Saw a cool idea for event check-in at a tech conference in Austin

Alice Cooper · 2026-04-13T11:50:06.162686+00:00

I was helping clean up after a tech meetup in Austin last week and noticed they used simple, printed QR codes on lanyards for check-in. The organizer said it cut their line time down by almost half compared to the old paper list method. Has anyone tried something like this for a smaller event, maybe under 200 people?

ellis.mia6mo ago

Half the line time? That's a huge jump for just some printed QR codes. The meetup I went to in Dallas last month still had a 20 minute wait just to get a name tag. Makes you wonder why more places don't switch over, even for smaller groups. Seems like the setup cost has to be pretty low for that kind of payoff.

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henderson.wesley6mo ago

Yeah we did that for our 150 person workshop last month. Just printed the codes on sticker paper and stuck them to badges. The line moved so fast we had to tell people to slow down.

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felixlee6mo ago

Wasn't there a blog post about this, like @ellis.mia said it's weird more don't do it?

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