In an effort to manage your expectations, please note:
All final badge shell design artwork is due to your Expo Pass Success Manager FIVE (5) WEEKS PRIOR to your event date (that's 25 business days).
This is to ensure we have enough time to approve, order, and test your badges, so they are top notch!
If for some reason that timeframe becomes compressed to less that four weeks, we cannot guarantee that your badges will be available for your event and/or we will be forced to assess an additional expedited fee.
Before we begin this process, we need to make sure you have made all the necessary decisions in regards Badge Selection:
Badge Size: 4x6" or 4x3"
Artwork: Single or Double-Sided
Notches: None, 1 or 2
Quantity: How many badges to order
The minimum quantity of badges ordered is 500 per badge shell type. Please keep this in mind if you are looking to make various badge shell types for your event
If you want to make your VIP or EXHIBITOR badge shells to look unique, even if it's only 40, you must still order 500 badges for that shell type.
NOTE: You will also need to add more Printers to your equipment order as each badge shell type must have its own printer.
**If you are unsure, please refer to our Onsite Badge Selection Guide article before moving forward with the badge design
Badge Shell Design
Want some fresh ideas on designing your badge shells? Check out this article:
Badges are priced in full-color shells, and are made of high-quality paper. Expo Pass uses 9.5 pt. stock, which is much heavier/thicker and holds up very well even without a holder.
Expo badges are printed on direct-thermal paper without the need for messy inks!
The reaction of heat being applied to the paper allows for black text and other black images such as a QR code to be visible on the paper. We use standard Open Sans font for our imprint text.
When designing your badge shell, you can have design on the front and/ or back (usually in color).
Requirements when submitting your Badge Shell Design to your Success Manager:
Artwork must be submitted in a Print-Ready PDF file, appropriately sized (4x6" or 4x3" not 8.5x11")
Artwork should be created at 300 dpi. to ensure quality print
The Badge Shell Design is required to have crop and bleed marks visible
The front of the badge design must be on page one of the Print Ready PDF file and the back of the badge design on page two (if double-sided design)
The front and back of the badge cannot be submitted side-by-side on the same page. It will be returned to be formatted as listed above.
The no bleed at the top and bottom of the design must have 0.125" of white space
4 Color Shell ONLY (CMYK or SPOT) - no gradient
If you use RGB color, the Image coloring on the screen may be slightly different than the CMYK color for print.
The Badge Imprint Data can only be on area that is WHITE (no color or artwork)
The text is not dynamic, so please keep this in mind when deciding how much white space you will need
We only use Open Sans font for the imprint text on the badge
Please be specific about the number of rows, font size, justification and potential length of each printed field.
For example:
Row 1 - Last Name (larger font), centered
Row 2 - First Name (normal font), centered
Row 3 - Job Title (normal font) up to 50 characters, centered
Row 4+ - QR Code, right justification
The QR Code (if using one) must be at least 1 inch by 1 inch to ensure it will scan properly
4" x 6" BADGE SHELL DESIGN SAMPLE
4 x 6" BADGE SHELL IMPRINT SAMPLE
Front of Badge Shell Imprint
4" x 3" BADGE SHELL DESIGN SAMPLE
4" x 3" BADGE SHELL IMPRINT SAMPLE
Front of Badge Shell Imprint
Black & White Badge Designs
For these badges, it's imperative to remember that the Direct Thermal Printers use heat to alter the badge, creating a black micro-dot. This process works great for printing words and basic images, but is not meant to create black background. Here is a sample of what works well in black & white and what doesn't.
In addition, please note that the Direct Thermal Printing occurs only on the topside of the badge and not on the backside. Therefore there is no reason to have any design elements on the back of the badge shell.
Again, we can't stress enough how important it is to start this design phase as soon as possible.
If you have questions on this process or need more information, please reach out to your Success Manager.
Next step: Please take a minute to read our article on Onsite Badge Printing Logistics.
