Metal Labels

Metal Barcode Labels.

Warehouses and distribution centers rely on metal barcode labels when durability is essential. Anodized aluminum and urethane-coated steel offer exceptional durability, making them ideal for attachment to floors, totes, pallets, and more.

Thanks to the durability of aluminum and steel tags, they can also be reused. Supplied with adhesive backing and/or drilled, these are a popular choice with facilities management teams.

The strength of aluminum and steel tags allows for reuse. With adhesive backing and/or drilled holes, these tags have become a favorite among facilities management teams.

Label Content

Photographic sub-surface imagery enables aluminum barcodes to feature any type of image. Anodized aluminum tags typically include barcodes along with alpha, numeric, and alphanumeric content. We provide a variety of standard sizes, with 6” x 4” being the most common for floor tags. However, most orders are custom designed to meet specific customer needs.

Metal tags can accommodate nearly any barcode symbology, including linear, 2D, and stacked formats. While ASG Services primarily focuses on warehouses and distribution centers, we recognize that our products serve a wide range of industries. Barcode symbology often varies by industry—for instance, metallic barcodes are widely used in the pharmaceutical and automotive sectors, each with its own preferred standards.

We supply all products as individual items, carefully packaged to maintain the reference file sequence.

Metal Labels

Choosing the Right Metal Label Material

Metal labels are produced in three main materials. The right choice depends on the environment, the attachment method, and how long the label needs to last.

Aluminum Labels

Anodized aluminum labels are the most widely used option for warehouse and distribution applications. The barcode and text are produced using a photographic sub-surface process, which means the image sits below the metal surface rather than on top of it. It can’t be scratched away, worn off, or lifted by solvents. Aluminum labels are lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and perform reliably from freezer temperatures through to ambient warehouse environments. The majority of rack and floor barcode labels supplied by ASG Services are aluminum.

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is the choice for environments where aluminum isn’t sufficient: chemical exposure, high-pressure wash-down, prolonged moisture contact, or outdoor use. It’s heavier than aluminum and costs more, but it won’t corrode, discolor, or degrade under conditions that would shorten the life of a standard label. Stainless steel labels for equipment are used extensively in food processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and outdoor asset tracking.

Brass

Brass suits specialized applications where durability and appearance both matter: nameplate-style equipment labels, valve tags, and instrumentation identification. Brass machines cleanly, accepts engraving well, and develops a stable patina over time rather than corroding. It’s typically chosen for fixed, low-volume applications rather than high-count barcode runs.

How We Test Our Durable Labels for Equipment

Metal labels for warehouse and industrial use go through several checks before any order ships. Adhesive strength is tested across concrete, powder-coated steel, and painted surfaces, the three most common attachment substrates in distribution environments. Barcode scan rates are verified at multiple distances and angles to confirm the label performs on automated fixed scanners, not just handheld readers.

For floor labels, abrasion resistance is tested against forklift traffic, which is far more demanding than foot traffic. Steel floor tags embedded in epoxy are pull-tested to confirm the resin bond holds under load. Aluminum labels go through salt-spray testing to confirm the anodized layer seals out moisture over time.

If your application involves conditions not covered by standard stock, we can arrange sample testing before you commit to a full production run.

Where Metal Labels Are Used

The most common application is warehouse racking and floor location labeling, where a barcode failure creates immediate picking errors. Where facilities need durable labels for equipment that can’t be relabeled during downtime, metal is the only practical option. But metal labels are used across a wider range of industries than most people expect.

In pharmaceuticals, serialized metal tags track equipment through autoclave cycles and chemical sterilization processes. In automotive manufacturing, they’re used on body panels, engine components, and tooling throughout the production line. Aerospace facilities use metal barcode labels on parts that must stay traceable for years, often decades, long after the original batch paperwork has been archived.

Food and beverage plants use stainless steel labels because they hold up to high-pressure wash-down without delaminating or losing scan reliability. Utilities and infrastructure teams use aluminum and brass tags on outdoor equipment, valves, and cabling where a polypropylene or polyester label would fail within a season. See our cold storage rack labels if your facility includes freezer or refrigerated zones.

If your facility has a requirement that doesn’t fit a standard product, it’s worth a conversation. Most custom requests are achievable within standard lead times.

Customization Options

Standard aluminum floor tags run at 6” x 4”, but most orders are custom. We work directly from your location data file and produce labels in any size, format, or barcode symbology your WMS or scanning equipment requires.

Available options include:

• Linear, 2D, and stacked barcode formats
• Alpha, numeric, and alphanumeric content
• Variable data printed per label from your location data file
• Adhesive backing, drilled holes, or both
• Color backgrounds and characters on steel tags
• Custom sizes from small asset tags to large floor plates

All labels are supplied individually packaged in reference-file sequence, which speeds up installation and reduces sequencing errors on large runs. For facilities that need installation as well as supply, our field teams carry specialized equipment for embedded floor label work.

See warehouse label installation services for full details.