Photo-etched lapel pins are manufactured by taking an image of your design and transferring it from film onto the surface of a sheet of metal. Your design is then etched into the brass or copper using an acid etching process. Then all of the acids and other impurities are carefully cleaned from the surface. The indentations created by the acid etching process are then filled with enamel colors. Each color is applied by hand, one at a time, using different sized syringes. Compared to epola lapel pins, photo-etched lapel pins are less expensive. But, they still have a high perceived value. The biggest advantage to photo etched lapel pins is that the process offers you much more detail and flexibility in the design and selection of colors. This allows your imagination to run creatively for an elaborate lapel pin design.