Ignite London Badge Printer

Setup & Usage Guide

Print event badges from any browser. No drivers, no downloads, no Terminal.

ignite-badge-printer.netlify.app

1What you need

2First time on this computer — drivers?

Good news: the browser talks to the printer directly over USB. No Brother driver download needed. But there's one OS-specific gotcha per platform:

🍎 Mac

Works out of the box. If macOS has silently auto-added the printer, remove it:

System Settings → Printers & Scanners → click the Brother entry → minus (-) to remove.

If you don't remove it, macOS may hold the USB interface and the browser can't claim it.

🪟 Windows / PC

Windows needs the WinUSB driver swapped in (one-time, 2 minutes):

  1. Download Zadig (free, open-source)
  2. Plug in the QL-800, run Zadig
  3. Options → List All Devices
  4. Pick "QL-800" from the dropdown
  5. Target driver: WinUSB → click Replace Driver

This lets Chrome/Edge talk to the printer directly. Don't install the Brother driver — it'll block WebUSB.

Don't install Brother's driver from brother.com. It registers the printer for Word/traditional print, but then this app can't reach it. One or the other.

3Connecting the printer (3 minutes)

  1. Plug the printer into power and USB
  2. Load a DK-11234 roll. Close the lid — the green LED should stay steady (not flashing)
  3. Press and hold the Editor Lite button on the printer until its LED turns off. This is critical — if Editor Lite is on, the printer won't accept raw print jobs
  4. Open Chrome or Edge and go to ignite-badge-printer.netlify.app
  5. Click "Print first only (test)". Chrome pops a device picker — select QL-800 and click Connect
One-time only: after the first permission grant, Chrome remembers the printer. Future clicks go straight through.

4Printing a full guest list

  1. Upload — drag your Luma CSV onto the drop zone. The app filters approved guests, cleans company names, and maps types automatically
  2. Review & edit — click any cell to fix typos. Click a type pill to cycle Founder → Investor → Other → Service Provider. Add missing rows with "+ Add row"
  3. Print all — click the button. Badges print one by one with a short pause between each
Recommended: always do a test print first (big button at the top). If something's off, you've only used one label.

5Using the cardboard badge holders (50×65mm window)

If you're using the Ignite/LG cardboard badge holders that have a die-cut window:

  1. Tick "Print 2 copies per label (badge holder mode)" on the print screen
  2. Print the batch — each label has two identical copies of the badge with a faint dashed cut line down the middle
  3. Cut along the dashed line — you get two 60×43mm pieces per person
  4. Peel and stick one piece on each face of the cardboard holder, centred over the window
Window vs badge size: the window is 50×65mm and each cut piece is 60×43mm. The 60mm overhangs the 50mm width by 5mm each side (hidden behind the holder), and the 43mm leaves a small strip of holder colour above and below. Looks intentional — like a navy frame.

6Walk-in check-ins (Quick Print)

For guests who show up without being on the list.

  1. Click the pink Quick Print button in the top-right
  2. Type name + company, pick type (Founder / Investor / Other)
  3. See the preview update live, then click Add & print
  4. Badge prints. Panel stays open for the next walk-in

7If something goes wrong

Red light on printer

Wrong label roll, empty, or paper jam. Check DK-11234 is loaded. Unplug for 10s, plug back in.

Chrome can't find the printer

Editor Lite is probably on — hold its button until LED is off. Or refresh the page and re-grant permission.

"Failed to claim interface"

macOS auto-added it as a system printer and CUPS is holding the USB. Two ways to fix:

UI: System Settings → Printers & Scanners → remove the Brother entry.

Terminal (faster): lpadmin -x Brother_QL_800 then refresh the browser tab.

Badge text is cut off

Edit the row in the table — shorten company, or delete the row. The app auto-shrinks long names but has a minimum size.

Still stuck? Unplug the printer, hold Editor Lite until LED is off, plug back in, refresh the page. That fixes 90% of issues.