Stamping attendees is a great way to ensure no one gets into your venue who isn't supposed to be there. If your event requires a physical ticket, for example, stamping the ticket-holder when you give them their ticket ensures they can't swap with anyone else. Alternatively, if you run a nightclub, you may want to allow people to leave the venue to smoke then re-enter without joining the original queue; stamping party-goers as they enter shows you who can skip the queue.

However you use your rubber stamp, you'll need to make sure it's perfectly designed to venue entry purposes. Here's how to create yours.

Make It the Right Size

When having your rubber stamp designed and made, the first thing to decide on is the size. Generally, you'll want to either stamp the back of your guests' hands or the inside of the forearm or wrist. This means you'll need a relatively small stamp. However, since ink bleeds on skin, you don't want to make the stamp too small. If you do, all detail will become lost and your stamp will end up looking more like a marker dot, making it easy to forge. On average, 2.5 to 3 centimetres is usually a good size for stamping adult attendees.

Choose a Clear and Basic Design

Since the ink will inevitably bleed and your design will be hazy, it's best to go with something bold and basic. Tiny details like intricate logos or website addresses may look good on paper, but they'll turn into one big blob on your guests' skin. Making your stamp a simplified version of your logo, or your logo plus your event name, is always a good go-to. It's best to avoid very generic designs like hearts or smiley faces. This is especially true if you run a nightclub, as other clubs in the area may use the same design, allowing people to club-hop to your bar without queuing and paying an entry fee.

Find the Right Ink

Finally, you need to think about the ink. The first and most important quality to look for is safety and non-toxicity. This ink will be going straight onto your guests' skin, so it needs to be completely safe for skin and non-irritating. On top of that, you need to make sure the ink isn't too permanent. It should dry quickly and last several hours, but it also needs to be easy to wipe off with soap and water. Note that self-inking stamps are the easiest to use, as your entry staff won't need to stop to use a separate ink pad to re-ink them between guests. However, if you're running an event over multiple days and want to make sure guests can't reuse their stamp, you may want to use separate ink pads of various colours to distinguish each day.

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