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Years ago, when
I worked for [a well-known service provider] putting in large
installations," recounts Lynn Pugh, president of Pugh
Communications (Wamego, KS), "some of the installers
would say, `Don`t label anything. That way, you know what`s
going on, but nobody else does. It makes you look good.` "
We've come a long way. Today, most, if not
all, new installations are labeled, and cable-labeling tools
and equipment represent a stable market.
Labeling network cables and components is not a difficult
job, but it is time-consuming. So products that make this
task as easy as possible generate loyalty among installers.
Doug Thomas, site coordinator with Crescom Engineering Co.
(Bowling Green, KY), says his company`s installers use handheld
Brady printers: "They print out a unique label--whatever
you want--on a sticky label that wraps around the cable and
is self-laminating. Once you put it on, you can seldom get
it off in one piece."
One feature that saves a lot of time is automatic sequential
labeling. According to an informal survey conducted by Robert
Moore, inventory control and purchasing manager at Puget Sound
Services (Seattle, WA), the feature most popular with his
company`s technicians is automatic serialization that some
printers offer. This feature lets installers key in just the
first number in the label series, and the printer automatically
numbers the rest of the labels sequentially.
While the market for labeling equipment is fairly mature,
manufacturers continue to enhance their offerings. According
to Todd Fries, product marketing manager for identification
products with Tyton Hellermann, printers that use thermal-transfer
technology are the fastest-growing products in his company.
Labels printed with this technology can incorporate graphic
images like a telephone or data symbol right into the alphanumeric
text. "The printer determines the spacing on the label,
and when you combine it with our TagPrint Pro software, it
can print labels right on the fly but with such precision
that you can fit a lot of data, even images, without the distortion
you find in other print media," explains Fries.
Keep it simple
Although installers usually appreciate the features that allow
label customization, some prefer a simpler, easier-to-use
solution. Richard A. Butler, department manager with MetroPower
Inc. (Norcross, GA), comments, "It seems like even [some
of the] handheld printers are over-complicated. A way to simplify
that is to have a lower-cost printer for Cat 5 basically,
with just one label that fits in there." With some products,
says Butler, "you can't just hand it to somebody and
say, 'Here you go; go label those cables.' You've got to spend
half a day's worth of training to figure out how to use it."
Other installers prefer the range of options that their favorite
products offer. "We've never had any problems with our
Bradys," says Thomas. "We have one of the latest
ones that has a few more features to it, but even with the
very first one, when we got it, it took maybe 30 min to play
with it, read the manual, and we were making labels. It`s
not complicated at all."
Most installers take pride in their workmanship, says Brien
Christopherson, data-communications industry manager with
Brady Worldwide (Milwaukee, WI). His company's smart-cell
technology delivers laser-quality labels that don`t smear.
"Contractors have a lot on their mind and they`re looking
for someone to be the labeling expert," he explains.
"They don`t want to mess around with programming and
formatting. The labels used with the TLS2200 include a smart
cell--a really small, inexpensive chip--on every roll of labels.
When you put the roll into the printer, the labels 'tell'
the printer their size and format, which font to use, how
to space them out--all automatically for the user. So, when
we have a new label size to fit a certain block or panel,
we program it into the smart cell, and for the user it`s just
drop-and-go."
A look at logistics
Convenience and economics are important considerations when
deciding whether to use cable-labeling software and printers
that pre-print labels in the office or handheld printers that
generate them at the job site. The method of choice depends
on what is more important to the decision-maker.
Pre-printing labels is time-consuming and complicated, according
to Crescom`s Thomas. "We used to pre-print labels from
a computer in the office, but that was much more complicated
because we had to lay out the scheme here and print all the
labels here, and put them on the cables as we pulled the wire,"
he explains. "But with the handheld printers we can have
one guy sitting there printing labels while the others are
pulling cable. It takes very little time." Pre-printing
also leaves little room for error, he says: "If you messed
up a label on the job site, you didn't have any extras to
replace the ruined label. With the handheld labeler, you just
make another label right there and put it over the old one
and go on. It's more handy."
Richard Schoultz, president of Schoultz Electric (Elkhorn,
WI), bases his decision on economics. "If I can print
them ahead of time, I'm far better off than having someone
in the field do it," he says. "It`s cheaper because
I'm not paying a technician to print labels; an assistant
in the office can do it."
It just makes sense
Why identify cabling and network components? "Labeling
is a 'pay a dollar now and save five dollars later' investment,"
says Brady`s Christopherson. "And people are realizing
that a dollar spent upfront is a wise investment. In my mind,
you can't call it 'structured cabling' unless it's identified."
Thomas agrees and adds that his company's policy is that,
regardless of the size of the installation, all Category 5
cables have to be labeled within 16 inches of the end. "From
an installer's standpoint," he says, "whenever you
pull the wire, it`s not necessarily punched down as you pull
it. You may pull 70,000 feet of wire, and then you have to
punch it down. If it`s not labeled, you`re in trouble."
Labeling the network is just common sense because it allows
any installer to pick up where another left off, concludes
Pugh: "It's simple stuff, but if I have to follow you
up, or you have to follow me up, you know what the heck I'm
doing."
(Reprinted,
with permission From Cabling
Installation & Maintenance, June 1999 issue, Copyright
© 2003 - PennWell Corporation. All rights reserved.) |
