A Step-by-Step Guide to using Big.first.name for your Event.
1. Browser Compatibility
Right now we strongly suggest you use Google Chrome web browser as we've found it has the best PDF support and it works well with Big.first.name.
2. Choose your Paper Size
What size badges, labels or cards will you be printing on? Larger sizes allow for larger printed font size (i.e. Bigger First Names) and are therefore easier to read. Check your existing stock or buy/order some new stock now. Big.first.name has pre-configured template sizes to match most industry-standard sizes. Use the 1. Select Size tab to set the template size to match the paper stock that you will use.
If you have a paper size that is not in our system then please contact us with all details of your size and we will add it to Big.first.name. Do this as soon as you can so that we have time to add it well in advance of your event.
3. Choose your Design
Using the 2. Select Design tab you can choose from our collection of designs. Our basic designs are free to use. Our Advanced designs require an account upgrade.
There are color and black ink designs to choose from.
From our experience, it is often the more simple designs that work the best at events.
4. Enter your Event details and Attendee names
Using the 3. Event & Guests tab you can enter the details for your event.
The Event Name and Event Description are used by some designs.
Each attendee must have a unique Full Name. The attendee Detail, First Name and Avatar fields are optional. Each field is used by the different designs in different ways.
5. Test Printing and Check Printer Alignment
Big.first.name generates PDF output that matches the exact measurements of your paper. However, if the paper is misaligned in your printer or your printer software is automatically shrinking the generated PDF output then the printed result may not line up correctly with your paper.
It’s important to test and correct your printing alignment well in advance of your event. Using normal plain paper is a good way to test printing.
The 1. Select Size page includes a link to Test Alignment PDF. Try as many test prints of this file as needed to ensure your printer settings and printer alignment is correct.
Additional settings that help with alignment are on the 4. Change Settings tab. These settings include, Print Corner Squares, Print Edges and Padding Top/Bottom/Left/Right.
Your computer also has print and page settings. It’s important to make sure you have the correct paper size selected (without any added margins) and that you’ve not selected ‘shrink to fit’ or any similar option.
6. Upgrade your account (optional)
If you need to list more than 30 attendees or manage multiple events or would like to use any of our Advanced Designs then you can upgrade your account on the Account & Upgrades page.
Upgrade payments are processed securely by Stripe. You can use any credit card or debit card. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time.
Accounts are automatically upgraded immediately after payment.
7. Before your Event
We recommend printing your badges or cards with the High Quality setting on your printer. Depending on the number of attendees and the speed of your printer this can take quite some time ( sometimes much longer than you think). We recommend printing your badges the day before your event or even earlier once your attendee list is fixed.
Creating a second smaller event list for late changes/additions is a good idea for managing any printing closer to the event.
You might also like to make some signs for your event. The Free Event Direction Sign Maker Tool can do that for you!
8. After your Event
We love getting feedback and hearing about your events. Did you take lots of pictures? What did your attendees think of your badges/cards? What worked well? and what could be improved? please let us know, email: support@big.first.name.