What do I mean by faded?
You can see on the picture, that there has been fading on the red label. But also more worryingly, the red colour is rubbing away at the edges. Now, if that continues you wouldn't actually be able to read the text as it is also white. Not ideal in this case because it is for instructions in the event of a SF6 gas leak!
Can I laser engrave Traffolyte material? - If you want to...we wouldn't!
Traffolyte material has been a favourite for traditional rotary engraving methods for many years. It has the ability to withstand high temperatures, therefore it was historically the ideal choice for the electrical, engineering and food industries. With the explosion of laser engraving, many material suppliers suggest that you can laser engrave Traffolyte. But, due to the thickness of the top layer it doesn't produce the same results as the micro laminates. This subsequently results in lower quality labels.
The thing I have always maintained is why would anyone want to spend time building a control panel for example and then but a poor quality label on the front. It leads to people thinking your panel is poor quality too.
You also can't laser cut it so you have to cut it with a saw or guillotine. This slows down production times, therefore, you guessed it, increasing the lead times across the industry. We all remember the quoted 6 week lead-time, which works for just about nobody.
Visual problems with mechanically engraved labels
Too thin?
When you mechanically engrave labels you need to use a cutter. You need to select the right thickness to give your text the right weight. This improves readability, particularly at distance. Whilst we appreciate that, at times it feels like the world has gone mad. You no doubt feel that you have to put warning labels and signs on everything these days to protect yourselves. Such as 'the contents may be hot' on your McDonald's coffee. I'm sure I won't be the only one who is not impressed if my coffee is cold after all.
But let's just assume you are labelling something because the message needs to be seen. Then it probably needs to be seen from a decent distance. Further reading from The HSE on Warning Signs here, should you be interested. The picture shows a label that may well fit the height requirements on text but it could be said that the text is a little on the thin side. That doesn't happen with laser engraved labels. That's because the laser engraves standard text from true type font families, such as Arial (which is our standard).
Too thick?
Often, mechanically engraved traff labels look older because of poor quality cutters and old fashioned font use. But as you can see from the yellow label pictured, the yellow top layer is quite thick so it gives a less crisp look than the newer laser engraving laminates, whilst being quite good for a mechanically engraved label, because of the font (which is Helvetica - I didn't make the label but I just know). If there weren't speech marks it would be even better, the cutter was too thick for those.
If you look at the black label below, yes that's right, in the same picture (the one you may have not noticed). You can see a very old label, it highlights the point above that traff will survive a long time but does lose its condition over time. The white text would probably clean up a little to improve readability but the lack of flexibility does make it prone to chipping.
What do we do differently?
As you may know, we DON'T use traffolyte, we use exterior grade UV stable 2 ply flexible laminate as standard (that is why we don't ask if your labels are going outside). It is laser engraved and laser cut. It has many benefits, including that the text will be identical on every label. Even when engraved at a later date to match previously made labels. The top layer is also very thin and therefore has the crisp appearance of a printed label from a distance. Whilst having the longevity of engraving as won't rub off in time.
The laser cutting element means we can produce labels quickly even when added elements such as lamp holes. Therefore bringing your lead-time down dramatically.
Our engraving laminate is also recyclable but more on that next time
If you are still with us, and want to know more, you can see more about our version of Traffolyte labels here.
If you'd like a copy of our label request form for ease please download it here.
Please feel free to use any other format you like if you don't want to use our form.
Contact us
You can fill in this handy form if you have any queries or email info@tie.uk.com if you prefer
