. Your approved artwork is the starting point for a new mould, and the new proof will be checked against it.

Exact reorder, small change, or new design?

Reorders often go wrong when a change gets mentioned in passing, like "same as before, but can we add 2025?". It sounds minor. If it changes the metal lines, it changes the mould. Decide which of these three your order is before you place it, and say so in your notes.

A changed colour or plating does not need a new mould, because colour sits inside the lines rather than forming them. That makes a colourway (the same pin in a second set of colours) one of the cheapest ways to grow a range. There is more on building a range in our guide to designing a collectible pin series.

How to place a reorder with MZIHO

Before confirming, we check your previous order against the mould on file and the options you have picked. If anything does not line up, say a different attachment from last time, it is flagged on the proof so you can decide, rather than being changed quietly.

When to place the reorder

Count backwards from the day you run out. After you approve the proof, production takes 10–15 business days and shipping takes another 7–15. That is roughly four to six weeks, plus a day or two for the proof. Allow eight weeks if your stock is for a fixed date, such as an event, a convention or a new member intake.

A simple way to set a reorder point: multiply how many pins you sell or give out in a week by eight. If you move 40 pins a week, reorder when you are down to about 320. If you sell bulk enamel pins to shops, add their order dates to the count, because one wholesale order can empty a box in a day. If you have several designs, reordering them on the same order keeps their plating consistent and saves you checking proofs on different days.

Before you place a reorder

Frequently asked questions

Ordering for the first time? See soft enamel vs hard enamel pins to choose a style, and how enamel pins are made for what happens between the proof and the finished pin.