Thumbtacks come in many shapes, colors and sizes. You can opt for clear ones, brass ones, colored ones, or even decorative ones to grace your corkboard or French message board. They have to be sharp and functional to hold your item to your board or wall, and they have to leave minimal damage to your item as well.

Decorative pushpins and custom thumb tacks are also very popular. You can use them as employee gifts or to liven up you office space. They can be serious and conversation provoking, or they can be fun and whimsical. Whatever theme you decide to go with, your co-workers will be delighted to see the reflection of your personality.

To learn more about thumb tacks types and styles:

1. Go with clear thumbtacks to draw the attention to what is being hung. Clear ones let the eye focus on the item, not the tack.

2. Consider colored thumb tacks as an alternative. Colored tacks are simple enough to be functional, yet not too distracting.

3. Jazz up your office with decorative pushpin options. These pushpins scream for attention and are a conversation piece in and of themselves.

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Go with clear thumbtacks for understated wall hanging

Clear thumbtacks are functional and help draw the focus towards what you are hanging on your tackboard or wall. They are great for important documents that demand attention to detail.

I recommend: Go with the clear thumbtack pack from Crafts, Etc! The pack comes with 75 and is great for corkboards or French message boards. Purchase clear thumb tacks from Keysan. They come in a count of 100 per box.

Choose colored thumb tacks

Go with colored thumb tacks to liven up your board a bit while still focusing on the paperwork at hand. Colored thumb tacks can added a little extra color to your board, while still being functional in the process.

I recommend: Take a look at the colored thumb tack selection from Aubuchon Hardware. Their unit packages are sets of 24 and 40. Check out 200 count colored pack of pushpins from Office Depot. They are available online, available for store pickup or sold in stores.

Consider decorative thumb tacks to add some flair or as gifts

Use decorative thumb tacks as employee recognition or just for fun around the office. They make great gifts and conversation pieces, so keep a pack or two handy for just the right occasion.

I recommend: Personalized Decorative Bulletin Board offers handcrafted push pins designed out of polymer clay, plaster, wood, and plastic. They can also create hand-crafted special designed decorative push pins to meet your specific needs or designs. Find different styles of contemporary decorative pushpins from Ballard Designs.

Look around your office, shop, store, factory or warehouse, and you'll probably see at least a few thumbtacks or push pins stuck in walls or cork boards. You may go through dozens at a time or keep a box for a few years; either way, you can always find any type of push pin or thumbtack you need online.

Think about how and where you'll use your thumbtacks or push pins before you order them. For example, thumbtacks will stay put better than push pins when you push them into a wall, while either works well in a cork board. While shopping for thumbtacks and push pins online, also remember the following:

1. For ease of use, choose push pins over thumbtacks if you periodically need to remove or rearrange the items you've attached.

2. Find thumbtacks that blend into a wall or piece of wood if you don't want them to show.

3. Check the minimum quantity or purchase that a particular company requires before you get too far in your search for thumbtacks.

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Choose traditional push pins and thumbtacks if style doesn't matter

You can always pick up thumbtacks and push pins on an office supply run, but you can order thumb tacks and other supplies online to save money and time with needless car trips. You'll find wholesale thumb tacks in large quantities, but you'll just as easily find economical pricing for smaller quantities, too.

I recommend: If you go through tons of push pins hanging pictures, posters and other items to walls or bulletin boards, consider buying any of the aluminum head pushpin styles from Keysan; the pins, made of steel, insert into hard-to-penetrate surfaces without breaking. Order assorted wholesale thumbtacks and push pins by the case from DollarDays International; take advantage of their prices by completing their free registration form. To hang light pictures and other wall hangings, buy decorative, brass-plated push-pin hangers from Hardware and Tools.

Order push pins for industrial applications

If you need push pins in an industrial environment or for the product you manufacture, you can find sources online.

I recommend: Buy magnetic push pins from CMS Magnetics that let you attach up to 16 pieces of paper to any magnetic surface; use the push pins to hang product notices, operating instructions or procedures and policies to a magnetic white board in you factory or warehouse where all your employees have access. Volt Industrial Plastics manufactures plastic push pins; they offer product samples and can custom tool the push pins you need. Contact Diamond Fasteners, an industrial pin distributor, to see if they carry the push pins you need for your industrial application.

Buy decorative push pins and decorative thumbtacks to dress up your bulletin board

Decorative thumb tacks and push pins reflect a little of your personality when added to a cork board or bulletin board to post pictures, menus, contact lists or memos. Custom thumbtacks may cost a little more, but they look great.

I recommend: If you own a scrapbooking business or a children's' furniture or clothing store, choose from the large selection of decorative push pins sold individually at Cottage Classics Design; use them on your bulletin board or to display outfits on your walls. If you like birds, you'll enjoy the custom thumb tacks and push pins at Alicia's Creations; you can request your own color scheme for each decorative thumb tack to match your own bird or your favorite bird, but prepare yourself for a wait since the artist hand sculpts all pins and jewelry. You'll want to create your own designs on the bulletin board with the selection of beautiful hand-casted Pewter push pins you'll find at Jim Clift Design; the artist includes his signature on each decorative push pin.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Don't use pushpins to hang heavy pictures or any picture framed in glass. Since they're not designed to handle a heavy weight, you could end up sweeping glass and replacing frames.

Thumb tacks are a flat-headed tack designed for use with soft surfaces, such as cork boards, to secure documents and notes. You can also use them as decorative accents to a wall or craft project, such as a scrapbook page. Push pins are very similar to thumb tacks, except they protrude further out and have more room for decorative designs.

When it comes to thumb tacks pricing and costs, you will find that you get the best deal by purchasing in bulk. Wholesale thumb tacks and decorative push pins are a great idea for craft supply stores or large office buildings that need to supply a lot of individuals. Choose from the following possibilities:

1. Go with a basic white or colored thumb tack design.

2. Add some pizzazz with decorative thumb tacks.

3. Advertise your business with custom thumb tacks.

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Stick with a basic thumb tack for inner office use

If your customers don't often come into your office building, and the appearance of your message boards is of no real concern, then you're better off just getting simple thumb tacks. Keeping it simple will also save you a bit of money. Most thumb tacks come in white, steel or copper, but you might spice up the basic design a bit with multicolored options.

I recommend: Discount School Supply has steel thumb tacks in boxes of 100 for less than 50 cents per box. Boxes of 100 multi-colored or copper thumb tacks from DollarDays are about $1.50 per box.

Give your office some flair with decorative push pins and thumb tacks

Decorative thumb tacks have a number of benefits. They can give your employees a smile or show clients your creative flair, even with the little things. If you have a craft or school supply store, they are a must have item on your shelves. Scrapbookers love them for the embellishments they add to page designs. Teachers love them because they are fun to use in their classroom.

I recommend: CreateForLess offers Moore brand decorative thumb tacks for less than $1 per box. Scroll to the bottom of the Ideal True Value webpage to find a variety of decorative push pin designs, such as fleur-de-lis or roses, in packages of three for less than $2.

Promote your business with custom thumb tacks and push pins

Inexpensive to have made and easy to hand out, custom thumb tacks printed with your logo are a great promotional investment. You can hand them out at trade shows, expos or other promotional events. You can also include them as a gift in shipments to clients. They're a great way to spread the word about your business for minimal cost.

I recommend: PinLine requires a set up fee of about $150, then the custom push pins are $1.50 to $3 each, depending on the size and how many you order. Kolar Design Studio requires a $120 set up fee with push pins at $2 to $4 each.

Thumb tacks are proudly displayed on walls and tack boards in schools and businesses. Tacks are made of a sharp pin attached to a flat head for ease of pushing the pin into something. Thumb tacks are used to secure items in place. This is not to be confused with sticky tack, which also holds things to a background but is not a pin. Instead, sticky tack is a sticky, putty-like, reusable adhesive.

Thumb tacks are also known as pushpins and drawing-pins in other countries. Because of differences in size and type of thumb tacks, there are some thumb tacks key terms that will make you more familiar with this handy office supply.

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Fabric-covered tacks

Fabric-covered tacks are decorative thumb tacks. The head of the tack is wrapped with fabric of various colors and styles to create a unique and beautiful decorative tool.

I recommend: Check out How About Orange for an image and information on fabric-covered thumb tacks.

Magnetic thumb tacks

Magnetic thumb tacks work the same as pin thumb tacks, securely hanging an item. The magnetic thumb tack uses magnets to hold your important documents and precious photographs so that they are not riddled with pin holes. These tools preserve the integrity of the material you are hanging.

I recommend: Look at the information on the apartment therapy website to learn more about magnetic thumb tacks.

Map pin

A map pin is a type of push pin with a special numbered, colored or flagged head. These pins are helpful when used on maps to pin point various locations.

I recommend: Learn about map pins and how they are used at McCarthy's Geographics.

Nickel plating

Thumb tacks are often plated or covered with nickel. One of the benefits of this is to prevent the pin from rusting. The pins are also plated to assist with the durability of the metal because of the forceful work the pin is subject to upon repeatedly entering a hard wall or board.

I recommend: See GreenLightOffice.com for examples of thumb tacks that are nickel plated. Products Finishing Magazine explores the need to nickel plate certain items and information on how the process is undertaken.

Push Pin

A push pin is a type of thumb tack but instead of a flat head, the push pin has a long head that is easier to hold and push.

I recommend: Discover information on push pins and examples at Keysan.

Tackboard

Often made of vinyl, fabric or cork, a tackboard is an amenable surface to hang items using thumb tacks.

I recommend: See Displays2go for a definition of tackboard and some different board types. Learn about some of the other features of tackboards at Ergo In Demand.