Let's face it, companies these days are always losing equipment to theft and misplacement all because big brother isn't watching close enough. Keeping track of your company's assets should give you piece of mind and your employees some accountability. Just by putting a small asset label on their laptop or expensive piece of equipment, can sometimes mean the difference if that item makes it back or not.

Asset labels come in all sizes, shapes and material types. There are companies that will print custom asset labels with your logo, barcode and specific number sequence. This can be expensive with set up fees and long lead times. The result usually is a durable product that has a durable overlaminate that protects that number or barcode from smuding or scraping. Polyester labels seem to work the best for long life, exposure to heat and sunlight, etc. Consider tamper evident asset labels that can come in the form of VOID adhesive which leaves behind a stick residue on the asset it was removed from. It also makes it so that label can't be taken off and attached to another asset. The label itself reads "VOID" throughout, so one can tell that it has been tampered with. There are also Destructable Vinyl labels that tear and rip appart if someone is trying to remove the label. They will end up with a sticky mess. I even noticed that they have sheet fed asset labels that you can feed through your laser printer. I'm not sure how well they hold up to wipe downs of cleaners or chemicals but they would be worth a try.

Those applications that require harsh environments, heat, chemicals etc., you may want to look at annodized aluminum labels that are practically industructable. The image is baked into the material and adhesives are much more aggressive.

There are some companies, including Eversio, that print short run labels with a standard layout that can be customized with your company name, contact info, numeric sequence and even color that can be run quickly with no set up fees. Consider going with a bar code and number even if you aren't scanning labels. It's there if you need it down the road.

Brad Hole is President of Eversio Technologies http://www.eversio.com ; a Seattle based company specializing in barcode printers, scanners and labels.