Help for Custom Badges

Click on a subject below for further information Background Images Barcode Copy Protection Color Matching Data for Badges Employee Images Fonts Image Tips Logos Containing Text Monochrome Logos Signature Panel Placement
PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION
Background Images	TOP OF PAGE
Full background bleed
The custom badge measures 2.125 x 3.375 inches or 638 x 1013 pixels. For a full background image you need to allow a 37.5 pixel bleed over each edge of the card (red area), plus another 37.5 pixel buffer from each edge for anything significant (yellow area). Your background image must therefore measure 713 x 1088 pixels. Anything significant should be within the middle area of 563 x 938 pixels.
Selecting a background
Keep in mind where you plan on placing data information such as employee names, titles etc. A background that is made up of many light and dark areas may not provide enough contrast for text information to be easily read. Each text item can be a different color, however each character in a field must be the same color and will not auto-contrast across light and dark areas.
Barcode copy protection block-out	TOP OF PAGE
To protect barcodes from being photocopied, a red or composite black patch can be printed over the barcode. The red block-out patch is compatible with most visible red barcode readers, while the composite black block-out can be used with most infrared barcode readers. The red panel is not detected by the visible red reader, while the composite black panel is not detected by the infrared reader.  The readers "see" only the barcode, while a copy machine "sees" and therefore copies both the red or black block-out. A copy protection block-out requires a full-color print option for the card side printed with the barcode. It is not available for monochrome printed cards.
Red block-out panel Composite black block-out
Color Matching	TOP OF PAGE
We will make every effort to get your logo colors to match what you have submitted. We can only try our best and submit the result for your approval. We cannot use Pantone or PMS colors for matching. We can however try to match a color when given an RGB value. Submitting both a logo image file and mailing  a printed sample of your logo color can help us to better match up the color. Colors on your PC monitor are composed of combinations of Red, Green, Blue or RGB. Colors printed on the badges are comprised of Cyan, Yellow, Magenta or CYM plus a true black panel for black text and bar-codes. RGB colors are expressed as a value from 0 to 255 for each color Red Green Blue. A value of 0, 0, 0 equals black whereas white is expressed as 255,255,255. Pure Red would be 255, 0, 0. Grays are values where the three numbers are all about the same such as a dark gray of 64,64,64 or a light gray 200, 200, 200. Other colors are merely a mix of the three color values. Over 16 million colors are possible. CYM colors differ in that White is the absence of all color, leaving the white of the card, whereas Black is all three colors CYM. This black is called a composite black since it composed of the three colors CYM and is actually more of a dark, dark gray. Black colors in images and logos are printed in this composite black, while black text items and bar-codes can be printed using the additional true black panel. Software and print drivers are used in converting of the colors from RGB to CYM, and as such it is not an exact process. If you have printed on a color printer you have probably noticed the printed colors do not really match the colors on your monitor. One reason for this is the conversion process, but another is that the colors on the monitor are light projected toward you while the printed colors are the light in your environment reflected off the printed color. Employee images will generally be acceptable and the difference in color not noticed. However, Logo colors can be difficult to match and will be more easily noticed. If color matching is of high importance a mailed proof should be requested prior to approving the design.
Data for Custom Badges	TOP OF PAGE
Card Data
If there will be data such as Company Name, telephone number, or backside text that will be printed the same on every card, submit that information in a simple email or text file. Be sure to submit in ALL CAPS or Upper/Lower case just as you would want the text to appear on the card.
Employee Data
Employee number, first name, last name, hire date, title or department, or any other data that will be different from card to card should be submitted as an MS-Excel XLS file.
Be sure to submit employee names as two fields: first name and last name. We can combine the fields if you want the full name on a single line. However, we will not split a single field apart. Please submit ALL fields as simple text just as you want them to appear on the badge, since any Excel field formatting does not carry over to our card-printing program. If you want the names or other data in all CAPS, you must submit them that way. If you want Upper/Lower case, then submit your data in upper/lower case. BE CONSISTENT. Include a field for any data that will be different from card to card such as branch telephone numbers or addresses, badge number for encoding. A separate field is required for each line printed. E.g. Long job titles or an employee's address on one line and their city, state zip code below it, that requires two fields in the Excel file. A field MUST be included that references the name of the employee's image file. Besides employee images, references can be made to different image files for different employee badges such as color bars, insignia's, logos, etc. However each image file must be the same aspect ratio for this to work. File should be named (your company name).xls. Submit your data to: Click here for a sample Excel file to begin.
Example of an XLS file of employee data with image file references   NUMBER FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME TITLE HIRE_DATE IMAGE 12345 John Doe SERVICE TECH 11/24/1999 John Doe.jpg 23456 Mary Smith SALES ASSOCIATE 05/01/1994 Mary Smith.jpg 20007 George Jones MAINTENANCE 12/02/2000 George Jones.jpg
Employee Images	TOP OF PAGE
Turn Your Camera on Its' Side Most cameras are designed to take pictures in "landscape" mode, so you can get that great wide shot of the beach, the mountains, or the whole football field. However, the task at hand is a photo of a person for an ID and generally requires taking the image in "portrait" mode. That means turning the camera sideways, thereby changing the aspect ratio from 4 to 3 landscape to  3 to 4 or portrait. Note: when using portrait mode be sure to always turn the camera sideways the same way or you will have some images that are upside down as compared to others.. Aspect Ratio All employee images must have the same aspect ratio. This means that if photos are taken in landscape mode then all images must be submitted in landscape mode. If taken in portrait mode, then all images must be in portrait mode. Aspect ratios=width divided by height, e.g. 480 divided by 640 equals 0.75 to 1 or 3 to 4 Cropping images Many times images are not centered or the employees’ image does not fill the frame and cropping the image is desired. When cropping the images, all images must be kept the same aspect ratio and should be the same size +/- a few pixels. The same aspect ratio is more important than the same size. We can crop and resize your images for an additional charge. Image Size Size here refers to the number of dots, or pixels, the image is high and wide. Aspect ratio is the ratio of height vs. width. An image that is 480 x 640 (portrait) has an aspect ratio of 3 to 4. or 0.75 to 1.  Digital cameras take pictures at several size, from low 240 x 320 or 480 x 640 to medium 600 x 800 or 786 x 1024 to high resolutions of 864 x 1152, 1200 x 1600, 1524 x 2032 or higher. These are all the same 3 to 4 aspect ratio in portrait mode.  We prefer if you use the lowest size setting of your camera. Print resolution Our card printer prints at 300 dots (pixels) per inch. If printed at 100%, a 480 x 640 image would print on the card as 1.60” by 2.13” which is on the large side, given that the badge is only 2.125” x 3.375”. However, it is acceptable, since it can easily be reduced to a smaller size to fit the card such as 1.00” x 1.33”. Images larger than 480 x 640 will not enhance the print quality of your badges. Instead the larger size will cause difficulty in emailing images, take up more disk storage space, and take more time to print your cards. Screen resolution Many Microsoft programs, including Word, Excel, Paint etc. display images as 96 dots per inch (dpi) when set to 100%. So an image that is 480 x 640 set to 100% would measure on the display rulers in MS-Word at 5” wide by 6.66” tall. That would take up roughly half the standard 8.5 x 11 page. This is different than you monitor resolution, which is another subject altogether. File size An image that is 480 x 640 uncompressed is about 920 KB. An image that is 1524 x 2032 uncompressed is about 9200 KB (3.1 mega-pixel camera image). Many programs can save these images as compressed JPG files without forsaking image quality. An image of 480 x 640 can be saved as a compressed JPG file with a size of 25 to 35 KB or less. A 3.1 mega pixel image can be compressed to 125 to 250 KB, however it still would contain more than ten times the data needed for badge printing. This extra information serves only to clog our email, hard drives, and slow our printer. Image Format and File Name Images must be JPG format, compressed, preferably all 480 x 640 resolution, but at minimum the same aspect ratio (See Image resolution below). There are variants of JPG files that we cannot open. Be sure you can open your JPG files with the standard Windows Paint program before sending them to us.. Images should be named with the employee’s name such as: John Doe.JPG. Multiple images files should be zipped using a zip program such as WinZip or WinRAR and emailed to . Total email size should not exceed 2 MB.
Fonts	TOP OF PAGE
We have the standard Windows fonts plus quite a few more. However, we do not have every font in existence. As a general rule, simple standard fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman will work well for an ID badge. You can however specify a font for certain design elements if you wish. A few sample fonts are shown below. If we do not already have the font you desire, you will have to send it to us. Fonts must be Windows True-Type-Fonts with the TTF file extension. Other font types will not be accepted. To submit a font file it must first be put into a zipped file for emailing. Font files that are not first zipped prior to emailing will not function and we will not open the attachment.
Image Tips	TOP OF PAGE
Backgrounds Chose an appropriate background and take all the employees’ images using the same background if possible. Depending on the design of your badge, you may want a light or dark background for the employees’ images.  Avoid backgrounds with signs, clutter, windows, etc., they will take away from what you are after, namely the employee’s image to identify them. If there will be no “card background”, then the employee “image background” should be darker to contrast with the white card (see example 1). On the other hand, a white or very light background can disappear into the white of the card resulting in the employee not being boxed in by a background at all. This can be a desired feature (see example 2) If the card design will have a dark “card background”, then the employee’s “image” background should be lighter to contrast with the card background (see examples 4 or 5) Avoid White Clothing White or very light clothing will disappear into a light image background or white card background. This can cause the employee’s head to appear free floating and is generally not a desired result (See examples 3 and 6) . Consistency Images should be taken in the same lighting conditions, with the same exposure, and from the same distance to subject. The employee face/head/upper shoulder area should fill the frame (see example 1).  . Background should be a minimal part of the picture (AVOID example 8). Practice with the camera first, then measure and mark the spot for the employee to sit or stand in relation to the camera. A tripod can help for staying consistent. Avoid getting to close to the subject (example 7) or too far away (example 8). Portrait mode (holding the camera sideways) is generally preferred. If you use portrait mode, then you must always use portrait mode to avoid the result of example 9 Try to duplicate the same lighting conditions for each employee. If some images are very light and some are very dark, that is what will get printed on the cards.
Logos Containing Text	TOP OF PAGE
Logos that contain text may not print to your satisfaction. If your logo has small lettering or slogans the text can easily be to small to read, will print too light or print choppy, etc. Consider logos without slogans and small text. Logos must be 300 pixels for each inch of printed height or width. Any re-sizing of a logo containing text will cause any text to become unclear and out of focus.
Monochrome Logos	TOP OF PAGE
If ordering monochrome printing, be sure your logo is in black & white only. The card sample below shows the multicolor logo (above left) on the left and the black & white logo (above right) on the right. Note how the shadowing in the color image causes the N 5 to bulge. The shadowing has been removed in the black & white image to produce a much clearer printed image.
Signature panel placement	TOP OF PAGE
Signature panels are available to allow employee name or signature to be written on the badge with a standard ball-point pen. NOT ADVISED TO BE SLOT-PUNCHED. The panel is located on the badge as indicated below: On badges with no magnetic strip, the panel is located 1/2" from the top or bottom edge of the card (horizontal layout), on either the front or back side of the card. On cards with magnetic strips, the signature panel is located 1/2" from the top edge, on the backside of the card only. Signature panels are available on white cards only. The signature panel is on the card before it is printed, therefore a 9/16" no print zone covers and surrounds the signature panel. This "No Print Zone" applies to background images or colors, text, logos, or any other printed element of the card design.
Top panel placement Placement on magnetic encoded cards Bottom panel placement 9/16 inch "No Print Zone" indicated in red