Industrial tags and nameplates
Engraved tags and nameplates for plants along the Gulf Coast, one at a time or a whole tag list at once.
For the plant
- V 3102Flare knockout drum
Equipment nameplates
Tag number and service description for pumps, motors, vessels, and skids.
- PT 5521
Valve and instrument tags
Small tags for hand valves, control valves, transmitters, and junction boxes.
- Stop
Panel legends
Legend plates for pushbuttons, selector switches, pilot lights, and MCC buckets.
- DangerDo not operate
Lockout and warning tags
Engraved tags worded to match your lockout program, with a hole for the lock or tie.
- SN 0042480 V 3 PH 60 HZ
Aluminum data plates and asset tags
Serial numbers, ratings, and asset IDs marked on anodized aluminum.
- Analyzer shelter 3
Signs and placards
Larger engraved signs for rooms, panels, and equipment.
- Control room
Door signs, desk plates, and name badges
Office and control room signage, plus badges for the people inside.
- 1,000 daysNo lost time
Safety and service awards
Plaques and awards in acrylic and wood for milestones worth marking.
Something that is not on this list? Describe it in the notes on your quote request.
Build a tag
Type the text, pick the color and size, and add it to your order list. Have hundreds? Skip this and send a spreadsheet.
The builder makes two-ply tags. For aluminum data plates and for awards in acrylic or wood, describe the piece in the notes on your quote request.
How two-ply engraving works
A two-ply tag is a colored face over a core in a contrasting color. The laser removes the face, and the core becomes your lettering.
Each tag starts as a sheet of two-ply engraving plastic. Our 80 watt CO2 laser sweeps across the tag line by line and removes the face wherever there is lettering. The core shows through, so the letters take the core color and the rest of the tag keeps the face color.
The laser does not print, paint, or stick anything on. There is no ink to smear and no label to peel. It cuts the text into the tag itself.
After the lettering, the beam cuts through both plies to free the tag from the sheet and open the screw holes.
Because the colors come from the two plies, a tag has exactly two colors: the face and the letters. Gradients and full-color images are not possible on two-ply plastic.
Aluminum data plates are different. The laser marks the anodized surface instead of cutting through a face layer.
- Face ply
- Core ply
- Laser beam
Choosing size, thickness, and mounting
The builder sets all three. Here is how to pick.
- 1.5 x 4 inDefault size
Size
The builder lists 16 sizes, from 0.5 x 2 in to 8 x 10 in, and takes a custom size up to 29 x 17 in, the size of the laser bed.
Choose the size to fit your text. The letters shrink to fit, so a long line or a third line on a small tag gets hard to read. A line holds up to 28 characters. Leave room for the screw holes and for the hardware the tag will sit against.
The preview redraws as you change the size, so you can see how your lines fit before you add the tag.
- 1/16 inStandard
Thickness
1/32 in is thin, 1/16 in is standard, and 1/8 in is heavy.
Thin tags bend easily, which helps on a curved surface when you mount with adhesive. Heavy tags stay stiff, which suits a tag that hangs from a lock or tie or gets handled often. If you are unsure, start with standard.
- 2 holesOr adhesive
Mounting
Choose one hole pattern, add 3M double sided adhesive, or both. Choose neither if you will mount the tag another way.
- 1 screw hole. One hole at the left end, for a tag that hangs from a lock or tie.
- 2 screw holes. One at each end, for a flat nameplate screwed to equipment or a panel.
- 4 screw holes. One in each corner, for larger plates that need to stay flat.
- 3M double sided adhesive. For a clean, flat, smooth surface where you do not want to drill.
If the holes must fit a particular screw, a bracket, or an existing hole pattern, send the dimensions with your request.
The color range
Tag colors come from the Trotec TroLase two-ply range. The builder offers 58 combinations of face and letter color.
Each name gives the face color first, then the letter color. Light letters on a dark face, or dark letters on a light face, read from farther away than colors close in tone. The Standard group below is the quickest; we order in colors from the other groups.
If your site uses color to separate services or areas, put the color on each row of your list or in your tag standard.
The swatches on this page are approximations drawn on screen. Real sheet colors differ, and screens vary. If a color has to match something exact, say so in your request.
Standard
- Black, white letters
- White, black letters
- Red, white letters
- Yellow, black letters
- Blue, white letters
- Bright green, white letters
- Smoke grey, white letters
- White, red letters
- White, blue letters
More colors
- Red, black letters
- Orange, white letters
- Orange, black letters
- Yellow, red letters
- Black, yellow letters
- Black, red letters
- Black, gold letters
- Black, silver letters
- Navy blue, white letters
- Navy blue, gold letters
- Sapphire, white letters
- Blueberry, white letters
- Light blue, white letters
- Powder blue, white letters
- Sky blue, yellow letters
- Evergreen, white letters
- Evergreen, gold letters
- Celadon green, white letters
- White, bright green letters
- Purple, white letters
- Burgundy, white letters
- Red, gold letters
- Pink, white letters
- Pink, black letters
- Blush pink, white letters
- Medium brown, white letters
- Almond, black letters
- Carbon fiber, white letters
Metal look
- Brushed aluminum, black letters
- Brushed silver, black letters
- Smooth silver, black letters
- Bright chrome, black letters
- Brushed stainless, black letters
- Brushed stainless, blue letters
- Brushed stainless, red letters
- Bright nickel, black letters
- Brushed gold, black letters
- Smooth gold, black letters
- European gold, black letters
- Brushed brass, black letters
- Brushed copper, black letters
- Deep bronze, black letters
- Brushed bronze, white letters
Wood look
- English walnut, white letters
- Dark walnut, white letters
- Maple, black letters
- Maple, white letters
- Cherrywood, white letters
- Pearwood, white letters
Order a whole tag list from a spreadsheet
Past a handful of tags, a spreadsheet is faster than the builder. Fill in the template, then attach it to your quote request.
A CSV file opens in Excel, Google Sheets, and Numbers.
Download the template
It has one header row with the nine columns below and two example rows.
Add one row per tag
Delete the example rows and add your own. Tags with the same text can share a row, with a quantity.
Attach it to your quote request
On the quote page, add your details, open the email, and attach the file before you send it.
What a filled-in list looks like
The two example rows from the template. Delete them and add your own.
| Tag number | Line 2 | Line 3 | Quantity | Size | Color | Thickness | Mounting | Location or notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1001A | Feed pump | 1 | 1.5 x 4 in | Black, white letters | 1/16 in | 2 screw holes | Example row: delete it before you send | |
| PT 5521 | 2 | 0.75 x 2.5 in | White, black letters | 1/16 in | 2 screw holes | Example row: delete it before you send |
What goes in each column
- Tag number
- Line 1 of the tag. Type it exactly as it should read, dashes and spaces included. Keep each line to 28 characters, the same limit as the builder.
- Line 2
- An optional second line, such as the service description.
- Line 3
- An optional third line.
- Quantity
- How many identical tags the row needs. Tags with different text get their own rows.
- Size
- A size from the builder's Size menu, such as
1.5 x 4 in. For a custom size, give the shorter side up to 17 in and the longer side up to 29 in, written shorter side first. - Color
- A name from the color range above, written the way the builder writes it, face first and letters second, such as
Black, white letters. - Thickness
1/32 in,1/16 in, or1/8 in.- Mounting
1 screw hole,2 screw holes,4 screw holes, or3M adhesive, no holes. Combine a hole count with adhesive the way the builder does, as in2 screw holes and 3M adhesive. If you want neither, typeno holes, no adhesive.- Location or notes
- Where the tag goes, wording that needs a second look, fastener or bracket details, or anything else that helps us get the row right.
Before you send it
- Format the Tag number column as text before you type or paste. Spreadsheet programs drop leading zeros, so 0042 becomes 42, and can turn entries such as 3-10 into dates.
- Check the list for duplicate tag numbers.
- Leave the column names in the first row as they are.
- You can send your own spreadsheet instead. The template shows the details each row needs.
- Tags you add with the builder stay on your order list and go out in the same request, so you can use both.
We check every piece against your list before it is packed.
Matching your site tag standard
If your plant has a tag standard, send it with your request and we will use it to lay out your proof.
A tag standard usually covers the tag number format, what goes on each line, face and letter colors, sizes, and how tags mount. The more of that you send, the less we have to ask.
We send back a layout proof and a quote. Nothing gets lasered until you approve both. See how proofs and approval work.
What to send
- The tag standard, or the pages of it that cover tags.
- Photos of tags already in the field, so we can see the layout, letter size, and color you use.
- Your tag list, with the wording and format the standard calls for.
- Fastener sizes, bracket details, or hole spacing for tags that must fit what is already there.
- A note on which rows of the list the standard covers, if it covers only some.
Add these as attachments to the email your quote request opens.