Curious about how to make custom medals? In this article, we’ll take you through the entire production process, step by step.

Medals can be crafted with either soft enamel or hard enamel, but most custom enamel medals are crafted with soft enamel or left uncolored, showcasing only the beautiful metal plating finishes in gold, silver, or bronze/copper.

You’ll also notice that many of the production steps are quite similar to the process described in How to Make Custom Enamel Pins. The main difference is that pins require a back attachment for wearing, while medals are designed to hang from customized ribbons and do not need any additional attachments.

The Complete Custom Medal Manufacturing Process

The main steps include mold engraving, zinc alloy die-casting, polishing, plating, coloring, customizing the medal ribbons, followed by final quality inspection and packaging.

Step 1: Mold Creation

The first step is to create a mold based on your approved medal design. We use high-precision CNC engraving machines to carve the mold, capturing every fine detail of your artwork.
After engraving, the mold undergoes heat treatment to harden it, ensuring durability for mass production.

mold of custom medals

Once hardened, the mold is carefully polished (“mold polishing”) to remove any surface imperfections, making sure every detail transfers crisply onto your medals.

A well-made mold is the foundation for a beautiful final product.
At EnamelPinCustom, we store your mold for up to 2 years. During this period, if you wish to produce more medals with the same design, you won’t need to pay the mold fee again.

Medals are generally larger, thicker, and often feature more complex 3D designs than pins. As a result, making a mold for medals takes longer and costs more, due to the increased size and design complexity.

Step 2: Zinc Alloy Die-Casting

Once the mold is ready, molten zinc alloy is injected into it under high pressure. This process forms the medal’s basic shape, complete with sharp, clean lines and intricate features.

Die cast machines

Die-casting allows for complex designs and even 3D elements if needed.

Step 3: Polishing

After casting, each medal is carefully polished by hand or machine to remove any rough edges and surface imperfections.

Polishing not only enhances shine but also ensures the medal feels smooth and premium when held.

Step 4: Plating/Metal Finish

Next, we apply a metallic finish through electroplating. You can choose from gold, silver, bronze, copper, black nickel, antique finishes, matt finishes, and more.

plating-process

The raised metal details on the front and the entire back of the medal can be plated in the finish of your choice.

We use the same high-quality plating process for medals as we do for enamel pins, ensuring a premium look and long-lasting durability.

Learn more about our available plating options to find the perfect finish for your custom medals.

Step 5: Coloring (Optional)

If your design includes colors, enamel is skillfully filled into the recessed areas:

Soft enamel medals are plated first, then colored, with the paint sitting slightly lower than the metal lines for a textured feel.

Hard enamel medals are colored first, with each color individually baked and polished flat for a smooth, jewelry-like finish.

In addition to traditional enamel coloring, we also offer UV printing.

UV printing allows for full-color, highly detailed images to be printed directly onto the medal’s surface. This technique is perfect for complex designs, gradients, or photo-like effects that enamel filling cannot achieve.

Not sure which coloring method is right for your medal? Contact us for professional advice!

Step 6: Custom Ribbon Production

A medal deserves a ribbon that matches its importance! We offer custom ribbons with options for different materials, widths, lengths, colors, and printed logos or event names.

Custom ribbons for medals

Custom ribbons are included at no extra cost when you order custom medals from us! We can color-match the ribbons to your brand colors or theme, making your medals truly one-of-a-kind.

Step 7: Quality Inspection

Before packaging, each medal undergoes a thorough quality control process to check for any flaws in casting, plating, or coloring.

We also carefully verify that the design and text are accurate, clear, and consistent with the approved artwork.

Additionally, every medal’s size and dimensions are precisely measured to ensure they perfectly match the original specifications, guaranteeing you receive exactly what you expected.

check-medal-size