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About Nameplates
Nameplates label and identify people, products and
contents and sometimes offer short pertinent descriptions of which, what
and who these are. Compared to ones used for the home or office, industrial
nameplates must withstand harsher environments including high temperatures,
long term outdoor exposure, abrasion, salt spray and chemicals. Industrial
name plate manufacturers can offer a variety of different nameplates
for a wide range of applications. First of all, companies need to identify
their products with a plate, tag, overlay or label of their name and
logo. While offering important information or instructions, graphic overlays
also provide decorative value for faceplates, control panels, instrumentation,
consumer appliances, food equipment, medical equipment and electronics.
Many times labels are needed for identifying the serial number or barcode
of specific equipment or parts. Especially in industrial environments,
safety labels are needed to indicate proper use of machinery or warn
of hazardous materials. Labels can also identify whether the product
has been endorsed by the government or different associations.
Industrial nameplates can be found on aircraft brakes, Navy destroyers,
the International Space Station, restaurant equipment and outdoor signs.
Nameplates can be mounted or bound to the object that they are labeling
in a number of ways. Commonly, they are riveted, screwed on or stuck
on with an adhesive. Adhesive backings can be resistant of extremely
high temperatures, extremely low temperatures, harsh and outdoor environments.
The properties of name plates that vary from application to application
include material, thickness, custom graphics, type of printing process,
anodizing, adhesive backing, serialization and military standards.
Printing processes include hot stamping, screen printing, sub-surface
printing, etching, embossing, mechanical or laser engraving, photo anodizing
and lithography. Serial numbers can be hot stamped or printed on both
the surface and sub-surface of most materials. Sub-surface serial numbers
are the most durable and resistant, being fully protected from abrasions
and solvents. Screen printing involves applying a photographic stencil
to a piece of porous, tightly stretched polyester through which enamel
colors are forced. Chemically etched nameplates are manufactured by masking
certain areas of metal with an acid resistant material, thus allowing
the unmasked area to be dissolved away. During the embossing process,
the nameplate material is squeezed between a female metal die and a male
counter one using heat and pressure to create the desired 3-D effect.
Mechanical and laser engraving involves cutting the name plate with a
rotary tool or a laser beam. Simply put, photo anodizing is like developing
a picture on specialized aluminum sheet. In lithography, a printing press
is utilized to move a master image to the nameplate using an ink-transferring
roller device.
Materials used by name plate manufacturers include metal, stainless steel,
brass and alloys, polycarbonate, Mylar®, rigid PVC or plastic, MetalPhoto®,
vinyls and foils. Metallic plates and polycarbonates are ideal for harsh
environments, although aluminum is not recommended for the harshest outdoor
conditions. Depending on nameplate application and the type of material
that is being used to produce it, name plate manufacturers offer a range
of custom options from a limited number of colors to unlimited design
possibilities.
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Types of Nameplates
- and
offer encoded numbering
systems for identification of each and every
part, product or piece of equipment. Manufacturers can either provide
the encoding or go with what their client gives them.
- are manufactured to the
customers’ design
specifications. Depending on material and application, custom options
could be limited
or unlimited.
- are made of light-weight non-metallic material such as heavy
duty paper, polyester, vinyl or soft plastic or rubber and are usually
made with backing to be torn off to reveal adhesive. So many customization
options are available for these products, and they can generally be
made in any size.
- are used in more of a corporate setting to identify
which desk belongs to which team member, maybe displaying a job title.
Usually made out of plastic or wood, they are less expensive to produce,
unless impressive bronze ones are chosen.
- are labels, panels or plates that identify the calibration
or measurements on dials or scales.
- are typically produced using mechanical engraving,
laser engraving, whittling or photo-chemical etching processes to permanently
cut out lettering or a design.
- are bound to the machinery
that they identify. Small and rectangular or square, they can simply
include the machinery
manufacturer’s name and logo or offer details like location,
phone number, power capacity, size, complementary machinery or components
and model, make, stock or job number.
- are decorative components with bright colors and crisp
copy typically used for faceplates, control panels, instrumentation,
consumer appliances, food equipment, medical equipment and electronics.
- are commonly made with an
adhesive backing and of a thinner material and something other than
metal, such as paper,
vinyl,
polyester, metallic polyester, reflective tape and phosphorescent tape.
Choosing the material depends on the label’s function: Is it
an instruction label, a safety label or a warning label? Does it need
to stand out with a bright color or be seen in low light or glow in
the dark?
- are usually made out of aluminum, stainless steel,
brass, bronze, copper, zinc, titanium or alloys.
- or front panels are thinner plates made to fit over specific
control or instrumentation panels with openings and identifications
for buttons or lighted displays.
- are any tags, badges or plates that identify employees
or members of a company or organization, usually used as clearance
or admittance for certain areas.
- offer a cost-effective alternative to using metal
and other materials.
- contain instructions for the proper use of the labeled
object.
- are pieces or strips of strong paper, plastic, metal or leather
that attach by one end to something as a mark or label. These ID tags
can be used when not a lot of surface area is available, for items
like valves, wire rope or cable.
- are permanent, machine-readable,
inscribed with a dot matrix and attached to qualifying items. They
are part of a system of distinguishing one object from another to allow
for Department of Defense tracking.
- stand out in bright colors
like orange or yellow or red and have big bold words like “Warning!” and “Danger!” on
them to bring attention to hazards.
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