Everything You Need to Know About Badge Printing

Badges are a critical part of any event. They grant attendees access to sessions, provide identification and security reassurance, enable exhibitors to easily retrieve contact information, and so much more. 

Given the importance of badges, it’s essential to select printers and badge stock that fit within your budget and meet your event needs. Fortunately, there are several options for badge printing. This post is your guide to better badge printing.

Selecting the Right Printers for Your Event

The first thing to consider when planning your event’s badging experience is print speed. Not all badge printers can operate at the same speed. With large events or others that will require processing a high number of attendees at once (e.g., if all attendees are likely to arrive at the same time), Swiftcolor badge printers may be best. These offer a quick print speed of less than 10 seconds per badge. 

Pricing and shipping are also factors to consider. For smaller events, Zebra printers may be a better option. These printers print badges in about 22 seconds. Although they are not as fast as Swiftcolor printers, they are easier to set up and are cheaper to ship internationally because of their lightweight structure. 

Other considerations for printers include quantity of badges needed, the desired color quality, whether or not you need to print double-sided badges, and badge size. Be sure to ask your on-site vendor about all of these factors to ensure you have the printers you need to accomplish your goals.

Ordering Badge Stock

Badge stock selection is as important as printer selection. Consider the price, material, size, and tracking abilities. 

Badges come in both matte (cardstock) and glossy (plastic) options, which each have distinct advantages. Both options offer distinct advantages. Cardstock badges are significantly cheaper and absorb color more easily. Their material is typically heavier than crafting cardstock and offers some water resistance. 

The primary disadvantage of cardstock badges is that they can’t support RFID or UHF tracking technology for spatial tracking. Spatial tracking is useful for large keynote sessions where access control is not needed. 

If this type of audience tracking is a priority for your event, glossy plastic badges may be ideal. They are also more durable than cardstock and can include holographic images or UV ink.  Glossy finishes are visually attractive but tend to be a little sticky while printing.

Common badge sizes include 3.5” x 5.5” badges (considered XXL) and credit-card-sized 2.13″ x 3.38″ badges (commonly referred to as CR80). Smaller badges may be less of a nuisance for attendees while still large enough to display important information efficiently.

Thinking Strategically About Badge Design

The next decision is how to design your badges. Because attendees will wear them throughout the event and they will appear in event footage and post-event promotion, they must be both visually appealing and practical. Badge color schemes and layout are important, as is determining which information will be included on the badge.

Consider designing unique badges for different attendee groups, such as VIPs and returning attendees, and for groups with different levels of event activity access. Design elements like colors and icons can also help attendees find like-minded peers or SMEs. The back of the badge is a great place to display an event schedule, map, or key messages for reference. Attendees can also personalize their badges with their photos or other images.

RainFocus provides the option for attendees to upload photos for their badge during registration. Photos can be pulled from their profile and printed directly onto their badge. Our badge capabilities provide endless possibilities. 

Printing On Demand

When is the best time to print your event badges? Some companies choose to print their badges prior to their event. However, pre-printing is not recommended as it requires extra effort to ensure all the badges are printed, transported, and organized in time for the event. Last-minute and on-site registrations can create additional issues. 

To keep lines short, we recommend printing badges on demand — which is often faster than pre-printing. On average, printers can print a badge in about 15 seconds. It also gives on-site staff the opportunity to immediately see how many attendees have checked in. 

Running on a Secure Server

The final consideration for badge printing is the internet connection at your event. Spotty wifi and other internet problems can create significant registration delays. At RainFocus, we run our check-in kiosks and printers through our own server. Even if the wifi is unreliable or goes out completely, your check-in process can continue uninterrupted. 

Overall, getting the badge experience right ensures your attendees’ first interaction with your event once they arrive is a positive one. Level up your badging experience by implementing these recommendations at your next event. To see a demo of RainFocus badge printing, click here.