Nameplate Manufacturers

About Nameplates and Name Plate Manufacturers Including: Aluminum Nameplates, Custom Nameplates, Engraved Nameplates, Metal Nameplates & Plastic Nameplates.

Nameplates label and identify people, products and contents and sometimes offer short pertinent descriptions of which, what and who these are. Compared to ones used for the home or office, industrial nameplates must withstand harsher environments including high temperatures, long term outdoor exposure, abrasion, salt spray and chemicals. Industrial name plate manufacturers can offer a variety of different nameplates for a wide range of applications. First of all, companies need to identify their products with a plate, tag, overlay or label of their name and logo. While offering important information or instructions, graphic overlays also provide decorative value for faceplates, control panels, instrumentation, consumer appliances, food equipment, medical equipment and electronics. Many times labels are needed for identifying the serial number or barcode of specific equipment or parts. Especially in industrial environments, safety labels are needed to indicate proper use of machinery or warn of hazardous materials. Labels can also identify whether the product has been endorsed by the government or different associations.

Industrial nameplates can be found on aircraft brakes, Navy destroyers, the International Space Station, restaurant equipment and outdoor signs. Nameplates can be mounted or bound to the object that they are labeling in a number of ways. Commonly, they are riveted, screwed on or stuck on with an adhesive. Adhesive backings can be resistant of extremely high temperatures, extremely low temperatures, harsh and outdoor environments. The properties of name plates that vary from application to application include material, thickness, custom graphics, type of printing process, anodizing, adhesive backing, serialization and military standards.

Printing processes include hot stamping, screen printing, sub-surface printing, etching, embossing, mechanical or laser engraving, photo anodizing and lithography. Serial numbers can be hot stamped or printed on both the surface and sub-surface of most materials. Sub-surface serial numbers are the most durable and resistant, being fully protected from abrasions and solvents. Screen printing involves applying a photographic stencil to a piece of porous, tightly stretched polyester through which enamel colors are forced. Chemically etched nameplates are manufactured by masking certain areas of metal with an acid resistant material, thus allowing the unmasked area to be dissolved away. During the embossing process, the nameplate material is squeezed between a female metal die and a male counter one using heat and pressure to create the desired 3-D effect. Mechanical and laser engraving involves cutting the name plate with a rotary tool or a laser beam. Simply put, photo anodizing is like developing a picture on specialized aluminum sheet. In lithography, a printing press is utilized to move a master image to the nameplate using an ink-transferring roller device.

Materials used by name plate manufacturers include metal, stainless steel, brass and alloys, polycarbonate, Mylar®, rigid PVC or plastic, MetalPhoto®, vinyls and foils. Metallic plates and polycarbonates are ideal for harsh environments, although aluminum is not recommended for the harshest outdoor conditions. Depending on nameplate application and the type of material that is being used to produce it, name plate manufacturers offer a range of custom options from a limited number of colors to unlimited design possibilities.

Nameplates and Name Plate Manufacturers Images Provided by ID3, Inc.

Types of Nameplates

• Aluminum nameplates are metal nameplates made from aluminum, and they may be brushed, bright, etched or screened.
  
• Barcode, serial number, and model number plates offer encoded numbering systems for identification of each and every part, product or piece of equipment. Manufacturers can either provide the encoding or go with what their client gives them.
  
• Custom nameplates are manufactured to the customers’ design specifications. Depending on material and application, custom options could be limited or unlimited.
  
• Decals are made of light-weight non-metallic material such as heavy duty paper, polyester, vinyl or soft plastic or rubber and are usually made with backing to be torn off to reveal adhesive. So many customization options are available for these products, and they can generally be made in any size.
  
• Desk nameplates are used in more of a corporate setting to identify which desk belongs to which team member, maybe displaying a job title. Usually made out of plastic or wood, they are less expensive to produce, unless impressive bronze ones are chosen.
  
• Dial faces are labels, panels or plates that identify the calibration or measurements on dials or scales.
  
• Engraved nameplates are typically produced using mechanical engraving, laser engraving, whittling or photo-chemical etching processes to permanently cut out lettering or a design.
  
• Equipment nameplates are bound to the machinery that they identify. Small and rectangular or square, they can simply include the machinery manufacturer’s name and logo or offer details like location, phone number, power capacity, size, complementary machinery or components and model, make, stock or job number.
  
• Graphic overlays are decorative components with bright colors and crisp copy typically used for faceplates, control panels, instrumentation, consumer appliances, food equipment, medical equipment and electronics.
  
• Industrial labels are commonly made with an adhesive backing and of a thinner material and something other than metal, such as paper, vinyl, polyester, metallic polyester, reflective tape and phosphorescent tape. Choosing the material depends on the label’s function: Is it an instruction label, a safety label or a warning label? Does it need to stand out with a bright color or be seen in low light or glow in the dark?
  
• Metal nameplates are usually made out of aluminum, stainless steel, brass, bronze, copper, zinc, titanium or alloys.
  
• Panel fronts or front panels are thinner plates made to fit over specific control or instrumentation panels with openings and identifications for buttons or lighted displays.
  
• Personnel nameplates are any tags, badges or plates that identify employees or members of a company or organization, usually used as clearance or admittance for certain areas.
  
• Plastic nameplates offer a cost-effective alternative to using metal and other materials.
  
• Safety labels contain instructions for the proper use of the labeled object.
  
• Tags are pieces or strips of strong paper, plastic, metal or leather that attach by one end to something as a mark or label. These ID tags can be used when not a lot of surface area is available, for items like valves, wire rope or cable.
  
• Unique Identification (UID) labels are permanent, machine-readable, inscribed with a dot matrix and attached to qualifying items. They are part of a system of distinguishing one object from another to allow for Department of Defense tracking.
  
• Warning labels stand out in bright colors like orange or yellow or red and have big bold words like “Warning!” and “Danger!” on them to bring

Nameplate Terms

Anodizing (or anodising) – A technique used to coat the surface of a metal with an oxide layer. It may be used to increase corrosion resistance, increase wear resistance, allow dyeing or prepare the surface for other processes and coatings including paint.

Embossing – The process of creating a three-dimensional image or design in ductile materials by combining heat and pressure. This is achieved by using a metal die (female) and a counter die (male) that fit together and squeeze the fibers.

Etching – The process of using strong acid to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design.

Hot stamping – A process in which an engraved image is heated then forced against a part with a marking foil in between. Ink from the foil is left behind where the die meets the part; it is a dry process and the parts can be handled right after stamping.

Laser Engraving – A process that can precisely and quickly engrave very fine details using a laser beam combined with a CNC driver.

Lithography – An offset printing process where a rubber cylinder “blanket” rolls over a metal printing plate, picks up the master image and transfers the it to another area of the press where the nameplate is located. It is possible to achieve extremely fine detail in both direct and reverse print but does not weather well when placed outdoors or in other harsh environments.

Mechanical Engraving – A high-speed rotary tool cuts into the surface of a metal or plastic. Then enamel paint is filled into the engraved area.

MetalPhoto® – An anodized, photosensitive aluminum offering a sharp print quality that’s highly durable and extremely resistant to abrasion, corrosion and high temperatures. This material doesn’t fade or chip and is used in many military applications because it meets strict government regulations.

Mylar® – A strong laminated polyester film suited for sub-surface printing that has good temperature, chemical and abrasion resistance.

Photo Anodizing – Exposing an image onto specially coated aluminum that is developed much like a piece of photographic film and then sealed, thus trapping the image in the metal under an anodized layer. This method can produce small quantities of highly durable nameplates with a fast turn-around time.

Polycarbonate – A particular group of thermoplastic polymers easily worked, molded, and thermoformed. This material is extremely resistant to chemicals, corrosion and temperature; it also has excellent durability and light transmission.

Screenprinting (also, silkscreening or serigraphy) – A printmaking technique that creates a sharp-edged image using a stencil.

Sub-surface printed – Processed with the ink on the underside of transparent plastic materials, making it abrasion, oil and chemical resistant.

Vinyl – A non-laminated polyester suited for surface printing. This material has good chemical and abrasion resistance for normal indoor use.