Lay out a plumbing service tag as a form, not as a logo. Preprint what never changes, give every written field real room, and choose a matte finish so a pen works on it. That is what gets a tag filled in by the technician and read by the inspector.
Preprint what never changes
Print your company name, license number, and phone number on every tag. Those are what someone reads years later, when the water heater fails.
Make the phone number the biggest thing on the tag. Whoever needs it is usually in a basement, looking for a number to call.
Give the fields room
Date, technician, and next service due all need space. A technician writes in the space you give them. A thin line under "SERVICED" isn't a space, so the writing ends up across your logo instead.
A pale box shows where to write without fighting the ink that goes in it.
Choose matte
Matte takes a ballpoint pen as well as a permanent marker. A gloss sticker takes a permanent marker, but a pen only to a degree. On a roll label, write on matte only: writing on a gloss roll label scratches off with a fingernail. For any tag that gets written on, matte is the safe choice. See writing on stickers and labels.
Keep text clear of the cut
Keep anything that must survive 0.09" inside the cut line on a sticker, and 1/8" inside it on a roll label. Regulatory text pushed against the edge is what comes back trimmed.
Backflow and water heater tags
Send us the layout your inspector or water utility requires, and we'll set it up to match. If you only know which fields you need, tell us, and ask us for a quote to design the tag from them. Or start from one of our plumbing stickers, which are ready-made templates. Either way, you approve a proof before anything prints.
Numbering devices
Sequential numbering is useful for tracking a device or a job across years. Our prices are for print-ready artwork, so adding numbering, QR codes, or barcodes is an artwork change. We can help: reach out for a quote. Tell us the first number, and we count up from it for the quantity you order. Variable data printing explains how a numbered run works.
Ordering
- Minimum: 50 of a design on vinyl, or 100 on High-Tack vinyl or on a roll.
- Production: 4 business days after you approve the proof, on vinyl or on a roll. Rush is available for a fee.
- Reorders: an exact reorder of an approved tag skips the proof round, which helps when you order the same tag every year. See how to reorder.