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Manufacturing
What happens between the enquiry and the box.
Six steps, and only two of them need anything from you. Lead times below are measured from artwork and technical approval, because that is the moment production can actually start — quoting them from the order date is how a supplier appears faster than it is.
Lead time, stated properly
Typical production time is 12–21 days by material, counted from artwork and technical approval. Transit is additional and depends on destination and shipping mode.
Specification
You describe the property, the wear period and whether the band has to open or pay for anything. We come back with one recommendation and the reason for it, not a catalogue. Usually a day.
Artwork
Send whatever you have — a brand guide, a logo file, or a photograph of last season’s band. We return a print-ready proof on the actual band shape, with the numbering position marked. Two revisions are included.
Technical confirmation
For runs carrying a transponder we confirm the lock system, the credential technology and the encoding scheme in writing before the run is quoted. If a system is proprietary or closed and we cannot meet it, we say so at this stage.
Production
Typically 12 days for paper, 18 for silicone and 21 for RFID, counted from artwork and technical approval rather than from the order date. Transit is additional.
Delivery
Boxed in counted blocks with the range marked on each carton, so a partial delivery is still usable and stock-taking does not mean opening everything.
Reorder
Artwork and encoding stay on file. A repeat run skips the first three steps and goes straight to production, which is where the shorter lead time on a second season comes from.
Compatibility
We do not claim universal compatibility. Before a run is quoted we confirm three things: the make and model of your lock system, the credential technology it reads, and the encoding scheme it expects. Where a system is proprietary or closed, we will say so rather than guess — and if we cannot meet it, we will tell you before you order.
Encoding
RFID bands are supplied encoded to the scheme confirmed for your property, in sequential blocks. Paper and plain silicone bands carry no transponder and are supplied printed and numbered only.
Minimums, and why they exist
500 bands per artwork, mixed colours counted as one run. The floor is a tooling and set-up cost rather than a policy — below 500 the set-up dominates the unit price so completely that the quote stops being useful to you.
Samples
Samples are free for one set per property, and we cover standard shipping to a business address. Additional sets, express shipping and custom-printed samples are quoted separately.
Where the bands are made
Production runs through established card and wristband manufacturing partners rather than a facility of our own. That is why the lead times above are honest about counting from approval — the queue is real, and building a schedule around a fiction helps nobody.
Documentation supplied with every run
- Material declaration for the substrate supplied
- Transponder type and encoding record, where a transponder is fitted
- Batch and quantity reconciliation per carton
- Artwork proof as approved, for your records
- Recycled content statement where applicable
FSC-certified material options available with supporting production documentation.
No obligation · reply within one working day
Start with the specification step.
It costs nothing and takes about a day. Describe the property and the season, and we come back with one recommendation, a unit price and a realistic delivery date.