By Chen Deng · Founder, LAMOSE · Calgary, Alberta
A hospital's HR coordinator once told us the same nurses kept coming back for replacement badges. Same scrub top, same spot, a little hole growing wider every shift the pin went back in. Nobody had budgeted for uniform damage. That's the whole magnetic-vs-pin question in one story: a pin is free until it isn't.
The short answer.
Pin-back name tags are cheaper upfront and still make sense for a one-day event. For anything a team wears daily, magnetic backing wins: no pin holes, no lost pins, no damaged uniforms. We stopped offering pin-back entirely — every LAMOSE name tag ships with magnetic backing standard.
Pin vs. magnetic, compared
| Option | Best for | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Pin-back | One-day events, conferences, visitor badges — worn once, never reused | Every use puts a new hole in the fabric; pins go missing; not worth it on anything worn daily |
| Magnetic | Daily-wear uniforms — healthcare, hospitality, retail, financial services | Grip can weaken on very thick winter coats or heavy outerwear |
Why we only sell one
We used to get asked for a pin-back option. We stopped offering it. Every name tag we make ships with magnetic backing standard — a badge magnet on the front, a backing magnet inside the garment, no holes in either. For a badge that goes on and off a uniform five days a week, a pin isn't a minor inconvenience. It's a slow-motion replacement bill: torn fabric, lost pins, and a badge that has to be reordered before it should.
There's one real case where a pin still wins: a single-day trade show badge, or a heavy winter coat where a magnet can't get enough grip through the fabric. If that's your situation, a two-dollar safety pin does the job — you don't need us for that.
What we'd actually send
Every LAMOSE name tag is laser-engraved on brushed metal in our Calgary workshop and ships with magnetic backing — no pin option, by design.
- Bank & Financial Services Name Tag. Advisor / Teller / Manager templates, 4 colors, 2 sizes.
- Auto Dealership Name Tag. Sales / Service / Finance templates, 13 colors, 2 sizes.
Pricing drops with volume on both: $10 for one tag, $9 each at 10+, $8 each at 25+, $7 each at 50+. Upload your logo and staff list at checkout and we engrave each one by name. Ships in 3-5 business days from Calgary.
Frequently asked
Do magnetic name tags damage clothing?
No. The magnet sandwiches the fabric between two plates instead of piercing it, so there's no hole and no wear point the way a pin creates over repeated use.
How strong are magnetic name tag backings?
We don't publish an exact rating — magnetic-badge manufacturers don't standardize on one number the way you'd expect. What we can say from real use: the backing holds through a full shift on standard uniform-weight fabric. Very thick winter coats or heavy outerwear can reduce the grip, which is the one case where a pin still has an edge.
Are pin or magnetic name tags better for healthcare settings?
Magnetic, for daily-wear scrubs and uniforms — it avoids the repeated pin-hole damage that shows up in high-turnover environments like hospitals. Some MRI-adjacent areas restrict any metal, magnetic or otherwise; check your facility's specific policy before ordering for that setting.
How much do custom name tags cost in Canada?
LAMOSE name tags start at $10 each, dropping to $7 each at 50+ units. Pricing includes laser engraving; logo upload and per-person names are handled at checkout.
Can I order name tags in bulk for a whole team?
Yes. Upload your staff list and logo and we engrave each tag individually. For anything beyond our listed templates, or a rollout across multiple locations, get a quote and we'll price it directly.
By Chen Deng, founder of LAMOSE. We engrave every name tag ourselves in our Calgary workshop — see our full guide to custom name tags in Canada for the complete template lineup.
Badges Your Team Won't Have to Replace
Every LAMOSE name tag ships with magnetic backing standard, engraved in our Calgary workshop with your logo and staff names.
Shop Name Tags Get a Bulk Quote
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