Badges are essential for in-person events. They are an attendee's identification card to which you can add relevant information about your event. With Accelevents, you can design your badge and print it, too!
Notes:
VERY IMPORTANT: Enable the Ticket Holder Fields to ensure the attendee data prints.
Zebra thermal printers are the most compatible printers for badge printing. We have integrated the Zebra “Link-OS Multiplatform SDK” into our Admin Mobile App. Click here for more information about the SDK with the list of supported printers.
Printing through an iPad is the recommended way to print. When printing through a mobile phone, the badge size enlarges; we are working on improving this feature on phones.
An additional application is needed to print through a Zebra printer from your laptop or computer. Please submit the form on this page to download the application. If you're using a Mac, you can also request access to the application here.
Designing the badge will allow you to add color. However, it will be in black and white (thermal printer) when you print it. If you want to print in color, check out this article on Colored Printing with PrintNode.
If you don't have a Zebra printer connected, a PDF file of the badge will be downloaded to your computer when you try to print. It will create that PDF in color, and you can use that file to print it on a regular ink printer. This is good for one-off prints from your laptop.
Our Badge Designer is for simple designs and is not intended to replace professional graphic design tools like Photoshop or Canva.
Please ensure you install the latest app version to see the latest updates.
This feature is not available for the Starter Plan.
Badge Printing Guide
Create a Badge
Go to Registration > Badges
Select Custom Badge or one of the templates
Enter the Badge Name and associate it with one or more Ticket Types. If you selected a custom badge, enter the dimensions for your badge.
Click Create
Add Elements to the Badge
Use the left-side navigation menu on the Badge Designer page to start customizing items visible on your badge.
Widgets - event and attendee information that can be added to the badge. This includes order form answers, even from custom fields.
Shapes - choose and adjust different shapes, sizes, colors, and border weights.
Text - add customized text and change the font, size, colors, and alignment.
Images - Upload images that will appear on your badges.
Click the element once to add it to the template. If the element is selected in the template, you will see the options to customize it on the left side menu. To delete an element, click the trash icon or drag it outside the template.
Preview and Print
To see what your design would look like, click the Preview button. When you click Print Badge, this should print the sample badge if your compatible printer is connected. If not, it will show you a preview that you can save as PDF. We'll discuss printing more in Connect Your Printer.
Design Tips
Add Frames
The profile picture will print in black for thermal printers, not grayscale, so some images may not be recognizable. Zebra printers are not incredibly precise, so if you're adding frames to encase a widget, give it a little padding so it doesn't overlap. (e.g., adding a box frame around the QR code)
Show Name Initial Only
If you do not want to show your attendees' full names, there is a setting under the Full Name widget to show only the last name initials.
Truncate Texts
If the text has many characters and not all can fit in 1 line, the default setting is that it will reduce the text size to fit all the characters. If you don't want to reduce the size, you can truncate the text. Click the gear icon at the top, then choose Truncate. This will apply to all text content in the badge.
Show Text Widgets in 2 Lines
If you don't like the options above (reduce font size or truncate), your next option is to show the text in two lines. If the event name is long and you need to show the full name but don't want to decrease the text size, you can show the full name in two lines by clicking shift + enter in the field.
In the example below, the text size is 32px. By default, the text will auto-size to show the text in 1 line when you preview or print. But if you show it in 2 lines, it will retain the 32px text size.
Add Dynamic Colors and Text
If you've added a dropdown custom field to your badge, you'll see an option to customize the field. This will allow you to change the label and color on the badge depending on the registration answers.
Settings to Check Before Printing an Actual Badge
1. Assign a Ticket to a Badge
After designing your badge, make sure that your settings are correct to ensure that it prints out the attendee information to the badge.
In the first part of creating your badge, you were asked to select which ticket types will have this badge. You may not have created ticket types yet or completely skipped this part when you started designing. Make sure to go back and check.
2. Enable the Ticket Holder Fields
To have the attendee data printed on the badge, you must ensure that the ticket holder order form fields are enabled in your order form. If it's not enabled, no information will be printed, even if the data is in the order.
Go to Registration > Order Form
Turn on the toggle to Collect both Ticket Buyer and Ticket Holder Information.
Go to the Ticket Holder Tab
Include all the fields you need
3. Set Your Print Resolution
Setting your print resolution is especially important for Zebra printers, which can be 203, 300, or 600 DPI. The setting determines the size of your printed badge. This setting applies to computer printing.
Click the gear icon on the header
Select the correct DPI for your printer
Click Save
Connect Your Printer to Print
Our badge printing is designed to print a single badge per page. We recommend using a Label Printer such as a Zebra ZD420, 500, or 620 thermal printer. This can work with computer and tablet printing.
Connect to Computer
If you're printing from a computer browser connected to a Zebra printer, you may need to install Browser Print. The Accelevents Platform has incorporated the Zebra Browser Print SDK into the Attendee Check-In page of our web application. This will allow you to print directly from the Checkin page without going through your computer's system print dialog, making printing a badge from a computer/laptop web browser to a Zebra printer easier and faster.
If you don't have a Zebra printer connected, a PDF file of the badge will be downloaded to your computer when you try to print. It will create that PDF in color, and you can use that file to print it on a regular ink printer. This is good for one-off prints from your laptop.
Print from Computer
Staff Portal - If you have staff checking in attendees in the event venue using a laptop, they can access the Staff Portal from the landing page to check in attendees and print their badges.
Admin Console - You can also access Attendees > Check In Attendees in your admin console to check in and print badges for attendees.
Connect to Mobile or Tablet
If you're using an iPad or Android tablet for printing, you'll need to download the Admin App to your iOS or Android device and configure the settings in both the app and the printer.
Print from Mobile or Tablet
When using mobile, you can print only on the Event Check In page. While on the tablet, you can turn on Kiosk Mode to allow attendees to self-check in and print.
Connect Other Printers
If you're not using a Zebra printer for tablet printing, you must install PrintNode on your computer (not tablet). You may need to check PrintNode's list of compatible printers to see if your printer will work with Accelevents.
Frequently Asked Questions
What printers do you recommend for badge printing?
Our badge printing is designed for a Label Printer such as a Zebra ZD420, 500, or 620 thermal printer.
If you're using a Zebra printer of the "GX" series, please consult us if it's not working; it may require a different SDK to integrate with our Admin App.
Some printers, like Epson, may not work with the Admin App because the SDK is incompatible, but it should work fine if you're printing through your laptop via a web browser.
What printers do you recommend for printing wristbands?
The Zebra printers mentioned above can handle wristband-size media.
I want to print a badge sheet using a standard printer. Is that possible?
Yes, it is possible to print it on a standard printer. However, the system is designed to print a single badge per page, unlike labels for an envelope.
If you plan on using a standard printer and want badge sheets that hold multiple badges on one sheet page, we recommend using a label printing tool to print your badges.
An Epson printer will not work using our Mobile App, but it should work using your laptop via the web interface.
If you have a thermal printer, it will use a thermal transfer ribbon, allowing it to print any kind of media just like a standard ink printer because the ribbon just transfers the ink onto the paper/media.
Is printing multiple badges on one sheet via a standard printer possible? Or will it only be one badge per page?
Our badges will print only one badge per page when using a standard printer. Our badge printing is designed for a Label Printer such as a Zebra ZD420, 500, or 620 thermal printer.
We don't want to buy a printer, can you provide one?
We don't provide them. However, you can rent them from Choose2Rent, where most of our clients borrow printers.
What can I do if the printed result is not as precise as my design?
Label printers can vary in the precision of their prints, both horizontally and vertically. Some variation is expected.
You can use the printer's built-in print adjustment settings to dial in the location of the print.
Does the printer have to be on the same network as the iPad when checking in attendees?
Yes, it needs to use the same wifi network as the iPads you will use.
Does the printer need to be Wifi ready?
It doesn't necessarily need to support Wifi printing. It will work if the printer is plugged into a cell router via Ethernet.
When checking people in, do I need to connect the iPad to the internet?
Yes, the Accelevents Admin App looks up attendee information from the cloud and needs to be connected to the internet.
Being connected to the internet also lets all your devices know who has already checked in and prevents multiple check-ins or badge prints by the same person.
Why can't I find the Kiosk mode on the Admin Mobile App?
Kiosk Mode is only currently available on iPad devices.
What is DPI?
DPI stands "for "Dots Per "Inch" and is a measurement of the resolution of a printer. Lower resolutions print faster and can use less ink. Higher resolutions are slower but result in a higher-quality printout.
Can Accelevents bulk print badges?
Currently, no, but we can provide you a CSV file by request with all your attendee's barcode IDs that you can convert to a QR code. You can use this data to bulk print outside of Accelevents.
How long does it take to print?
For Zebra direct thermal printers, it can finish printing a badge in about 7 seconds.
For other colored printers connected through PrintNode, it may take 20 seconds or more to print a badge, depending on the model of the printer and design of the badge.