Traffolyte Labels

[Ian Wilson (AUST)]

Hello Creekers,


Has anyone heard of Traffolyte Labels? i have been asked a few questions.

Can my Epilog 35 watt engrave and cut? Who supplies it?

I think the material is used by Electricians.

Kind Regards,

Ian

[Mark Ross]

Traffolyte, sometimes spelled Traffolite, was a brand name for multi-layered phenolic plastic sheets suitable for engraving. Each layer was a different colour so engraved letters or shapes would be a different colour from the unengraved portions. Thus it could be used for name tags, labels and signs.

The material dates back to 1927, when it was first produced by Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Ltd. at their Trafford Park factory in Manchester, UK for transformer labels. The complete business was sold to De La Rue Insulation Ltd [1] in 1945; De La Rue went out of this business in the early 1960s. There are a large number of companies manufacturing bi- and tri-layer phenolic engraving stock and it has become a generic term; no record of its having been a registered trademark in the US or UK has been found.


I am SO SMART! I went to wiki (LOL)

[Scott Challoner]

According to the Intergoogle: Traffolyte seems to be another older brand name of engraving plastic. Some people still refer to engraving plastic as Lamicoid too. I don't believe either are still in business. Traffolyte was made from phenolic. I think any engraving plastic like Rowmark or IPI are what you want.

[Scott Shepherd]

Ian, best I can tell, Traffolyte was a brand name for a product used in the industry years ago. Bakelite is a brand used back then that was spec'd on most all drawings. Both are a phenolic. The laser doesn't do too well with it. I have cut it and engraved it, but not with the best of results. A rotary engraver would cut it with ease.

Having said that, I find that most people have just adopted using the name and continue to use the names, even though most people are just using Laser Engraving plastics from Rowmark or IPI to do the same thing. Rowmark just came out with a new product for it, but it's not listed a laser engravable. I haven't ordered a sheet and tried it yet, but it's supposed to have more of the non-conductive properties of phenolic.

Most people call them "Panel Tags". Search the forum for it and you should get a lot of info.

Shoot, you guys type faster than me!

[Scott Challoner]

Shoot, you guys type faster than me!

It's the coffee

[Rodne Gold]

I use it extensively
http://www.tokerbros.co.za/engraving...s_plastics.htm
on my site
http://www.tokerbros.co.za/Images/IN...RAVING/cfw.jpg

From my suppliers

TRAFFOLITE

A three-ply high pressure melamine engraving laminate in a range of colour and metal finishes, used for clean line, easy-to-read, minimum maintenance interior signs with applications ranging from identification and warning signs in industrial and commercial complexes to directory slats, lapel names and tags.

• Tungsten carbide cutters only should be used when engraving Traffolyte
• Sheet Size: 1220 x 1010
• Thickness: 1.5mm
• Colours: 10 colour combinations
• Sold in full and half sheets

It does laser well , and you can get incredibly fine detail , it takes a lot of power to get thru the thick capping. Generates a lot of soot , but warm soapy water removes it. Cutting needs serious power , 50-100 w minimum , wierdly some colours cut worse than others.
It will take about 3-5x longer to engrave than regular engraving laminates.
Its also very cheap - well here , a full 1220 x 1220 sheet is like $20 or so
Its a very nice material for plant labels and the like , but does discolour and go brittle with advanced age , but its impervious to just about anything. Also fantastic for colour filling.
One seriously nice application is to use it in stamp mode and to make masters for guys who spin cast stuff cos it withstands the high temp and pressures of the vulcanising when they make the moulds.

[Mike Null]

Rodney has pretty well nailed it. In the US it is more expensive and not avilable in the wide range of colors as standard engraving plastic.

My customers who specify lamacoid, phenolic and micarta are split about 50-50 as those who know what they want and those who mean laminated engraving plastic.

It will pay you to take the time to inquire and explain the differences.

Volume engravers use a rotary engraver to engrave and cut. As Rodney says, the laser works but it is much slower.

[Ian Wilson (AUST)]

Wow Mark.....thanks for the history.

[Ian Wilson (AUST)]

Thanks Scott..........do you feel the Rowmark material like Laser mark will have the same properties or more to the point no disastrous effects if used in the same applications?

[Ian Wilson (AUST)]

Cheers Scott.....hopefully a Rowmark product will surfice.

[Ian Wilson (AUST)]

Thanks Rodney..............do you think a Rowmark product has any disadvantages except cost compared with Traffolyte???

[Rodne Gold]

Rowmark and most coloured engraving laminates (mostly a screenprinted cap and an abs or acrylic substrate) is rubbish compared to traffolyte ...it has no abraision , heat , solvent, uv resistance at all and if used in harsh environments wont survive well at all. The engraving laminates with the thicker caps will be better , but not as good as traffolyte - thats why a lot of mnfgrs and plants specify it or its equavalent for marking and labels.

[Scott Shepherd]

Here's the new product from Rowmark. I'd never use anything other than specified unless the customer understood. These materials are used because of their properties and ability to NOT conduct electricity. Much of the plastic we use DOES conduct electricity, so make sure what you are doing is correct for the application.

It's called Safe-T-Mark from Rowmark :

http://rowmark.com/rotary/Safe-T-Mark/safetmark.asp

[Rodne Gold]

Our biggest problem with plastic based laminates and industrial plates/tags/panels is the the guys clean em often with solvents or stuff that affects the plastics.
If you looking for a real cheap alternative to Traffolyte then white formica sheets work quite well , albeit they dont engrave real black (more a very deep dark brown) they have a nice back surface that accepts adhesives well and keys to the surface they being stuck onto.
You need to use something like 3m vhb (isotack) as a double sided tape adhesive , the normal stuff wont withstand heat , solvents and the tags will droop , slide or come off.

[Mike Null]

Rodney

You just hit on the reason some people specify phenolic is the US --chemical resistance. Phenolic is brittle and subject to chipping and breaking and is not suited for outdoor use. The other reason is because there is a general misunderstanding among the project engrineers as to what lamacoid/phenolic is. (I call in every case where lamacoid is specified just to be sure.)

If the issue is not chemical then the laminates work very well.

For pipes and valves I'm using aluminum and stainless steel on a number of jobs.