There are several types of lapel pins it seems, and some are more popular than others. There seem to be different processes to cater to different needs and appearances. One of the styles of pins I’ve only collected a small amount of are these photographic, or printed pins, as they are most commonly referred to as.

Photographic printed pins are fairly unlike the rest of the pin styles you come across. They aren’t painted, and there is very little metal (gold, silver, etc) showing through. It appears that a graphic is printed onto perhaps a sticker, and placed onto the metal pin backing. From the pins I’ve personally seen, it looks like any time you have a photo printed pin, it requires the application of the clear acrylic coating (I think it’s called an epoxy dome) so that the sticker doesn’t peel off or get scuffed up.

Some of the photo printed pins I’ve seen are pretty cool, because it actually has the real, original image printed onto it, rather than redrawn into what looks like line art like most pins. While not my favorite, however, there is a time and a place for everything in a large collection, right?