How to make name badges for an event

Name badges for an event are straightforward in Publish by Zaweba. The name badges template fits eight on an A4 sheet, and mail merge fills each badge from a CSV list of names. Label numbers make each badge on the sheet take the next person, so eight badges show eight different people. The app is free, offline and runs on Windows without an account.

Badges help people mingle at conferences, open days, weddings and club evenings. The point is that a name can be read from a couple of steps away, so the design is mostly about size and contrast.

Preparing the guest list

Put the names in a spreadsheet, one person per row. Use separate columns for each thing you want on the badge, such as first name, surname and organisation or table number. The first row holds the column names. Save it as CSV, which is the only format the mail merge reads.

Comma, semicolon and tab separated files all work, as do quoted fields, and both UTF-8 and the Windows code page are understood. Names with accents come through properly if the file is saved in UTF-8.

Setting up the badges

Create a new publication from the name badges template. It already has nine sample people, which is useful because you can see how the layout handles short and long names before you use your own.

Open Tools > Mail merge and choose your CSV. The fields in the badges are numbered labels: a field's label number makes each label on a sheet show the next record, so the first badge shows the first person, the second badge the second, and so on down the sheet. That's what stops you getting a page of eight identical names.

To change what appears, click into a badge where you want a field and click the column. Insert > Mail-merge field does the same thing.

Checking before you print

Step through the preview record by record. Look for the longest name on your list and make sure it still fits on one line. If it doesn't, reduce the font size a little in the paragraph style, and every badge updates together.

Make the first name the largest thing on the badge. People glance at badges, they don't study them. An organisation or role can go underneath in smaller type.

A small logo or a coloured band at the top makes the badges look like a set. Add it once and it repeats on every badge while the names change.

Printing the sheets

When you're happy, print merged or export one merged PDF. The PDF is handy if the printer is elsewhere, or if you want to check the whole set on screen first.

Printing goes through the Windows print dialog at actual size and centred, so the badges stay the right size for badge holders or sticky label sheets. Do a plain-paper test first and hold it against your holders or labels to check the fit.

The data is kept inside the .ozp file. If a late guest turns up on the list, update the CSV, choose it again and reprint just the last sheet.

Have a few spare badges and a pen on the welcome table. There's always someone who wasn't on the list.