It never fails: get a good piece of equipment or ideal tool, and as soon as you take your eyes off it, it grows legs and leaves. (Not really, but we all know what we mean.) Either someone on the worksite mistakes it for theirs, or someone else decides that your property would be better as their property. Or maybe it’s not about keeping things from wandering away but making sure that breaker box, switch, or valve stays clearly labeled.

Enter the DuraBlack Premium Asset Plate, one of the most readable, durable, and capable marking options on the market. These aluminum plates have a jet black coating on one side and an ultra-high strength adhesive on the other. When laser engraved, the DuraBlack coating turns a brilliant, high contrast white, making sure your markings are easily visible.

Sure, a lot of labels do the same thing, or at least claim to. But DuraBlack is certified compliant with Department of Defense requirements for the Item Unique Identification (IUID) program, MIL-STD-130. How durable is that? Take a look:
• Sun and weather? Still perfect after 2,500 hours in an accelerated UV and weathering test rig, per ASTM G155.
• Abrasion? Survived 4,000 cycles on a Taber Abraser (CS17 abraser wheel with a 1kg wheel load) and still looked like new. (And CS17 is the harshest abrasive Taber makes.)
• Temperature? After an hour at 700 degrees Fahrenheit, the white darkened somewhat, but was still readable by eye and barcode reader.
• Marine environment? Spent 30 days in an ASTM B117 Salt Spray Chamber and still looked like it just came off the engraver.
• Solvents and chemicals? Took a 96 hour bath in MIL-STD-810G solvents, oils, fuels, and fluids (and then some) and took no damage or discoloration at all. (If you really want the full list of chemicals, it’s below.)

For mounting, you can use the included pressure-based self-adhesive coating or rivet the plate down; DuraBlack is compliant for both.

As if all that wasn't enough, these plates come in handy for companies with service units or vehicle-specific equipment such as landscapers, lawn care companies, and repair services. In addition to marking your equipment as your property, you can also identify which truck or unit the equipment belongs to, eliminating the problem of trucks leaving the depot without necessary gear because another team "borrowed" it.

So whether it’s something too expensive (or useful) to risk losing or equipment that needs to be permanently labeled, DuraBlack is the answer.

Still concerned that you use a solvent or chemical that DuraBlack won’t survive? Fair enough: here’s the laundry list of chemicals DuraBlack went for a four-day swim in and came through smiling:

NOTE: If you intend to use your DuraBlack Premium Asset Plates in a solvent-intensive environment, it is strongly recommended that you use rivets or screws to secure the plates. While the plate and its DuraBlack coating are certified to survive all of the listed chemicals, the adhesive is not rated to the same standards.