How mail merge works
- Design the template: a name badge, ticket or race bib in the right size, with logo, colors and bleed – just like any other layout in LaydoStudio.
- Load your data: open a CSV or Excel file (.xlsx), or simply copy the cells from Excel or Numbers and paste them in. In the table editor you can fix values and delete rows or columns you don’t need.
- Insert placeholders: your columns appear as buttons. One click puts, say,
{{FirstName}}into the text field. Placeholders work in QR codes and barcodes too. - Check: the live preview lets you step through record by record and see every badge exactly as it will print.
- Export: one click creates a batch PDF with one copy of the template per record – print-ready in CMYK and marked PDF/X-4.
What you can make with it
- Name badges for conferences, club events and trade fairs – with name, role, company or club.
- Tickets with a running number and their own QR code each. LaydoStudio generates the codes; at the door they’re checked with a scanning app of your choice.
- Race bibs for runs and tournaments, with number, name and barcode (Code 128).
- Place cards, certificates and vouchers – anywhere the same design needs changing data.
Several badges per sheet
Name badges and tickets are rarely printed one at a time. There are two ways to do it:
- With Snuglay, automatically: design a single badge, load the spreadsheet and send it to Snuglay. Each record becomes its own piece there, spread across as many sheets as needed, in order – with crop marks if you want. More on the page about labels, stickers and multiple copies per sheet.
- Directly in LaydoStudio, placed freely: place the template several times on one sheet and give each copy its record position (1, 2, 3 …). LaydoStudio fills up to 20 records per sheet this way – handy when the layout has to match a specific badge-insert or card sheet.
Long names and other pitfalls
- Overflow: if a long name doesn’t fit the text field, LaydoStudio doesn’t quietly shrink it. Instead, the export tells you how many records have overflowing text – then you give the field more room or shorten the entry.
- Check the longest entry: in the preview, jump to the longest name or club name before you export.
- Special characters: Excel often saves CSV files in an older Windows encoding. LaydoStudio usually detects this by itself; if not, switch the encoding manually – or paste the data instead.
- Test your QR codes: scan two or three codes from the preview with your phone before printing.
What it costs
Mail merge is part of the Pro plan (€6/month or €48/year), which automatically covers Snuglay too. Designing the template and exporting it as a single print-ready PDF is free. Your spreadsheet stays in your browser – it isn’t uploaded.