I think this depends on one-off vs long term. If this group is going to be doing 2~3 conferences a year, learning how to print labels yourself or is valuable sk

I think this depends on one-off vs long term. If this group is going to be doing 2~3 conferences a year, learning how to print labels yourself or is valuable skill. You might even have a designer on your team that could work with a local print shop (allowing a personal relationship and even last minute badges so you're not handwriting last minute speakers). There's a one time cost of learning all that stuff, and then each year you just reuse those same templates and skills with a new logo/graphics from your design guy. If this is something your team/volunteer group/etc. rarely does, then it's probably worth just paying conference badges. It's a trade-off. If it's a non-profit thing, consider open souring the process and CC licensing the designs to help others doing the same thing.