Have you ever wondered if you can learn how to make lanyards yourself? Or maybe you just want to know how it is done.
Lanyards are inexpensive and effective pieces of accessories. Will the process involved in manufacturing them be a complex one or a simple one? These and many more are what you would find in this amazing article.
Lanyards are great accessories worn on the neck or even waist and are used to hold important things like a phone, key, or most importantly an ID card. Lanyards are therefore produced to suit this purpose.
Meanwhile, it is also worthy of note that making lanyards for different purposes will not always be the same process. This is most evident in the point of attachments.
A lanyard made for holding an ID will not have the same point of attachment as that meant for a phone, a key or a pen.
So also, a lanyard mean for a nurse will not be the same as that meant for a student or an employee in the office. A nurse will use a break-away kind of lanyard while a student will not bother about whether it is a break-away or non-breakaway kind of lanyard.
Your choice of lanyard may have a slightly different manufacturing process. To know more about how to choose the best lanyard for you, you can click here.
What are Lanyards Made From?
We have lanyard materials such as Polyethylene Terephthalate lanyards, Plain and woven lanyards, Printed lanyards and Bamboo lanyards.
PET lanyards are from recycled PET or plastic bottles, Bamboo lanyards are from bamboo and are perfect for people who are interested in eco-friendly products. Printed lanyards are from Polyester, while plain and woven lanyards are made from cotton strands.
PET lanyards are strong, durable and fit for full-color printing. Recycling PET for lanyard making is a great way to solve the problem of littering plastic bottles in our environment.
Making lanyards with Bamboo makes it easier to screen print your design as Bamboo feels soft to touch. It is also strong and durable.
Printed lanyards from polyester material are also easier to screen print your design on. This material is also strong and durable.
Plain and woven lanyards as initially stated are made from cotton strands. With a woven lanyard, you can choose about 3 colors for your design.
How Lanyards Are Made
You can make lanyards yourself too once you have the materials ready, and cut according to your specified sizes.
However, making professional and unique lanyards would need a more than just a pair of scissors.
This process involves three (3) stages which include;
- Cutting and preparing the material to size
- Printing or stitching the design
- Attaching the attachment
Cutting and preparing the material: After choosing the lanyard type that you want whether PET, Bamboo, Tubular, or Nylon, it is dyed based on your preferred colour. Then a special machine is used to cut it to the appropriate size.
The sizes can range from ⅝”, ⅜” or even 1″.
Tubular lanyards have a slightly different process, the machine braids several polyester materials together which results in the lanyard being able to stretch slightly when it is pulled. Also, this is done based on the desired width and it is also loosely bound. Tubular lanyards due to their stretchy nature are used more for carrying heavier things like small digital cameras, phones, etc.
Printing or stitching the design: While choosing a design for your lanyard, you should ensure that you do not end up making it look unstylish. You have to use only clear fonts and avoid adding too many details.
The saying about simplicity being the ultimate specification still goes true in the present day. Most lanyard designs are not more than the company logo or other means of identification.
Hence, if you are branding with your special design and specification, always remember to use something you can always replicate subsequently.
For lanyard materials like polyester and tubular, the design is screen printed using a high-quality silk-screening process. But for woven lanyards, the design is hand-stitched in a process like that of embroidery. It would result in the design being slightly raised above the surface of the lanyard.
Attaching the attachment: After printing the design, your lanyard is almost ready, the next thing would be to add the point of attachment.
When it comes to lanyards, their purpose can make all the difference in their customization. They have a wide range of uses and are very versatile hence their different specifications. You can customise your lanyard based on the type of attachment.
There are several forms of attachment which include but are not limited to, swivel hooks, metal hooks, split rings, etc. You can also add a plastic buckle, cell phone hook, badge holder, etc.
Conclusion
Lanyard making is a fairly complex process which will also involve great diligence and attention to detail. While screen printing, you are careful so that the ink does not touch the wrong place and affect the design. Also if it were the woven lanyard, careful and simple stitching is needed to avoid distortion of the design.
If you have further questions, endeavor to drop them and we would answer. Also do not forget to order your customized lanyards from us.