MIL-STD-130, MIL-Standard-130, Aerospace Identification Tags Metal 

The MIL-STD-130 is a United States Department of Defense guideline that requires product identification nameplates, product identification labels, and product identification tags be designed in a specific way.

Any contractor or government agency must adhere to the MIL-STD-130 when applying any identification plates, identification bands, identification tags or labels to an item or piece of equipment owned by the United States government and military.

The MIL-STD-130 standard sets out guidelines for location, size and content of the nameplate, label or tag. Letters, numbers and characters must be permanent and legible. The minimum character height is .08 inches. Any lettering must be capitals using san-serif fonts only, such as Arial, Futura, Gothic, Trebuchet MS, or other san-serif fonts. All numerals must be Arabic, unless using Roman Numerals. Anything printed on these labels must be able to be read by human eyes, and in some cases scanned by computers.

There are a myriad of marking methods allowed by the MIL-STD-130 standard – acid etched, vibro peen, metal stamp, dot peening, engraving, embossing, cast or forged, molded, electro-chemical etched, laser discoloration, laser, laser bonding, laser engraving, laser etching, rubber stamp, decalcomania, photo anodizing, thermal spray, metal paster through a pre-encoded stencil, pre-encoded inserts and digitally printed.

All identification plates, identification labels, identification bands, aerospace identification tags, metal labels and identification tags must be able to withstand harsh environmental tests according to the standard. These product identification labels must be able to withstand extreme temperature, exposure to the harmful ultra violet rays of the sun, salt spray, chemical, abrasions and normal wear and tear.

The standard has strict guidelines to follow when making labels with barcode symbologies. The federal government uses the labels to track items for inventory control purposes. Without the standard, some products may go without having a label attached to its surface. Each barcode contains vital information about the item. A computer scanner can read the barcodes and interpret the data on them. These barcodes are accompanied by serial numbers that give the item a unique identifier.

With a unique identifier the United States Department of Defense can track an item throughout  its lifetime within the system.

With more than 25 years experience in the graphics industry, Data Graphics Inc can develop a product that adheres to the MIL-STD-130. Data Graphics Inc is located in Mount Dora, Florida northwest of Metropolitan Orlando.

Data Graphics Inc primarily serves the military, aerospace, medical, manufacturing, and telecommunications industry. Many companies in these industries have contracts with the government that meet the MIL-Standard-130 specification.

For more information about product identification products that adhere to the MIL-STD-130 contact our knowledgeable staff at Data Graphics Inc today.