Wire Harness Labels - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: dmw
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 04, 2025, 08:58:47 am
content: Hi All,Looking to see what people use to label wiring harnesses?Currently I've got marker pen on paper taped on with kapton, but looking for options.What works well?Any simple but effective strategies?Ideally without a huge up-front $$ layout

author: H.O
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2025, 12:34:49 pm
content: Printable heatshrink tubing.Dymo/Brother adhesive labels covered with transparent heatshrink.Or, if you want to go all the way, there are dedicated machines that can unroll from spool, cut to length, coil and lasermark directly on the insulation of the cable/wire.Personally I like the first for individual wires and the second for cables.The third is REALLY nice, I've never had (or had access to) such a machine but have worked with wire bundles/harnesses marked that way - it's nice. See here for examples:https://tri-star-technologies.com/marked-samples-gallery/

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2025, 01:05:09 pm
content: Yeah, buying heatshrink tube tapes for a label maker is definitely something to have available. I use it all the time. Very useful for wire labeling on test jigs, or anything where having to check the documentation for wire colors makes it slow/annoying.I recommend getting aftermarket tapes though (eg aliexpress), legit heatshrink tapes are way to expensive otherwise.Which means you want to pick a label maker brand/model that uses non-chip'ed tapes so aftermarket tapes will work.Heatshrink label maker tape can be a bit annoying if you require really small heatshrink as the text can get pretty small on small heatsink after it shrink.You can get BLE/WIFI label makers where you can create the labels on your PC or phone. That can actually be quite nice. The label maker keyboards can be annoying, especially when typing symbols which you can never find due to being burred in submenus in a horrible label maker UI. They also don't always have QWERTY layouts on labelmaker keyboards.There's always the flag option on most label makers. It uses normal label maker tape and prints a message with a lot of empty room for you to fold it over on itself around the wire and make a little flag out of it.

author: inse
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2025, 01:30:05 pm
content: Even quicker and dirtier: white electrical tape marked with marker pen.Next level: little inline tags fixed with transparent heat shrink tube (can also be print out)I hate those label style cable ties for single wires as they tangle up all the time.Printable shrink tubes are cool and professional but so is the price.

author: dmw
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 04, 2025, 01:31:14 pm
content: Aye, think next step is a proper printer.Does look like cable craft will make custom ones reasonably cheaply.Will add up over time though, might be worth investing in a printer.The laser engraving is nice, but again, not there (yet!). -https://www.cablecraft.co.uk/custom-pre-printed-self-extinguishing-heatshrink-3-1-yellow-50mm

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2025, 01:55:10 pm
content: We used Brady self-laminating labels for large scale wiring in data centers. The label has a band with white background for printing and the larger part is tranparent, meant to be wrapped around the cable and to protect the printing. Heatshrink tubing works only for cables without connectors or when the connector has just a slightly larger diameter than the cable.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2025, 02:00:22 pm
content: Quoteover the years ive found yellow tape stands out more than white,for longer life cover with clear heatshrink

author: Simmed
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2025, 03:25:40 pm
content: normal transparent heat shrink (the one with/without glue inside)write / print on paper, cut to size and sleeve it + heat

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2025, 03:30:28 pm
content: Printed heatshrink is probably the cleanest option, but IME the printing rubs off too easily for anything that will get a lot of handling. Of course you can cover it with clear heatshrink for protection, but at that point the label can be almost anything.If the wire/cable needs to remain flexible, you want a flexible/stretchable label material -- vinyl tape works well for the small label printers. For larger cables you can print on standard paper with heathsrink to protect it, but it's liable to wrinkle as the cable flexes.Self-laminating labels are also good, you can get them in continuous tape for small label printers, sheets that can run through an office printer or write on by hand, or in cut tape for the industrial label printers. If you want to get fancy, Brady's Wraptor printers will print and apply self-laminating labels automatically. We demoed aWraptor A6200a while ago, they seem like great little machines and we ran a few hundred labels through them, but ran into mechanical issues and software crashes with both of the demo units we tried that gave us pause on actually purchasing one. We may revisit that machine in the future, or the larger (and much more expensive) version that has a longer track record.If you have very basic labeling needs, you can get sets of tape with continuously printed numbers/letters, like the3M ScotchCodestuff.

author: macboy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2025, 05:18:09 pm
content: I have a brother P-touch labeler which can use the larger 24mm (1" nominal) tape. You can get special flexible cable tape which is meant to be wrapped around the cable. The extra flexibility helps prevent it from wanting to unravel and lets it flex with the cable (to an extent). The software has a label layout tool which prints the text across the label rather than along its length, and duplicates it several times. You also enter the cable diameter so it knows how long to make the label so it can wrap around the right amount. Then, after wrapping the label around the cable, the text is readable from any vantage point. It works well and is usable even for terminated cables where you can't slip on a heat shrink tube. The P touch labels are laminated so the printed surface is protected from wear. The only exception is the heat shrink which isn't laminated. Dymo also has a similar system but their labels are not laminated and the printed surface is exposed.

author: azeeman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2025, 06:42:03 pm
content: https://www.avshop.ca/wire-amp-cable/cable-management/cable-label-items/panduit-laser-cable-label-self-laminating-42-sheet-smallUse a spreadsheet to create the label printing pattern and then use a laser printer. I did a lot of panel wiring and these worked best and held up quite well. With a decent printer and a little bit of care in peeling off the labels, the sheet can be run through the printer multiple times if only a few labels are needed.Custom label printers are expensive and too slow if a lot of wires need to be labeled. Also, the heat shrink type are a pain if you forget to put the label on before crimping on a connector.