A corporate event in Singapore generates a surprising amount of print, and almost all of it is needed on a fixed date that cannot move. The conference is on the 14th whether or not the badges arrived. That single fact should shape how the whole print package is planned.
Here is what a corporate event actually needs printed, in the order it should be commissioned, with the parts that most often go wrong.
Start with the items that cannot be changed late
Event print splits neatly into two groups, and confusing them is the main planning error.
Fixed early items are anything large format or produced in one piece: stage backdrops, banners, directional signage, exhibition graphics. These need artwork weeks ahead, are expensive to redo, and are the ones photographed most.
Late flexible items are anything driven by the delegate list: name badges, table place cards, seating plans, printed agendas. These change until the last possible moment and should be scheduled accordingly.
Commission the fixed items first and accept that they lock. Leave the flexible items until the data is as final as it will get, then produce them fast.
Name badges: the item most likely to cause a problem
Badges look trivial and consume more event day effort than anything else.
- Print the name large. Legible from a metre away, which in practice means the name in a substantial size and the company noticeably smaller. Badges where the company logo dominates and the name is 10pt fail at their only job.
- Sort them the way the desk works. Alphabetical by surname is standard, but if you are registering by company or by session, sort that way and say so.
- Decide on the insert size before choosing holders. Common badge inserts sit around 90 by 55mm or a larger conference size, and a holder bought without checking will not fit.
- Plan for walk ins. Bring blank badge stock and a marker. Every event has arrivals who are not on the list.
- Use colour to encode roles. A coloured band or dot for speaker, staff, press and delegate is faster for security than reading text.
- Print double sided if the badge is on a lanyard, because lanyard badges spend half their time facing backwards.
Badges are variable data printing rather than ordinary printing. Supply the delegate list as a clean spreadsheet with consistent column headings, in the exact spelling and capitalisation you want printed. Our guide to variable data printing covers how the data side works.
Lanyards and the lead time trap
Printed lanyards are usually manufactured rather than printed locally, which means longer lead times than everything else in the package, often two to three weeks or more depending on the type. This catches people out repeatedly, because a lanyard feels like a small item.
Decide early: printed with your branding, which needs the lead time, or plain in a brand colour, which is available quickly from stock. For a one off internal event, plain is usually the sensible choice. For a public conference where the lanyard is a sponsor deliverable, it is not.
Check the attachment type against the badge holder before ordering. Bulldog clip, swivel hook and plastic loop are not interchangeable.
Backdrops and stage graphics
The backdrop is the item that appears in every photograph from the event, which makes it the highest value print in the package and the one most often specified carelessly.
Measure the venue rather than trusting a floor plan, and confirm what the venue allows to be rigged and how. Hotels and convention centres in Singapore have specific rules about fixings, and a backdrop that cannot be hung is scenery for the loading bay.
Keep logos and key messages in the upper portion, above where people stand. The lower third of any backdrop is obscured in every photograph taken at a photo call.
Choose a matt material. Glossy backdrops reflect venue lighting and camera flash, which ruins the photographs the backdrop exists to improve. Our guide to print specs and finishes covers material choices in more detail.
Delegate packs: useful, or landfill
The default delegate pack is a folder containing an agenda, a notepad, a pen and several inserts nobody reads. Most of it is left on the chair.
A better approach is to print fewer items and make them worth keeping. A well produced agenda that fits in a jacket pocket beats an A4 folder. A single sheet venue map with the wifi code on it is the most used piece of paper at any conference. Everything else can be a QR code to a page you can update after printing, which also solves the problem of a speaker cancelling two days out.
If sponsors have paid for inserts, print those, but keep your own material lean. And print the agenda late, because agendas change.
Building the schedule backwards
Work from the event date:
Large format and manufactured items, three to four weeks out. Delegate pack contents and signage, one to two weeks out. Badges and place cards, two to three days out, from data confirmed the day before that. Delivery to the venue or your office, at least a day before setup, never on the morning.
Add buffer around public holidays, and confirm venue delivery windows early. Many venues will not accept goods before a set date and require them addressed in a particular way. Our note on ordering branded kits in bulk covers packing and delivery considerations that apply here too.
Printing your event package
We produce full corporate event packages: badges with variable data, signage, backdrops, delegate materials and stationery, delivered together and to the venue if that helps. Because everything comes from one place, the colour matches across the backdrop, the signage and the printed materials, which is not the case when three suppliers each interpret your brand blue.
Send us the event date first and the artwork second. We will work the schedule backwards and tell you the real deadline for each item, including the long lead ones people forget. See custom printing for what we produce, and get in touch with your date and delegate numbers for a package quote.
Frequently asked questions
How late can name badges be printed?
With clean data, badges can be produced in a day. Build in a day of buffer and print from a list confirmed 48 hours before, then handle the remainder on site with blanks.
What size should a conference backdrop be?
It depends entirely on the venue and rigging. Measure the space and confirm fixing methods with the venue before designing, since the constraint is usually the room rather than the print.
Can we reuse a backdrop for future events?
Yes if you keep dates and event specific wording off it. A branded backdrop without a year on it can serve for several events, which changes the economics of specifying a better material.
Should delegate packs be printed or digital?
A mix works best. Print the things people use in the room, such as the agenda and a map, and put the rest behind a QR code so it can be corrected after printing.
