Full Version: Phenolic Tags
From: Arkie [#12]
8 May 2005
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#11] 9 May 2005
Interesting... as a semi-retired engineer myself, I've done a lot of tags for electrical usage... mostly motor control center and control room instrumentation.
I've never yet made one out of a phenolic. I've always used layered Rowmark plastics. Of course, before lasers became popular,we used rotary enngravers, but lasers make them much easier.
If this were my job, I'd discuss this with the client and see if they will accept Rowmark instead of a phenolic. It's certainly cheaper and easier to work with plus you can offer a much larger variety of color combinations.
From: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#13]
8 May 2005
To: Arkie [#12] 9 May 2005
Hiya Arkie
Depends on the application , generally the phenolics are far more scratch resistant and almost fireproof as well as being able to be cleaned with some agressive solvents etc. For something like an indoor breaker switch panel , plastic normally works , but for heavy duty stuff - it wont last long.
Mostly in my part of the world , contractors wont accept anything barring phenolics cos they tried and tested etc.
From: Cindy (CINDYM) [#14]
9 May 2005
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#13] 9 May 2005
Same here - if the specs call for phenolic, we have to use phenolic, no matter how much we wish we could substitute Romark instead.
There are certain applications that just call for phenolic.
Cindy M
From: Jim (PUZZLEHEAD) [#15]
9 May 2005
To: Cindy (CINDYM) [#14] 9 May 2005
There are certainly applications where phenolic is the better product. But, I have found the majority of the time when "penolic" is specified, they only asked for phenolic because they thought it was a generic term for the little engraved plastic tags. Once they are educated about the newer materials, my customers almost always choose Rowmark's UltraMatte for their engraved tags. I don't even offer any of the non UV stable materials like the satins. The majority of my work is for industrial applications and less than 1% of the tags I make are phenolic. Sometimes when my customer is unsure about accepting non phenolic material, I offer to replace them for free if they do not hold up as well as phenolic would have. Nobody has ever asked me to replace any of the tags.
Jim
From: Cindy (CINDYM) [#16]
9 May 2005
To: Jim (PUZZLEHEAD) [#15] 9 May 2005
I hear what you are saying, and when we can we do move clients to the non-phenolic materials also. So many are uneducated, and that is our job - to let them know they have options. It seems that almost all, if not all, our government contracts require phenolic - the specs actually spell it out, so there isn't much I can do about changing them over if that is what the specs request. However, for the specs that don't specifically spell it out, I ask about useage and will make recommendations based on where the tag is going. We've been using a lot of lasered stainless tags also lately.
I'm not a thrilled provider of phenolic, but it does have it's place in our product line. I do charge according to POE (Pain of Engraving) when using phenolic - also, wear on machine & cutters.
Cindy M
From: GBengraver [#17]
10 May 2005
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#11] 10 May 2005
Moved to a more appropriate thread.
Harvey
EDITED: 10 May 2005 by HARVEY-ONLY
From: denimangle [#18]
16 May 2005
To: buck [#1] 17 May 2005
Hi Buck,
Im just getting into engraving so I cant help you there . But my husband has been an electrical contractor for 35 years, I was reading him your post and this is what he had to say. Everyone in the business calls them Phenolic tags but that they dont know the differance between Phenolic & Rowmark. That if he were you he would ask the Contractor & show him the Rowmark. It just might make your job easier.
Hope this helps you out