Cards and badges / 4 x 3 inch name badge
Event name badge PDF size
The 4 by 3 inch insert is the standard conference badge: the size that fits a lanyard holder and is readable from across a room.
The dimensions
One measurement in four units. Millimetres and inches are what a printer works in; points are what the PDF itself stores; pixels are only useful for checking a screen mock-up against the real thing.
- Millimetres: 101.6 x 76.2 mm
- Inches: 4 x 3 in
- Points: 288 x 216 pt
- CSS pixels: 384 x 288 px at 96 dpi
Where the size comes from
The size is set by the badge holder, not by the paper. A 4 by 3 inch pouch is the most widely stocked lanyard holder, and inserts are printed to fit it. The landscape orientation is deliberate: a name is wider than it is tall, and a portrait badge wastes the width where the name should go.
What gets printed at this size
- conference and event attendee badges
- visitor passes printed at reception on demand
- exhibitor and staff identification
Margins that survive a real printer
6mm on the sides and bottom, 14mm at the top. The top margin is not aesthetic: the holder's clear pocket and the slot for the lanyard clip cover roughly the top 12mm, so anything printed there is hidden in use. The name goes in the vertical middle at 24pt or larger, because the working requirement is that it is readable at two metres.
The CSS
4 x 3 inch name badge is not one of the six named formats the API accepts, so the size has to come from the document. Declare it in the page box and set prefer_css_page_size in the request.
@page {
size: 101.6mm 76.2mm;
margin: 14mm 6mm 6mm;
}
.name {
/* Readable across a room is the requirement, not a style choice. */
font-size: 26pt;
line-height: 1.05;
font-weight: 700;
}
.company {
font-size: 11pt;
}The render request
With a custom size the options carry no format at all: the one flag tells the renderer to use the page box the document declares.
{
"html": "<!doctype html>...",
"options": {
// No named format. The page box in the document's own CSS is the
// size, and this flag is what tells the renderer to use it.
"prefer_css_page_size": true
}
}The mistake people make
Centring the name vertically in the full 76.2mm page. The lanyard slot covers the top of the badge, so optically centred content sits low. Centre it in the visible area, which starts about 14mm down.
Frequently asked
What is 4 x 3 inch name badge in pixels?
384 x 288 px at 96 dpi, at the 96 pixels to the inch that CSS assumes. That number is useful for comparing a screen mock-up against the page, and useless for laying out the document: use 101.6 x 76.2 mm instead, because a page laid out in pixels shifts whenever the render scale changes.
Can I pass 4 x 3 inch name badge as a format?
No. The API accepts six named formats: A4, A3, A5, Letter, Legal and Tabloid. 4 x 3 inch name badge is reached through the document's page box with prefer_css_page_size set, which is a supported path and not a workaround.
Does landscape need a different page size?
No. Landscape is the same rectangle turned, so it is set as an orientation rather than as swapped dimensions. Writing the width and height the other way round produces the same page and makes the intent harder to read later.
Other page sizes
Sizes that come up in the same conversation, and one from each of the other families.
Business card PDF size and bleed
85.6 by 53.98 millimetres is the ID-1 rectangle: the size of a bank card, and the business card standard across most of the world.
A4 page size for PDF generation
A4 is the default page for business documents everywhere except North America, and the default this API uses when no format is given.
US Letter page size for PDF generation
Letter is 8.5 by 11 inches and it is the default page in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile and the Philippines.
4x6 shipping label PDF size
The 4 by 6 inch label is the standard thermal shipping label accepted by every major carrier, and the most common non-paper page size an API renders.
80mm thermal receipt PDF size
The 80mm roll is the standard point-of-sale receipt: 80 millimetres of paper, a printable width of about 72mm, and a length that depends on the order.
DL envelope PDF size and window position
DL is 220 by 110 millimetres, the standard business envelope in Europe, and it takes an A4 sheet folded in three.
30-per-sheet address label PDF template
Thirty 2.625 by 1 inch labels in a 3 by 10 grid on a Letter sheet, which is the most common laser address label stock in North America.
Every page size, with dimensions
The full list, grouped by what the size is for.
Paste the CSS below into the playground and see the page box it produces.