Art & Data Design Guide

 

Printing and creating plastic cards properly can be a challenge. But with some preparation, especially early on in the project, we can make it easy for you.

 

VDP Example

On the following pages we’ve set up an example of an artwork and data heavy VDP event pass. On this pass there is 16 different data fields being imaged onto the pass, some of which occur in more than one location on the pass and some of which change images on the pass.

The data fields are as below:

  • barcode – barcode number (supplied by ticketing company)
  • ttDate – date data was generated (supplied by ticketing company)
  • ttSeqNum – sequential number (supplied by ticketing company)
  • ttRGA – sequential number within a subset of data (supplied by ticketing company)
  • ttPaxNum – ticket number for tracking (supplied by ticketing company)
  • eventDate – the date the event will be held
  • eventTime – the time the event will be held
  • enterGate – which gate the pass holder is to enter by
  • lounge – the location within the venue the pass holder is based
  • level – the floor level of the venue where the lounge is located
  • nameFirst – the pass holders first name
  • nameLast – the pass holders last name
  • nameCompany – the pass holders company name
  • photoFilename – filename of the photo to be used (must match exactly)
  • accessLevel – access restrictions imposed upon the pass holder
  • seqNum – sequential number consistent across the entire dataset

Of these fields, photoFilename changes the photo on the pass; accessLevel changes both the images on the front of the card and the coloured bar on the reverse above the barcode data; barcode is used twice – once as just a plain number and once to generate the barcode itself; enterGate and lounge are both used to change images on the map to assist the pass holder to find their way.

Many event passes – especially those for events that travel – will also have extra fields. Some of that extra data may relate to which venue the pass is for, extra security/access restrictions or requirements, pass holder position within a company, dress codes, meal inclusions, age restrictions, and more. No wonder we offer a wider long pass to help squeeze all the information on. In some cases, it may be an idea to separate pass holder specific information from general event information and place them on two (or more) items to be joined by the lanyard. Hospital staff passes are an excellent example of this – one item for ID holder details, one item for emergency instructions, and one for general hospital information.

Artwork Only

This is what the base artwork of the pass looks like before we add any data to it. As you can see, it’s actually quite plain.

If you were changing the entire background to differentiate pass types, there would be even less here – quite often everything is data driven, there is no static artwork at all.

Data Positioning Only

This shows the data fields and locations on the pass without the artwork. As you can see, there’s a fair bit of data going on to the pass that needs to be kept together neatly. Any variable artwork must be created with this in mind – it must all mesh together precisely to avoid movement or extra data setup charges.

Putting it all together

This is how it all comes together into one item. We’ve included some hints and tips to help you get the most out of your data and artwork and to help it run smoothly.

 

« Artwork Specifications | Artwork Templates »