What gets marked on badges
Corporate name badges carry the company logo and the wearer's name, often with a designation line. School badges carry the school crest and name, often with a house or student name. Hospitals, hotels, banks and security agencies order name tags for staff, and uniformed services use name plates with a name and sometimes a number. Event and conference badges add the event name and date. Because almost every badge in an order carries a different name, laser marking on badges suits the work far better than printing plates or screens for each name.
Related pages cover name plates, medals, cufflinks and tie pins and school bag and ID tags, which badge makers often handle alongside badges.
Which laser marking machine suits badges
Anodised aluminium is the most common metal badge. A fiber laser removes the dyed layer, giving a bright silver mark that reads very well on black, blue, green or maroon badges, and a gold anodised badge shows silver letters on gold. A MOPA laser adds the option of dark marks on silver anodised badges. Brass badges engrave well with a fiber laser and are often colour filled with black paint afterwards, then polished. Gold or silver plated brass badges need gentle settings, because a fiber laser cuts through thin plating quickly and the mark then shows the base brass. Stainless steel badges take a fiber engraving, and a MOPA source can produce black or coloured marks on them.
Acrylic badges are cut and engraved with a CO₂ laser. Two layer engraving sheets, with a thin coloured cap over a contrasting core, are widely used for name tags, and depending on the sheet type they are marked with CO₂ or fiber, so follow the sheet supplier's recommendation. Painted or epoxy coated metal badges mark with fiber, which removes the paint to show the metal beneath.
Most plastic photo ID cards and many badge holders are PVC, and PVC must never be lasered because it releases harmful chlorine fumes. Those are printed with a card printer instead.
When a CNC engraving machine is the better choice
Some customers still want the deep, cut look of traditional rotary engraving on brass badges and name plates, filled with paint. NMB's CNC Engraving Machine handles that work, while a laser is faster for large batches of names.
Setting up the job
Badge orders are batch work, and laser marking on badges is fastest when the jig is right. A flat jig plate with a grid of pockets lets the operator load twenty or more badges at once and mark them in one run, with each pocket matched to a name in the file. Marking software commonly pulls names from a spreadsheet and can centre each name automatically, which keeps long and short names looking balanced. Mark before fitting pins or magnets so the badge sits flat. For acrylic badges, cut the shapes on a flatbed CO₂ first, then engrave in the jig.
What to check before you buy
- Material mix. List the badge materials you sell, because anodised aluminium and brass need a fiber laser while acrylic needs CO₂.
- Contrast on black. Check how bright the mark is on black anodised badges, since this is the most common corporate order.
- Grid jigs. Plan a jig for each badge size you stock so a full batch can be marked in one run.
- Name import. Confirm the software can take names from a spreadsheet and auto centre them on the badge.
- Tamil fonts. If customers want names in Tamil, test that the software renders Tamil Unicode fonts correctly, including conjunct letters.
- Acrylic cutting. If you also make acrylic badges, check whether you need a flatbed CO₂ to cut shapes as well as mark them.
- PVC screening. Keep PVC cards and holders away from the laser and make sure staff can identify them.
Laser marking on badges in Tamil Nadu
Badge and trophy makers in Chennai serve corporates along OMR and in the city's industrial estates, as well as schools and security agencies. Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy and Salem each have badge makers serving their own schools and companies. School reopening in June brings the year's biggest rush of school badge orders, when laser marking on badges with batch jigs saves a great deal of time.
NMB Enterprises is based at Poonamallee, Chennai. Badge makers anywhere in Tamil Nadu can call or WhatsApp 098417 60722 with photos of their badges, the materials they use, a sample name layout and their busiest month's volume, and NMB will suggest the laser setup that matches the work.