Making DIY Custom Lapel Pins from Shrink Plastic and Resin

When looking into getting custom pins made, I discovered the ability to get enamel pins. While it was possible to get a small quantity, it turned out to be expensive unless I was planning on ordering 200 to get the bulk prices. But I didn't even know if I would sell 1! Rather than have a giant inventory of pins that never sold, I wanted to have a small amount of pins that I could make myself, using materials that I already had on-hand.

The solution I found was to not make the pins out of metal, but instead use shrink plastic (remember "Shrinky Dinks"?) paired with clear resin to give it a protective glossy dome. It took a lot of trial and error, but I've finally found a process that gave me consistent results, so I can finally design my own pins, print them at home, and turn them into adorable pins to add to backpacks and lanyards. And you can too!

The materials:

• 1 sheet of ink-jet printable Shrink Plastic - $17 for 6 sheets

• E6000 Craft Glue - $9

• Rubber Pin back - $4

• UV Resin

• Ink-jet printer

• An oven to bake the shrink plastic

  
  

1. Design your pins

The shrink plastic claims that they shrink to 20% of their original size, so if you want your pins to be 1.5"x1.5", you should make your artwork 3.5"x3.5". The baking process also darkens all your colors - so I always add a layer of white over the top of all my designs at 50% opacity before printing.

2. Print on shrink plastic with an ink-jet printer

I've tried a couple different brands of Shrink Plastic including Grafix, Shrinky Dinks, and Avery. The best by far was Avery's Ink Jet Shrink Sheets. These sheets created the cleanest, sharpest image, with a perfect shrink ratio that kept the design intact. UNFORTUNATELY those have been discontinued, so they only exist on Ebay if you're lucky enough to find some. For this batch of pins, I used Grafix Shrink Plastic, which kept a sharp image, but has some oddities that I'll share below.

I printed with normal paper settings (NOT Glossy or Matte) and made the print quality high.

3. Cut out each image

I like to give a little bit of a border around the shape, making sure that there's no sharp corners or sudden switchbacks in the design (this will be important for adding the resin later).

4. Bake them!

There are usually instructions that came with the shrink plastic, specifying what temperature and length of time to cook them. Make sure to line them on your baking sheet ensuring they're not touching each other, and that they aren't touching the edge of your sheet.

Immediately after baking, use the flat bottom of a glass cup or plate and press each of the pins flat. If any harden before you're able to flatten it, simply bake them a little longer to become pliable again.

Here's how they look after shrinking! For this particular batch, I didn't have the layer of white over the top, so you can see how dark they come out after baking.

Earlier I mentioned that Avery had the best shrink ratio, meaning that it shrunk the same amount horizontally as it did vertically. The shrink plastic I used below was from Grafix, which has a POOR shrink ratio. It's especially evident on the bottom ones with the alien and kitty. Notice how one is very tall and skinny, while the others are short and wide? This is because the shrink plastic did not shrink with an equivalent ratio. This especially becomes an issue if you have a design that includes a perfect circle, as it comes out more as an oval instead.

5. Add resin for a glossy protective dome

For the dome, I used UV resin. Make sure all bubbles are popped, and there is no stray cat hair or dust, and place under a UV light or sunlight to cure. NOTE: Make sure you use proper ventilation, gloves, and eye protection!

6) Attach pin back

Using E9000 glue and a thumbtack, attach to the back of the pin and allow to dry. After waiting 24 hours, attach a rubber pin back and you're done! See below for a video showing the process.