A lanyard allows you to secure or display an object at all times without having to carry it in your pocket or in your hands. These objects include small items such as a key, work badge, or identification card. A lanyard is usually made of rope, nylon, cotton, or polyester twill. There are other lanyards that are made of PVC, fleece, denim, satin, or leather. A lanyard can be worn around the neck, waist, arm, or wrist.
You can attach an item to your lanyard using a variety of fastening hardware options. These options include metal or plastic swivel hooks, alligator clips, spring hooks, bulldog clips, split rings, and more. The item to be secured will determine which connection hardware option to use. If you have a badge with a hole at the top, you can attach it to your lanyard with a swivel clip. A split ring should be used to attach a key to your lanyard.
Business or retail employees, referees, first responders, hospital staff members, students, factory workers, seminar attendees or trade show attendees are frequently seen wearing lanyards to carry their badges. They are usually worn around their necks. A plastic holder is often used to protect the badge from wear and tear. Most companies that sell lanyards also include badge holders and attachment hardware. Something you might want to purchase for your lanyard is a retractable badge reel. This reel contains an elastic cord that attaches to the badge. This elastic lanyard will allow your badge to be scanned or verified without having to remove the lanyard. On rare occasions, a cord can become entangled with a machine and pull hard on a person’s neck. This is why a plastic safety break must be implemented with the lanyard. If you want to quickly remove the lanyard, you can release the plastic safety device and the lanyard will fall out of your neck.
A lanyard can be used for advertising purposes by custom printing it with a company logo, slogan or name. A custom printed lanyard can also be put to good use by a dog owner. A lanyard that is custom imprinted with the dog owner’s contact information can be attached to the dog’s neck. If the dog is ever lost, the contact information on the lanyard can lead to the safe return of the dog. A custom printed lanyard is relatively inexpensive. Lanyards made of cord are the most affordable, but cannot be used for custom printing because they do not provide the necessary flat surface.
Printing can be done on cords made of polyester, nylon, or cotton twill because they have the necessary flat surface area. Available widths of a printed cord are 3/8″, 5/8″, 3/4″ or 1″. There are three different printing techniques: hot stamping, screen printing and dye sublimation. Hot stamping uses only one color and is the most economical. This is suitable for badges used by students or at trade shows. Screen printing uses colored ink. It also produces a higher quality and longer lasting image. Dye-sublimation produces the most detailed and long-lasting image. It is also the most expensive technique.