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Printing name badges on site at an event in Argentina: sizes, printers and what to print

By SOMOS DER · October 30, 2026 · 6 min read

Printing name badges at an event comes down to three decisions: the format (A6 or A7 paper in a badge holder, a self adhesive thermal label or a PVC card), what goes on it (name, a visible access type, event and dates, and the QR code if it will be scanned), and the moment (at the door when the person arrives, or in advance). If the event lasts one day and people arrive in waves, printing at the door avoids printing badges nobody collects. If everyone arrives at once or access lasts several days, have them ready before. When you organize from abroad, add a fourth decision: what you ship to Argentina and what you source there.

First: do you need printed badges at all?

Not always. If the only goal is getting in, the QR code on the phone is enough. A printed badge earns its cost when people need to see who is who inside: a conference where attendees introduce themselves, a corporate event with guests, a festival with staff moving between areas. If you have decided to print, read on. If your audience flies in from several countries, also read our note on international guests at registration and the door.

Badge formats, from cheapest to most durable

Paper sizes come from the ISO 216 standard: according to the ISO 216 reference, A6 measures 105 x 148 mm and A7 measures 74 x 105 mm, while the United States and Canada are the main countries that do not generally use ISO sizes. If your team designs in US Letter, rebuild the template in millimeters before sending it.

• A6 paper or card stock in a holder with a lanyard: the conference format. It fits a large name, the company, the access type and the QR code, and reads from a couple of meters. It prints on an ordinary laser printer or one at a time.
• A7 paper: half an A6. Good when the badge is an identifier more than a business card: staff, suppliers, a small corporate event.
• Self adhesive thermal label: printed on a thermal label printer, no ink, one at a time and in seconds. It sticks on clothing or goes in a holder. It is the best option for printing at the door, but it lasts a day: thermal paper fades with heat and sun.
• PVC card: the credit card size format. It needs a card printer, which is more expensive and slower. Worth it for multi-day or season credentials, where the card has to survive.

PASE prints badges in several sizes (thermal labels, A6, A7 and PVC card size) and also emails each attendee a PDF badge with their QR code. Before the event, print a test on the real printer you will use: what you see on screen is not always what comes out.

What goes on the badge

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's Public Venue Credentialing Guide says a strong credential is "visually easy to discern and simple to use, yet difficult to falsify". It recommends "indicating areas of access by shapes, numbers, letters, or symbols and color-coding by event function", marking "the time frame during which the credential is valid", and, if possible, making it "user-specific" so it cannot be transferred. It also suggests the back can show restrictions and "the phone numbers for a venue's security or emergency response".

For a one or two day event in Argentina, that becomes:

• A large name. At a conference, the first name bigger than the surname. That is what people read.
• Access type in color. STAFF, PRESS, VIP, in a color band visible from a distance. The guard at a gate looks at the color before reading anything.
• Event and dates. So last year's badge does not work.
• QR code, if it will be scanned. In PASE the QR code is unique and random and carries no personal data: it is only a code the system recognizes. Leave a white margin around it and do not print it tiny.
• Back (optional): the accreditation supervisor's phone and what the badge does not allow.

What it should not carry: data you do not need. A passport number, phone or email printed on a card hanging from someone's neck is exposed data. We explain why in attendee data and Argentina's Law 25,326.

Accented names and international attendees

Events in Argentina mix names like Muñoz, Peña, Gonçalves or Müller, and some label printers mangle characters outside basic English. When PASE prints directly to the thermal printer over USB, it draws the badge as an image in the browser and sends that image to the printer, so the name comes out exactly as the attendee typed it, and long names are resized to fit. Still, include an accented name and a very long name in your test print.

Names print the way people register them, so ask for the name they want on the badge. The registration page and the QR email are available in Spanish and English: they follow the browser language, and adding ?lang=en to the link forces English.

At the door or in advance?

Both work. It depends on how people arrive.

Print at the door when arrivals are spread out (a conference starting at 9:00 with people arriving from 8:00 to 10:00), when many registrants may not show up, and when there are walk ins. The flow is: scan the QR code, VALID, print, hand over. In PASE, when a scan comes back valid, a button appears to print that attendee's badge. The risk is that the printer is a single point of failure: if it jams, the line stops.

Print in advance when everyone arrives at once (a corporate evening that opens at 19:00 and fills fifteen minutes later), when the badge lasts several days, or when it is PVC. The flow is: scan, VALID, find the badge sorted by surname, hand over. It works only if badges are well sorted and split across desks by letter; otherwise finding one card among hundreds takes longer than printing it.

The most common mix: print known categories in advance (staff, press, speakers, VIPs) and general attendees at the door. For the full door setup, see the event door plan checklist.

What to ship from abroad and what to source in Argentina

Ship what carries your brand and is hard to replace: printed lanyards, branded holders or PVC cards printed in advance. Source locally what is bulky, consumable or electrical: paper, label rolls, generic holders and the printer itself. A printer from home also needs a power supply and plug that work in Argentina, and customs can hold equipment. On the PASE pricing page, badge printer rental and premium laminated badges with lanyard are listed as add ons, and on site badge printing is included from the Pro plan.

Whatever the source, keep at the desk: a backup printer or at least a spare roll or ream and someone who can clear a jam; power close to the desk, requested from the venue in advance; holders and lanyards counted with a margin and separated by color; one person scanning and another printing when the flow is high; and a plan for people who did not register. PASE lets you register someone on the spot, and that person leaves with a badge too.

A printed badge does not replace control. The same CISA guide states that "the possession of a credential does not negate security screenings". If an area has a check-in point, the badge is scanned there too.

Large name, color by access type, dates and a QR code with a margin. Everything else is decoration.

Frequently asked questions