Hi all,

Just wondering what everyone is using for identifing wires in their control panels. Currently I am using a Brady ID Pro Plus. I would like to get something different and wanted to hear pros and cons of different items. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Tom

Hi Tom -

I like the Brady IDXPERT hand-held labeler which replaced the ID Pro. I don't do a lot of panel building so I wanted a labeler that would be versatile - everything from wire #s to rack & safety labels with lots of choices for label sizes, types & colors. It's fairly rugged. I've only broken one in 4 years - someone dropped it from the scissor lift when they were in the rafters!

I also used the same printer at another shop where we had to use shrink wrap wire #s on a particular job. I could do those on the IDXPERT too. At first, I thought the shrink labels were a pain, but then I learned that they were easier to read & actually faster to apply when working inside a panel. They were still a pain in the field because I had to have a long extension cord for the blow dryer, but I'd work with them again.

The only thing I wish this labeler would do is connect to my PC to download a bunch of labels that aren't numerical. Maybe I'll find one of those next time someone drops this labeler...

HTH!
Susan

Susan,

Thanks for the reply. I have used the ID PRO for quite some time so I thought maybe upgrade to something beter, faster, ect.

I still do quite a bit of I/O wiring as well as the programming side of a project so something that will handle different types and sizes of lables would be great.

I will check out the IDXPERT. Again thanks.

Tom

I use the Brady TLS2200.

I have been using the Phoenix Contact Thermomark S1 for the past year. It is a small bench top printer which accepts different sizes of wire labeles, heat shrink, and other types of labels. I uses a software package to print from a PC and you can export from Excel or EPlan.

Giz

We use Brady Label Mark software to print out on to sheets of wire tags. We have selected two different style labels, one for wire (54 durable white labels to a sheet) and the other for tubing (78 durable white w/ clear tail labels per sheet) used on air logic tubing. We use a dedicated laser printer for printing these sheets. The sheets are loaded just like paper and the labels are peeled off the sheets as needed. The electricians seem to like the software and labels as it allows them to easily print out duplicate or sequenced numbers. They can also easily store unused labels to be reused on the next job.

They do also use the portable hand held printers when in the field for repairs or changes.

Bud

Thanks for all the replies, I will check into them.

Tom

I hate my ID Pro, but still use it for one off labels. For panels, I use the Panduit laser printable labels (pn S100X075YAJ). Way nicer than fixing the ID pro a few more times...