Custom lanyards for a conference or trade show come down to five decisions: how many to order, whether to colour code by role, how the event and sponsor branding sit on the strap, which hardware holds your badge, and when to order so they arrive before setup. For most events, a 3/4 in (19 mm) polyester or sublimated strap with a swivel hook or J-hook works well, ordered at least five to six weeks ahead of the event.
This guide is for event planners, association staff and marketing teams. It walks through each decision and ends with a timeline and a quote checklist.
How many lanyards to order
Start with registrations, then add everyone else who wears a badge:
- Expected attendees, including late registrations and walk-ins.
- Speakers, moderators and VIPs.
- Exhibitors and their booth staff, if you supply their badges.
- Your own staff, volunteers, crew and security.
- Press and media.
- A buffer for lost, broken and forgotten lanyards.
Custom lanyards start from 100 pieces, confirmed on your quote. If you run the same event every year, consider leaving the year off the strap and ordering enough for two events. Reorders skip setup, so the second run is simpler too. Ask for two quantities on the same quote to see the price break.
Colour coding by role
Different strap colours let staff and security tell who is who from across a room, without reading a badge. A common scheme:
| Role | Example strap colour | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Attendee | Your main brand colour | The largest group, set the default look |
| Exhibitor | A second brand colour | Access to the show floor before doors open |
| Speaker | A bright accent colour | Easy for stage managers to spot |
| VIP or sponsor | Black or a metallic look | Signals hospitality and lounge access |
| Staff and volunteers | A high contrast colour | Attendees can find help quickly |
| Press | A distinct neutral | Easy to recognize at sessions and briefings |
| Security and crew | The boldest colour in the set | Clear authority in back of house areas |
Keep the artwork the same across every colour where you can, and change only the strap or the background colour. Each colourway is priced as its own run, so check the quantities per role against the 100 piece starting point and ask us how to split them on the quote.
Event and sponsor branding on the strap
A lanyard is seen in every photo from the event, which is why it is often sold as a sponsorship. Plan the artwork with that in mind:
- Repeat the mark. A logo or event name repeated along the strap shows no matter how the lanyard twists.
- Keep text short. The event name or a short hashtag reads better than a long tagline.
- Alternate logos. An event mark and a sponsor mark can alternate along the strap.
- Choose the imprint for the artwork. Screen printing suits a few solid colours. Dye sublimation prints full colour edge to edge, so it handles multi colour sponsor logos and gradients without separating them into spot colours.
- Get sponsor approval early. Collect sponsor logos as vector files and get their sign off before you send the quote request, not at the proof stage.
Our comparison of printed vs woven lanyards covers the imprint choice in more depth. For a one or two day event, printed or sublimated straps are the usual choice; woven straps suit lanyards meant to be kept and worn for years.
Hardware for event badges
Match the hardware to the badge you are printing:
- Swivel hook: the badge hangs straight and faces forward. A good default for punched badges in holders.
- J-hook: quick to clip on and off, which speeds up registration lines.
- Bulldog clip: grips a badge or paper with no hole.
- Buckle release: lets attendees unclip the badge for scanning without lifting the strap over their head.
- Breakaway at the neck: worth adding for crew, staff working around rigging and vehicles, and any youth event. See our guide to breakaway lanyards.
Check the badge itself before you choose. A standard ID card is 3.375 x 2.125 in (85.6 x 54 mm); many event badges are larger, printed on card stock and worn in a holder. A heavy holder with an agenda tucked in pulls on a narrow strap, so go to 3/4 or 1 in (25 mm) for larger badges. Our lanyard width guide explains each size.
Timeline: work back from the event
Lanyards need to arrive before badge stuffing, not on the morning the doors open. Working back from the date you need them in hand:
- Quote: 2 to 3 business days after you send the details.
- Proof: usually 1 to 3 business days after we have artwork. Allow time for sponsor and internal approvals.
- Production: typically about 3 to 4 weeks after you approve the proof in writing.
- Shipping: UPS from Holly Hill, Florida, to your office or your badge printer.
- Badge assembly: a few days to attach badges, sort by role and pack for registration.
That puts the start of the process roughly five to six weeks before the event, and more if approvals are slow. Rush is sometimes possible, around 10 business days when the factory can hold it, but it should not be the plan. Our timeline for how long custom orders take is written for patches, and the same stages apply here.
Shipping to a venue is risky because many venues accept freight only in a set window. Ship to your office or badge printer instead, and carry the lanyards in with the badges.
After the event
Lanyards often outlive the event. Attendees keep them for keys and office badges, which is one reason sponsors value the strap. Your own team can reuse undated lanyards for the next edition, for local meetups or as staff straps. Collect spares at the registration desk at close, count what is left, and note it with the order details. That count tells you how accurate your buffer was and what to order next year.
Event lanyard quote checklist
- Quantity per role or colour, plus a comparison quantity.
- Width, material and imprint method.
- Artwork for the event and any sponsors, ideally AI, EPS or PDF.
- Hardware at the badge end, plus any buckle release or breakaway.
- Your in-hands date and the delivery address.
Preview widths, materials and hardware in the lanyard mode of our free Patch Studio, see every material on the custom lanyards page, then request a quote. Every job is priced from the factory price, and nothing runs until you approve the proof.
