CableOrganizer.com Knowledge Database - F.A.Q.

When you have an entire patch panel’s worth of Cat5e or Cat6 patch cords to label, it’s important that you choose labels that are specifically designed to conform to the shape of cables, resist smudging, and stay in place. Here’s what we suggest for well labeled, easy to identify patch cords:

1. A Thermal Transfer Label Printer: Unlike computer-printer labels that are printed with easily smeared ink, or thermal labels that can become unreadable if they’re exposed to heat for too long, thermal transfer labels are smudge-proof and can survive exposure to moisture, heat, and sometimes even chemical solutions without becoming damaged or illegible. This is because thermal transfer label printers use heated pixel pins to melt and transfer a long-lasting polymer “ink” onto the actual label. Immediately after printing, the polymer cools in place and creates thoroughly smudge-proof, fade proof text, barcodes and symbols that can’t be scratched or washed off the label material. The majority of label printers on the market today use thermal transfer technology, and are available in simple handheld models for occasional labeling needs, or desktop models that can be networked to your PC for high-volume printing.
   
   
2. Flexible Nylon Labels: Flexible nylon labels are thin, pliable and backed with a strong, long-lasting adhesive, so they’re perfectly designed to conform to a patch cord’s round shape and withstand the bending, flexing and coiling that cables are prone to. DYMO® nylon label tapes are available in ½" and ¾" widths, and the finished labels are applied lengthwise to each patch cord, so that you can read the entire legend at a glance, without having to lift or turn the cable.
   
   
3. Heat Shrink Tubing Labels: If you’re extra concerned about peel-and-stick style labels eventually falling off your patch cords, heat shrink labels are the perfect alternative. Essentially short lengths of heat shrink tubing that’s made to go through label printers, heat shrink sleeves are printed, cut to size, slipped onto an unplugged patch cord, and shrunken into place. The resulting labels completely encircle each cable, so there’s no risk of them falling off, and none of the excess labeling material associated with flag-style cable labels.