From enquiry to the pallet in your warehouse, NFC wristbands normally take just over three weeks. That sounds relaxed until the first round of corrections gets in the way. Here is the process as it actually runs, and where the time gets lost.
How long does it take to produce NFC wristbands?
Allow 16 to 18 working days from enquiry to delivery. Around 10 working days of that are for production itself, i.e. weaving or printing, inserting and encoding the chips, and 2 working days for shipping within Germany. From your approval it is therefore around 12 working days; only from this point does the clock run on a binding basis. The rest comes before: one working day for the enquiry and quote, two to four for print data and layout, and another one for the digital proof, on which you see colour and positioning as a file. Most of this lead time is on your side, not on the production side. If you already know the quantity, closure, material and chip type when you send the enquiry and bring finished print data, you save most of the days. Public holidays and company holidays extend production accordingly, so plan backwards from the event date. These figures are guide values from our production.
| Step | Duration | Responsible |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiry and quote | 1 working day | tickee |
| Print data and layout | 2 to 4 working days | mainly you |
| Digital proof | 1 working day | tickee |
| Approval | up to you | you |
| Production | around 10 working days | production |
| Shipping within Germany | 2 working days | carrier |
Where the time gets lost
Almost always in the same place: at the approval. If three people have to agree and one of them is on holiday, that costs days that are not planned for in the production schedule. Name one person who is allowed to approve, and designate a deputy.
The second classic is print data in RGB. For printing wristbands, we need CMYK or a Pantone reference. A conversion rarely looks the way it does on screen, and the correction loop costs another round.
How much buffer should I plan?
From approval, allow four weeks until the event, not three. The extra buffer is not intended for production, but for the case that you want to change something after receipt, such as a second colour for crew wristbands.
Estimate the quantity realistically
Order at least five per cent more than the expected number of guests. Wristbands get broken, when being put on and during testing. The tiered prices usually make the extra quantity cheaper than a reorder, which is produced and shipped separately.
We agree design, quantity and closure with you; the enquiry is without obligation. You will receive a response on the next working day.