Lance Armstrong and the Popularity of Wristbands

17 December 2019

While wristbands have been around for a while, silicone wristbands have only made an appearance within the last 15-20 years. Famed cyclist Lance Armstrong popularized silicone wristbands in 2004 to spread awareness of people suffering with cancer. It was a nice way to show support for people going through such a difficult situation. After the wildly popular success of his campaign, companies such as Nike began manufacturing the same type of wristband. Once their success had been cemented within the athletic arena, organizations and campaigns in other industries began using them as well.

After the success of the simple yellow silicone bracelet that Lance Armstrong promoted, several other variations were made. Towards the late 2000s, silicone wristbands of varying thicknesses and designs began to be made, for a wide variety of industries and events. Everything from political campaigns, to concerts, to organizational events, began adopting silicone wristbands. Today, wristbands are used as a simple, affordable, and effective way of getting behind a specific message that is intended to be shared with others.

 

How Silicone Wristbands Are Created

Silicone is a highly-versatile polymer that is eco-friendly and is lauded for its extensive uses. It stays stable and durable, regardless of what type of environment it is exposed to. Its dynamic nature also makes it easy to mold it into a wide array of products. This is a hypoallergenic and non-toxic material that makes for the ideal bracelet for anyone, regardless if they have allergies or not.
Ever since its beginnings in promoting and spreading awareness about various causes and campaigns, the silicone wristband has stayed as a staple in many promotional and advertising strategies. 
To create and manufacture a silicone wristband, the process is fairly simple. This is a highly-flexible and moldable material, so it does not require that much effort to produce them. 
First, the silicone rubber base material must be acquired and processed. The processing aspect means either cutting the material into strips or forming the silicone into tubes. Depending on what type of wristband is going to be created, one of these processes will be done over the other. 

Second, the partitioned materials will be put into a steel mold in order to be melted and molded into a cross-section of the wristband. Once this step is completed, the cast is removed. The wristband can then be customized even further, based on what the person ordering the wristband has requested.
The processed of customizing the colours for the wristband is something that occurs before the molding part of the process. However, there is an additional layer of ink that is sometimes applied after the mold step is completed. Text can be either carved into a wristband or printed directly onto the wristband.
A machine designed to create wristbands is capable of producing thousands of wristbands on any given day. This makes it easy to mass-produce silicone wristbands for any campaign, cause, or function. The most popular dimensions of a silicone wristband are always similar, so you will not find much variation within this area.

A typical machine can produce thousands of wristbands in a single day, making it quite easy to manufacture this trendy accessory. The typical dimensions of a silicone wristband are around 18 to 22 centimeters in circumference, a little over a centimeter in width, and almost two centimeters in thickness.

Common Uses for Silicone Wristbands

There are several common uses for silicone wristbands. Here are the most popular ways these versatile bracelets are used.
    

Brand Awareness

Just as Lance Armstrong spread awareness about cancer with his original yellow silicone wristband, with "Livestrong" printed on it, this type of bracelet is an effective way of spreading the message of a cause or campaign. They are eye-catching, which makes them a great promotional material. Spreading awareness about a brand is easy when done with silicone wristbands.
    

Event Security

Silicone wristbands make great security enforcers for any event. Special wristbands with different colors and words will ensure that only certain people are able to enter specific areas of an event. They are tear-resistant and tamper-proof, which make this a great material for an event hosting VIP areas, among other things.
    

Safety

Security is not the only feature of an event that needs differentiation. Safety is another area which needs to be known to event staff. When a wristband is provided in different colors, it ensures that attendees with specialized needs will get the service they require. People who have certain dietary restrictions can be easily identified by wearing a brightly-colored silicone wristband. Large groups of people can also be identified easily and grouped together, avoiding accidental separation.
    

Guest Management

When an event has a large number of people in attendance, silicone wristbands are a great alternative to giving out tickets. With tickets, it is easy to lose them. With silicone wristbands, attendees can simply wear them to display the degree of access they have within different areas of a venue. Entry markers, such as stamps on the wrist, can easy get wiped away, causing headaches and confusion. This is a great way to streamline guest management and keep everything neat and orderly.
    Different Types of Printings
There are a few different types of printings you can get for silicone wristbands, depending on what you are looking for. The three main categories a silicone wristband falls into are colour printing, debossed printing, and ink-filled + debossed printing. To understand the differences between these types of wristbands, we will explain them below. 
    

Colour Printing

With a standard colour printing, words are imprinted using water-resistant ink by screen-printing them onto the surface of a silicone wristband. This allows for highly-detailed text or some type of design, to be put onto a wristband. Using this style of printing on silicone wristbands can create many variations. Since this wristband relies mainly on the user’s preference, there can be a huge number of variations that can come out of this style. Since this wristband doesn’t rely on any specific molding techniques and simply uses direct printing, this is considered one of the easiest and most cost-effective to produce.
    

Debossed Printing

Debossed printing on wristbands is the classic style that was made popular by people such as Lance Armstrong. Text is engraved right onto the surface of the wristband using lasers. Given that the words or design becomes etched into the surface of the wristband, this type has a tendency to last a long time. It is also easy to produce on a mass scale.
    

Inkfilled + Debossed Printing

Inkfilled printings using the debossed method are very similar to debossed printings, except for one difference. Rather than just stopping at having a laser etch words onto a silicone wristband, inkfilled and debossed printing will add ink into the spaces which were carved by lasers. Different colours are used, depending on the intended results. This allows for more contrast to occur. Words will stand out better when ink is incorporated into a debossed printing. The recessed design also allows for the ink contained within it to be better-protected from wear and tear. 
    

Silicone Slap

Another popular variation is the silicone slap wristband. Singapore-based Easyprint Technologies designs and creates this type of wristband, which is available in matte, neon, or even glow-in-the-dark varieties. Silicone slap wristbands are a fun take on wristbands. 

The unique aspect of these is that you "slap" them onto your wrist, after which they will curl around it to stay in place. These bands are made from high-quality silicone and slap on in a way where they will stay snug, yet comfortable, on your wrist. These are lightweight and made out of eco-friendly silicone, ensuring you a low-cost and high-quality wristband for your needs.
    

Popular Uses for Silicone Wristbands

Silicone wristbands have a multitude of uses. Most commonly, they are used in promotional giveaways, as fundraising items, as bands spreading awareness about some cause, or simply as gifts.
When it comes to being used as a trendy promotional item, they are frequently seen at theme parks, various entertainment venues, as well as large groups. Marketing campaigns are often making use of silicone wristbands as part of their advertising efforts. Businesses and organizations are often using them to increase teamwork and boost morale.
    

Wrapping Up

Silicone wristbands are the hot and new style of wristband taking the world by storm, because of their sleek look and highly-customizable variations. If you are looking for silicone wristbands in Singapore, look no further than Easyprint Technologies. Whether you are looking to have a wristband printed using colour printing, debossed printing, infkilled and debossed printing, or want a silicone slap-style wristband, Easyprint has you covered.

You are able to customize your wristbands with your logo, unique message, and more. To submit an order, simply submit an enquiry in our enquiry form and our sales team will reply in a few hours! With delivery only taking approximately 8 business days, you will receive your silicone wristbands quickly.