What to label, and with what
| What you label | Marker that usually fits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Copper patch cords | Self laminating wrap marker | The ID runs around the jacket and the clear tail seals the print. |
| Fiber patch cords | Flag label or wrap marker | A flag reads in a dense bundle without turning the cord. |
| Power cords to PDUs | Self laminating wrap marker | The plug end is where hands grab. The print sits under the clear tail, out of their way. |
| MPO trunks and breakouts | Flag label or wrap marker; heat shrink sleeve if you build the trunks | A flag reads across a full panel. A sleeve fitted during assembly cannot slide off. |
| Racks, cabinets and patch panels | Rack and panel labels | Flat labels for the frame, the door and each panel row, blank for your printer or printed to your list. |
Print on site, or get them printed
On most builds the IDs are printed on site, run by run, as the cabling goes in. That is what blank rolls are for: your printer, your ID list, labels when you need them. If the whole list is fixed before the build starts, the labels can arrive already printed and ready to wrap.
For installers: labels that outlast the build
- Same ID on both ends. A cable labeled at one end gets traced by hand from the other.
- Print first, then wrap. The clear tail protects only what is already printed under it.
- Size the tail to the cable. It has to go once around the jacket. On a 6 mm cord, that means at least 19 mm of clear tail.
- Short IDs built from locations: site, room, rack, unit and port. Our guide to cable naming schemes shows how.