Lanyard Ring
Lanyard Ring
Instructions On How To Make Lanyards: The Materials, Hardware And Machinery
Lanyard material is sold on rolls or spools and cut to a desired length. Among the types of lanyard material are plastic or metal beaded, cord, nylon, polyester and cotton lanyards. With the exception of beaded and cord lanyards, these are available to be custom printed with logos and designs for the consumer. For neck lanyards, a preferred material is selected and usually cut into 36″ lengths to produce a 17″ finished product. Beaded lanyards can be purchased pre-cut; they are most commonly used in dog tag lanyards. Synthetic material lanyard requires cutting with a heated implement to seal the end and prevent fraying.
After selecting material, it is necessary to choose hardware for your lanyards. There are many options to choose from depending on you needs.
Snaphooks are the most common and handy choice. They can easily attach a cardholder or a split ring for keys.
Bulldog clips are used most often for ID cards and badges.
Split Rings can be used for keychain lanyards or for attaching other small items.
Quick Release buckles allow removal of objects from the lanyard without taking off the lanyard itself.
Breakaway connectors separate to disconnect the lanyard if safety issues are a factor.
Size adjusters slide to allow the user to adjust the length of the lanyard.
Also available are things like cell phone and water bottle holders that can be attached to lanyards.
Depending on your needs for production, equipment to produce lanyard, varies form manual or automatic, and light all the way to heavy duty. All models need to be able to vary the length of a stitch to accommodate the varied widths of material. Some models use metal stamping dies to hold crimps in the lanyards, while others utilize industrial bar tack machines or computer-controlled machines to vary patterns.
To make a lanyard the ends need to be secured before adding hardware. For cord and other soft lanyard materials fastening a metal crimp where the two ends meet does this. For other materials the ends are sewn together. This zigzag stitch is known as “bar-tack”.
Lanyard making can be fun and easy. All you need are the proper supplies and a little know-how.
About the Author
George Pettit is a journalist and marketing specialist from New Caledonia. He is often writing about promotions, marketing, promotional products such as rubber bracelets, lanyards, silicone wristbands, key chains and similar.
Building a Custom Lanyard – Understanding the Options When Designing Customized Lanyards
If you have been to a trade show or conference you probably have noticed that many of the representatives have their own custom lanyards. In the past, ordering custom lanyards was a painful process that required special quotes and a lengthy drawn out design process. However, many websites are now offering applications to design your own lanyards in real time. Still, you are going to need to make a number of decisions along the way. Here are some of the things that you will need to consider before ordering custom lanyards for your organization.
How many do you need?
Customized lanyards need to be ordered in bulk. In general the minimum is around 100 however that can go up depending on the style of lanyard that you choose. Just a hint: you should probably order more than you think you need. You never know when you’ll run out! Plus, the more you order, the less you’ll pay per piece, and you’ll also have more design options.
Choose your width and color.
When you order customized lanyards, you get many different design possibilities. You can choose lanyards than range in thickness from 3/8″ to one inch. (However, the length is usually set at 36 inches long.) And while there are several different standard colors available, such as black, blue, and purple, you can also choose a color by its PMS value, so really, you can get whatever color lanyard you want. When you get to this step, there will be a pop-up window that displays all the PMS colors, so it’s super easy to select the color you want. However, there is often an up-charge for a PMS match so you should only choose this option if it is really important to you.
Break-away or no break-away?
A break-away clasp is a good thing to get to prevent possible injury. With this type of clasp, if the lanyard is caught on something or if it’s pulled, the clasp will open so the person wearing the lanyard won’t be choked or otherwise injured. This is a good option to select if you’re worried about safety.
Choose your attachment.
A finishing option helps you select the type of attachment method used for your ID badge, keycard, etc. There are three finishing options: sewn, crimp, and plastic. The crimped option tends to look the best and comes in either black or nickel-plated steel. As for the attachments, there are several different types including swivel hooks, badge clips, split rings, and badge reels.
Design time! Now comes the fun part. You need to decide what you want printed on the lanyard. Consider what font your message will be in, and if you want your lanyard to display your company logo or another graphic. You can customize both sides of the strap, so feel free to let your imagination run wild. Also, you can choose which type of fabric you want (ranging from environmentally friendly bamboo and UltraWeave, made from polyester). You can even get reflective lanyards which are helpful if your employees or volunteers need to be seen easily. (Or if you just want something flashy.)
It’s that easy.
Those are all the choices you are going to need when designing a custom lanyard for your organization. It really is easy.
About the Author
If you are considering buying custom lanyards for your company, you should really check out the online Design-A-Lanyard Tool at MyBinding.com. It will step you through the design process step by step. Their prices are great and they offer free shipping on all orders over $75.00. You won’t find any better source for ID Supplies or lanyards.