Identification plates come in many shapes, sizes and colors. These can also carry a wide variety of information or as little information as the company deems is needed on them. These can also be attached many different ways, often depending on what the plate is for, what is on it and what it is made of.
So, what exactly are identification plates and how do various industries and businesses use these? These plates are used for many different reasons, and as the name implies, these reasons revolve around helping identify certain factors about the item the plate is attached to. For example, if a company is using model and serial plates on their products, these plates are used to identify or show people what the item’s model is, and what its serial number is.
Different Types of Identification Plates
To help you understand what these plates are for, and what their many uses are, here are some of the commonly used identification plates being used by many businesses and industries these days:
Warning and Instructional Plates – these plates are used to warn people of hazards that may come with certain locations, equipment or procedures. These can be found mounted on the equipment that are considered hazardous, in the areas where certain procedures may be deemed dangerous and in locales that require special care to avoid accidents. You can also find these tags being used to tell people what to do in order to avoid getting themselves in situations that may be life threatening or injurious.
Bar Code and UID Plates – these are plates that are often used to help expedite tracking and inventory tasks. Such plates may carry a barcode, 2D Matrix codes or both, depending on the item it is used on and what the company’s preference is. These can be made using corrosion resistant metals like aluminum, stainless steel or brass. These can also be made using aluminum foil labels and destructible vinyl labels, depending on what the company wants to use these on and for what specific purpose. For example, if the tag is to be used to track assets in your place of work, these can carry barcodes and be destructible so as to discourage attempts to steal such items these tags are attached to.
Inventory and Asset Tags – these are tags that are used to help with tracking and inventory keeping. You will find that some of these plates can carry barcodes and some simply carry spaces that can be marked with alphanumeric combinations that can serve as item numbers. These barcodes and alphanumeric codes are what companies use to keep track of items that their company uses, are making to sell or are storing for future needs. These tags can also be made with the use of corrosion resistant metals or even label materials like aluminum foil and tamper-evident vinyl.
Dog Tags – while some people may not consider these to be identification plates, if you look closely at what it represents, it is actually a perfect example of an identification plate. It is made out of a flat piece of metal, usually stainless steel or aluminum, and comes with information about the wearer printed, stamped or embossed on it. These tags can be used by military personnel and others in the service, but that is not the only place where these can be used. Dog tags can also be used by civilians and for a huge number of reasons. These tags can be attached to pets, luggage and even to individuals and such tags can carry different types of information, from addresses, to names, to medical emergency procedures and even who to contact in case of emergencies.