If you asked someone what a Lanyard was 10 years ago, they would look at you blankly !

First off, for the uninitiated, what’s a lanyard? It does sound rather like something you’d bump into on a creaky old galleon. And you wouldn’t be entirely wrong in thinking that because years ago they were used for the rigging of ships. Also, First World War officers used them to keep hold of their revolvers in the thick of battle.

But the lanyards we’re talking about are lengths of material commonly worn around the neck to carry important items such as keys or ID cards. And very useful they are too. They can be found in offices and schools and at conferences. They’re great for festivals and other events – and make great promotional gifts!

They are perfect for all over branding and seem to have taken over the classic name badge as the best method of corporate recognition.

But it’s often the way in life that something that seems relatively simple can get pretty complicated when one delves in deeper.

This is so with lanyards. There’s different widths and lengths, different material options, different printing options and accessories, not to mention different safety fittings, clips and badge holders.

Which is why we’ve come up with this handy guide to the wonderful world of lanyards.

How do you decide which Lanyard style to go for ?

Silk Screen Polyester Printed
This is by far the most common and is perfect for solid colour logos. The Polyester Ribbon is produced in sophisticated automated Loom Machines and can be coloured matched for the perfect branding. Silk screen printing uses a mesh to force the ink through the logo and on to the material and the effect is always very crisp and sharp. It is the most cost effective print process and is perfect in producing a good looking Lanyard without costing a fortune. Every Lanyard after the branding part needs to be cut to the correct length and then a safety breakaway and a Metal trigger clip are professionally stitched on to complete the product. Like with all the different branding options, they can produce these in 10mm, 15mm, 20mm or 25mm widths depending on your requirements and the Tubular Bootlace options are available with standard sizes at 10mm, 12mm and 15mm widths.

Dye Sublimation or Heat Transfer Printed
This is perfect for multiple colour branding, Dye sub printing is produced from the four primary colours (CMYK) which enables you to have a full colour branding. The design is actually printed on to a thermal paper initially and then it is heat transferred directly on to a white smooth satin polyester. The print is total and every part of the lanyard can be filled with design.

These Lanyards are very colourful and the depth of design detail is astonishing. On smaller quantities with multiple colour designs this is the best way forward. As per the silkscreen option, all the same fittings and extras are available to you.

Woven Lanyard
For a very special look you can have your design actually woven into the Lanyard rather than being printed on to it. The effect is very professional looking and even the reverse of the Lanyard looks stylish in negative form. Most Lanyards are hard wearing but the Woven Jacquard variety is the ultimate long lasting option.

Satin Applique Double Layer
This double layered lanyard has a wider polyester base and then a shorter satin top strip sewn in. Adding in a plastic or metal buckle release and a premium quality Alloy hook finishes off this quality top of the range product. These are perfect for top end Brands or high quality corporate workplaces.

Accessories & Fittings

Once you’ve decided on the type of lanyard, you’ll want next to consider what’s going to hang on the end of it – keys perhaps or ID cards or badges?

Again, there’s choice aplenty – There is a vast choice of metal end fittings, short strap buckle releases, retractable Pulley Reels, Card Holders and Printed Laminated cards available so that you can definitely make your Lanyard very unique.

Promotional Lanyards are perfect for customisation and branding and are a useful promotional item.

At Arcadia we offer a wide range of different Lanyard options from a standard stocked Lanyards  supplier plain or overprinted to totally Custom Made Lanyards manufactured to order to your own  requirements. All you need to do is send us your artwork and we can design the perfect Lanyard for your organisation. Pre-production sampling is easy to achieve and Production timings are normally within under a week from stock or 2 – 3 week turnaround if custom made or even quicker if required.

Contat us for advise, samples and a free design… sales@arcadiaonline.co.uk or call on 0845 130 2620

Make Memorable Merchandise

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Jason Markwick

Having worked in Promotional Merchandise for the last 25 years I have been exposed to all aspects of the industry. Starting out as an account manager working with some of the worlds leading brands, I have learnt to understand the needs of a client, manufacturing processes, and what it takes to deliver a successful promotional campaign that is on brand, on time and within a given budget.