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[boburtz]

Looking for a usable solution to cable labeling and ID. This is for everything from XLR cables to 50a to 2/0 feeder. We have been using a standard P-touch for years, and it's great for most things, but I'm looking for something I can print our logo and other font-specific stuff onto, then wrap around cables and have them stick and be flexible. Printing from a standard laser printer. Self-laminating greatly preferred. Anybody got a real world recommendation? There are lots of items available that seem to fit the bill, and then others that definitely do not. I just want to try to get the correct one the first time. Any help is appreciated.

[Tim McCulloch]

THE brands for labeling are Brady and maybe Kingsley.  Printing on a regular office printer?  Uh...

[Bob Faulkner]

I use this:
https://www.amazon.com/DYMO-Industrial-RHINO-Label-1755749/dp/B002M1DEM6

You can use vinyl or polyester labels.  It has done very well for me.

[Tommy Peel]

I labeled all of mine with labels printed on regular paper which I taped to the cable and covered with 4:1 clear heat shrink. Not sure how practical it would be on really big cables, but for XLRs and such they've held up well to the past 5+ years of light use. They are somewhat ugly, especially after getting dirty, but with them on the mixer end of the cable it's not an issue for me.

[Dave Garoutte]

Note that Bob wants to print his LOGO, not just lettering.

[Russell Ault]

Note that Bob wants to print his LOGO, not just lettering.

FWIW my P-Touch labeller does that (albeit in black and white); I would think models from other brands could do that, too?

-Russ

[Mac Kerr]

FWIW my P-Touch labeller does that (albeit in black and white); I would think models from other brands could do that, too?

-Russ

The P-Touch Q-810 will print on 2.3" plastic 2 color (black and red) tape. If that is wide enough for your labels just print short labels and wrap them around the cable. For real permanence you may want to cover with clear shrink.

Mac

[boburtz]

The P-Touch Q-810 will print on 2.3" plastic 2 color (black and red) tape. If that is wide enough for your labels just print short labels and wrap them around the cable. For real permanence you may want to cover with clear shrink.

Mac

Thanks all. As necessary and functional as it is, the shrink-over-label thing is something I'm trying to avoid, as that means dismantling cables in order to add labels. I've found some label stock that is self-laminating and I'm hoping to go this route. This way, I can print custom labels, with ID colors (we color code lengths in our shop) with the equivalent of clear shrink over the label. Ideally, this can all be done on a retrofit basis. I've found some contenders that I think I'm just going to try. I will post results if and when I do.

[TJ (Tom) Cornish]

author=Tim McCulloch link=topic=178095.msg1644435#msg1644435 date=1668897103]
THE brands for labeling are Brady and maybe Kingsley.  Printing on a regular office printer?  Uh...

Check out Epson LabelWorks. I have been using them for 25 years (was K-Sun formerly). Their consumables are on the order of half of what Brady costs, they have much lower waste per label than the competition as the print head is right next to the blade so no 3/4” wasted tail on either side of the printing, and their printers are really cool.

I’m up to three currently: The big dog LW-Z5010PX https://labelworks.epson.com/for-work/printers/lw-z5010px.html can print up to 2” wide, 300 DPI with half toning for graphics (in the software), a LW-PX750 https://labelworks.epson.com/for-work/printers/lw-px750.html in a drawer somewhere, and a LW-PX400 Bluetooth printer that lives in my tool backpack.

They have a large selection of label stock in vinyl, polyester, nylon, heat shrink tube, and two widths of cable wrap label tape - 1” that works well for Cat cables, and 1.5” for larger cables.

There is a deal on Amazon for the LW-Z5010PX that includes a 150’ bulk roll of 1” tape for a very attractive price.

[boburtz]

Thanks all. As necessary and functional as it is, the shrink-over-label thing is something I'm trying to avoid, as that means dismantling cables in order to add labels. I've found some label stock that is self-laminating and I'm hoping to go this route. This way, I can print custom labels, with ID colors (we color code lengths in our shop) with the equivalent of clear shrink over the label. Ideally, this can all be done on a retrofit basis. I've found some contenders that I think I'm just going to try. I will post results if and when I do.

Update: I found this stuff:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0058SPZXQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Put regular water resistant laser printed labels on cable, tape over it with this. It looks just like shrink tubing over the same labels, we'll see how long it lasts or how long it takes to turn into goo.

[ProSoundWeb Community]