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Lanyards have been around for a long time, and they continue to be popular. From corporate events to music festivals and school trips, there's a printed lanyard for every occasion. In this blog we look at where you might see them and how to order your own printed lanyards.
Where are lanyards used?
When you think of lanyards, staff identification and event safety are the first things that come to mind, and this applies to all kinds of different events.
You can expect to see printed lanyards used at:
- music festivals
- sporting events
- exhibitions and trade shows
- conferences
- religious festivals
- school trips
On the face of it, it might not seem like a music festival and a school trip have much in common, but the lanyard plays an important role in both events.
Music festivals are full of people, but how do you know who should be there and who shouldn't? Coloured lanyards are a great way of being able to identify people at a quick glance, and it's even easier if the lanyard is printed with your logo.
They are also ideal for carrying attachments, like a clear PVC pouch that can hold a guest’s pass or ticket. This helps security to spot the people without a ticket and speeds up processing at the entrance to the venue.
A class trip might involve fewer people than a music festival, but for the safety of the children and teachers, it's still important that you know who everyone is.
Some schools give their pupils lanyards to wear while they're out and about, so if they get separated from the rest of the class, they're easy to identify. The lanyard's attachment can even be used to hold the school's contact details for emergency use.
Printed lanyards – what are your options?
The two most popular printed lanyards are screen printed and dye-sublimated.
Screen-printed lanyards – with this type of lanyard you get a one or two colour print on a flat polyester material that is guaranteed not to rub off or fade. It's the most cost-effective type of printed lanyard and is ideal for bold, vibrant designs and logos.
Dye-sublimated lanyards – these lanyards are made using a smoother, silkier type of polyester and a full-colour printing process that lends itself well to intricate designs. For a picture-quality print on both sides of your lanyard, we recommend dye-sublimation.
With both types of print, you're in control of the colours we use. When you place an order, we'll ask for your colour references (either Pantone or RGB), so we can accurately match your lanyard's colours to your brand’s visual identity.
The narrow width of a lanyard means you've only got a small area to pack a punch with your design. We recommend that you keep it simple with one typeface and bold, contrasting colours, such as black and white, yellow and purple, etc.
You can also choose to buy your lanyards pre-printed, which is ideal if you need a fast turnaround. We stock lanyards printed with 'staff', 'student' or 'visitor' in a range of colours.
What are designer lanyards?
If you're looking for something different, then consider a designer lanyard.
These lanyards can be made to order in your choice of fabric and finished with pantone-matched clips and specialist attachments. Our designer range includes:
- glow-in-the-dark lanyards
- lanyards with a cup holder attachment
- reflective, high-vis lanyards
- LED-flashing lanyards
- lanyards with a laser-engraved metal attachment
- 2 in 1 charging cable lanyards
It's simply a case of printing, cutting, and sewing to make your custom lanyard. If you're still undecided, we have visuals and samples that we can send you for inspiration.
It doesn’t make financial sense to send you a printed sample of your own bespoke lanyard, but we can send you an electronic visual that shows you what your lanyard will look like when it's printed.
If you use our design service for your printed lanyards, we'll also send you a design proof before you sign-off your order.
How does the order process work?
It's easy to order your lanyards in just a few simple steps:
- Choose your material
Whether you want standard polyester or something bespoke, your fabric will set the limitations for your printed design, so it's important that you pick this first. Lanyards come in widths of 10 to 25mm, but for the best fit, we recommend 20mm.
- Confirm your design
You can either submit complete artwork for your lanyard or let us design it for you. Before it goes to print, you'll receive an electronic proof, so you can see what your lanyard will look like when it's finished.
- Pick your accessories
The next stage is to pick the clips and attachments that will go with your lanyard. We include a metal trigger clip as standard plus one safety break (fitted behind the neck).
It's up to you whether you want to remove the safety break completely or add more.
When you're ready to place your order, our friendly team are on-hand. You can contact us by phone, email, or web form.
Why choose Only Lanyards?
When you place an order with Only Lanyards, you can expect to benefit from:
- a price match guarantee on all like-for-like quotations
- all inclusive prices – our quotes have no hidden charges
- 100% refund if you're not delighted with your lanyards
Customer-service is at the heart of what we do – we don't just sell lanyards, we offer practical solutions for staff ID, events management, advertising, and brand building.
Though we work with businesses across the world, our roots are in North Yorkshire, where we started the business and continue to base our operations.
We have a great team of industry professionals, and we're pleased to say our customers love working with us. But don't just take our word for it, you can read their reviews on our Feefo page.
Ready to place an order? Get in touch today.