How do you mark a wire?

Wire marking is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to improve a facility, especially when it is done right when the wires are initially installed. Coming up with a good wire marking strategy will allow your facility to benefit from this process for many years to come. Take a moment to learn how to mark wires so that you can implement a good standard in your facility right away.

Decide What Goes on the Markings

The first thing to do is to determine what information will go on the markings. Each facility will require a different type of information, but in general it will include things like what equipment the wire is going to, and where it is coming from. In addition, adding details about the voltage of electrical wires, the type of data wires, and other things will be helpful.

Creating Wire Labels

Once you know what you want to go on the wire labels you will need to have them created. In most cases the easiest way to do this is to use an industrial label printer with good quality label stock. This will allow you to print off custom labels as they are needed so there is no delay involved with ordering them from a third-party printer. Markings for wiring can be made using heat shrink stock that wraps around the label, or tag style labels that are attached right to the label.

Installing the Wire Markings

Once the labels are ready, it is time to install them on the wires themselves. Ideally this will be done during the installation process of the wires so that you don’t have to re-trace the wires that are already in production. Securely attaching the wire markings to the wires will allow them to be seen for years to come. At the very least, these markings should be put on each end of the label. If the label is going across a long distance, or through obstructions, then labels should also be placed at key points along the way.