How to label compressed air hoses and valves in the food processing industry
Written by Oliver Stockton, Managing Director, CILS
Anybody involved in the high temperature, ultra-clean environment of the dairy and non-dairy, soft drinks and liquid food processing industry, will have had situations where a hose or valve has failed and needed to be replaced.
Computer imprintable labels are used by maintenance teams within the food processing industry to identify hoses and valves so that when a valve is removed to be replaced, repaired or rebuilt, the hose can be identified correctly and attached with confidence, to the correct part of the valve.
The labels usually need to resist non-chlorinated, alkaline cleaning agents and are usually printed with a simple unique number that corresponds to the hose or pipe.
A labelling system comprising a thermal transfer printer, ribbon and durable labels is ideal for new installation projects requiring a high number of labels and are also perfect if you want to print just one label at a time or in small batches.
An entry-level thermal transfer printer such as a GoDEX RT730i is perfect, because it has labelling software built in that would be sufficient for basic hose and valve identification. If you require more complex printing, Nicelabel software would provide you with all the design and print functionality that you need with options for database integration.
A GoDEX RT730i is only a few hundred pounds, but If you don’t have the budget available for a thermal transfer printer, the hose and valve labels you need for this environment are also printable using a standard office (black toner) laser printer.
The labels that you would need for the hoses are CILS-81000 (Thermal Transfer) or CILS-91000 (Laser) printable hose labels and for the valves CILS-TGWPET(HSE) (Thermal Transfer) or CILS-LMWPET (Laser) polyester printable valve labels.
CILS hose labels have a white or coloured panel for you to print onto, with a clear tail that wraps around the hose to laminate itself, which ensures the label stays durable and does not become detached. The CILS valve labels feature a solvent acrylic adhesive which cures and remains permanent, especially in hot environments, without the fear the labels may fall off.
If you install food processing systems or repair hoses and valves and need them to be easily identified, contact us and one of our technical specialists will provide you with the suitable label options and pricing.