Heavy Duty Labels for Tools

Small tool labels: sizing for the space you have

The flat spot on a drill, a grinder or a meter case is often smaller than a business card. Tool labels have to fit it and still be read:

• 0.75 x 1.5 inch is the usual size for drills, saws and grinders, and it is the default size in the tag designer.
• Strongest-tier labels can be die-cut as small as 0.25 inch, in any shape, with no die charge.
• For a QR code, 0.5 inch is the smallest size that reads with a phone camera at 6 inches.
• On Stronger-tier vinyl, print resolves down to 6-point type and 13-mil 2D barcodes.
• On very small tools, a Data Matrix code fits more data into less space than a 1D barcode and reads through scratching where a 1D code fails.

Built for impact and handling

Tools get dropped on concrete, thrown in truck beds and tumbled together in boxes. Thin labels tear at the edges and lose their print to abrasion. The 12-mil plastic core of the Strongest tier absorbs impact that destroys thinner labels, and the 6-mil overlaminate resists the gouging that comes from riding in with other tools.

A flexible plastic label also follows the curve of a handle or housing, which a rigid plate cannot do. The photo above shows a Strongest label in daily shop use on a drill.

Solvent, grease and cleaning

Shop tools collect grease, coolant and dust, and they get cleaned. The overlaminate over the print is rated against isopropyl alcohol, ethanol and quaternary-ammonium disinfectants and resists chemical splash, so wiping a tool down does not wipe its number off.

Limits still apply. Sustained soaking in solvents stronger than a standard industrial degreaser, continuous heat above 250°F and direct flame defeat any printed label. Keep labels off any part of a tool that runs above ambient temperature.

Permanent labels for tools on textured plastic

Many tool housings are textured plastic, and standard adhesives slide off textured and low-surface-energy surfaces. The Strongest tier's 3.5-mil permanent adhesive is made for exactly these surfaces, and it also bonds to powdercoat and painted steel.

Clean the spot before applying: tools that have been in service should be cleaned with a hot solvent like lacquer thinner and allowed to dry. The adhesive bonds reliably down to a -10°F install temperature. The Strong and Stronger tiers are made for smooth surfaces, so leave textured tool housings to Strongest.

Tool ID labels that discourage theft

Ownership printed on the tool is a deterrent on its own. Add a Property Of line and your logo, which prints in full color at no charge on the Stronger and Strongest tiers.

For tools that tend to walk, choose tamper-evident material. A VOID-residue label leaves a pattern on the tool if someone peels it, and a destructible label breaks apart so it cannot be moved to another tool.

Numbering and tracking tools

Give every tool a unique number with a Code 128 barcode or a QR code that opens its record. If your tools are already numbered, send the list and we print exactly those numbers. Numbering and variable data are free. For check-out programs, rental fleets and tracking software, see tool tracking labels.

Not sure which tier your tools need? The spec builder returns the tier and the price in four questions, and samples let you test labels on your own tools first.

Where to put a tool label

Pick the flattest area that does not take direct hits or rub against other tools. Keep the label off grip areas, where hands wear on it every day, and off any part that runs hot. On a tool case or tool box, the lid or the side panel gives the label more room and keeps it out of the way.

Ordering tool labels

Build the label in the tag designer. The 0.75 x 1.5 inch default fits most tools, and the barcode and QR layouts print the serial number with the code. Upload your list of tool numbers as a CSV or Excel file, or set a starting number and we run the sequence.

Sizes smaller than the designer's standard sizes are priced by quote, still with no die charge. Strongest orders start at 100 labels, the prices are in the table on this page, and shipping is $10 flat within the United States.