Control Panel Markings

Control panel markings put the identification onto the panel's own face rather than onto separate labels. Every switch position, gauge, terminal, isolator and warning legend is laid out as a single artwork and applied across the whole fascia in one operation, so the finished door reads as one scheme instead of a collection of plates fitted at different times.

The practical reason to mark a panel directly is that nothing stands proud of the surface. There are no plate edges to catch a cloth, no screws or adhesive to fail, and nothing for a hose or a brush to lift, which is why wash down areas and plant rooms tend to specify it.

Screen printing is the usual process. It lays a durable ink film onto the prepared metal, holds fine detail such as small tag numbers, scale graduations and mimic lines, and reproduces several colours in one layout. Once the screens exist, every panel in a batch comes out identical, which is what a builder producing a run of the same board actually needs. Engraving is used where the legend has to survive constant abrasion or solvent cleaning, because the character is cut into the metal rather than sitting on it. Other processes are available depending on the substrate; contact us to check.

Stainless steel is the common substrate for food, pharmaceutical, marine and outdoor work, since it can be washed down hard without the surface degrading. Anodised aluminium is lighter and cheaper for indoor switchboards and equipment fascias, and the anodised layer gives the ink a stable surface to key into. Powder coated mild steel doors can also be marked, though the coating and its colour need to be confirmed first so the ink and the cure are matched to it.

You can bring in panels you already have. Existing fascias that have been relabelled repeatedly, or panels where the original silkscreen has worn away, are stripped back and remarked to a current drawing. Equally, new blank fascias can be marked before the components are fitted, which is the cleaner and cheaper sequence if the panel is still being built.

Artwork is set out from your panel drawing and component layout. A DWG or PDF general arrangement with the cutout positions and the legend text is the most useful starting point, since the marking has to register to real cutouts rather than to nominal dimensions. We accept DWG, AI, PDF, EPS, CDR and PNG. Million has in house graphic designers who can set out the layout from a rough drawing or a schedule of legends; ask us about the scope when you enquire.

A marking scheme normally carries more than component legends. Mimic diagrams, phase and circuit identification, tag numbers matching the schematic, isolation warnings, scale arcs around analogue meters and the panel builder's branding all sit in the same layout.

Choose direct panel marking when the fascia should stay flush and washable, when a complete scheme is going onto a new or refurbished board, or when a run of identical panels has to match. If you need individually removable labels around each push button or selector instead, see our Switch and Panel Name Plates. Send us your panel drawings, the substrate and the quantity for a quotation.

Specified alongside our graphic overlays for a single printed fascia, and our name plates for switches where each control carries its own plate.