A custom pin is only as good as its presentation! Here’s how to elevate your custom pins with unique backing cards.
Backing cards are a must if you want to present your custom pins in an appealing way. Backing cards don’t just make your pins retail-ready (you can’t sell a pin in a store without a backer card to display price, barcode, and so on). They also spruce up your pins and increase retail value automatically. Simply put, you can charge more for your custom pins if they’re attached to a backer card!
But that’s not all. Custom backer cards are also an excellent way to increase brand recognition and brand awareness. You can leave a short message to your customers in your brand’s voice, advertise discounts and promotions, and even promote your social media channels and website.
Backer cards are a stellar way to turn a simple custom pin into an all-around powerhouse for your brand. So if you’re wondering how to make pin backing cards, you’re in the right place! Let’s dive in and learn more.
How to Make Pin Backing Cards
For starters, there’s no need to do it yourself. Leave the custom-made backing cards to the experts. That way you can ensure that your card is professional and high-quality. It defeats the purpose of a custom backing card if the card looks like you DIY’d it. No bueno.
So you’ll need to do your research, and find a reputable company to create your custom backing cards. Here is what you should be looking for in a company to design custom-made backing cards for pins:
Turnaround Time
A lot of “custom” merch companies have prolonged turnaround times. You don’t want to have to wait months to get your backer cards. So make sure to inquire about turnaround time before you place your order.
Shipping
Find out their shipping costs. Even if shipping is fast, you don’t want to pay an arm and a leg!
Get started with your design today!
Costs
You want to make sure prices are competitive. Also, check for hidden fees! It’s best to ask for a quote before placing your order, that way you will know the exact cost, but make sure that their quote is the accurate price. Don’t get sucked in by extremely low prices, either—these can be just as bad as high prices. Unusually low prices often mean that corners were cut somewhere in the process, perhaps in the production of the backer cards themselves or in the shipping process.
In-house Design Team
This is very important if you don’t have a design already sketched out. Many companies allow you to send in a design and they’ll scan it onto a backer card, but few companies allow you to work hand-in-hand with an in-house design team to create your own design from scratch. (Hint: We do!)
Knowledgeable Staff
You’ll want to work with a team that knows everything there is to know about backer cards, not someone that’s just outsourcing their work overseas. They should be able to provide you with best practices when designing your backer card and make you aware of limitations with your design (if there are any).
Sample Approval
You should find a company that provides you with a prototype before going into production with your backer cards. That way, you can approve the samples before they are actually made and sent to you, and make any modifications or changes if you don’t like the sample. This is crucial if you have a large order. Nothing is worse than ordering hundreds or thousands of backer cards and seeing that they didn’t turn out like they looked online.
No MOQs
Find a company that has no MOQ (minimum order quantity) requirements. Lots of custom merch manufacturers require you to order a minimum, which is especially difficult if you’re a small business or you’re just testing out the whole “custom-made backing cards” idea in your retailer. You should be able to order the exact amount of backer cards you need for your pins. No more, no less.
Kitting Available
Make it easy on yourself and find a company that can produce BOTH your custom pins and your custom backer cards. Also, make sure that they have a kitting option—which means they will put your pins on the backer cards for you. This saves you all the effort of combining pins with backer cards by yourself and makes the presentation much more professional.
Why Not Get Started?
As you might have guessed—The/Studio offers ALL of the above and more. Contact one of our Creative Specialists via the “Chat with Us” button on our website to fill them in on your ideas and learn more. If you already know the design you want to use and you have it ready, you can use our hands-on Create Tool to get started designing your custom backer cards today!
