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Lamacoid sizes: choosing letter height and plate size

Start from how far away the tag will be read. A quick table of letter heights by distance, the five common plate sizes, and how the builder sizes a plate for you.

GuidesSep 26, 20263 min read

On this page

Letter height by viewing distance
Common plate sizes
How the builder sizes a plate
Layout tips that make tags easier to read
Common questions

Open the builder

In short

Pick the letter height first, from how far away people will read the tag. The plate size follows.
1/4" letters suit most panel and disconnect tags. 1/8" fits breaker tags read up close.
In the builder, set a letter height and the plate grows to fit, or pick a plate size and the letters grow to fill it.

The most common question on a new tag is "what size?" The easiest way to answer it is to start with the letters, because that is what has to be read. Once the letter height is set, the plate simply needs to be big enough to hold the wording with a comfortable margin.

Four lamacoids at true relative size: 1/2 x 2 in breaker tag, 1 x 3 in panel tag, 2 x 4 in panel plate and 3 x 5 in nameplate

01Letter height by viewing distance

Think about where the person reading the tag will be standing. These are good starting points for high-contrast engraved lettering:

Letter height	Read from about	Typical use
1/8" (3 mm)	Arm's length	Breaker tags, terminal and device IDs inside a panel
3/16" (5 mm)	1 to 2 m	Legend plates, second lines of text, small equipment tags
1/4" (6 mm)	2 to 3 m	Panel IDs, disconnects, MCC buckets. The everyday size
3/8" (10 mm)	3 to 5 m	Main headings, solar warning plates, switchgear sections
1/2" (13 mm)	5 to 7 m	Equipment names seen across a room
3/4" to 1" (19 to 25 mm)	7 m and up	Room, tank and large equipment ID

Tip

If a spec gives a minimum letter height, that is your starting point. For example, Saskatchewan's 2024 code interpretations (TSASK) ask for the word WARNING on a PV warning sign to be at least 9.5 mm tall, so 3/8" is the natural choice.

02Common plate sizes

These five sizes cover most orders, and they are ready to pick in the builder:

CKT 14

PANEL LP-2A

DISC-3FEEDS RTU-2

A breaker tag, a standard tag and a panel label, drawn to scale with each other.

Size	What it is usually for
1/2" × 2"	Breaker tag: one short line beside a breaker
1" × 3"	Standard tag: one or two lines, the most common size
2" × 4"	Panel label: name, voltage and fed-from
3" × 5"	Nameplate: equipment ID with a few lines of detail
4" × 6"	Large plate: warnings, directories and diagrams

Any size in between works too. Enter a custom width and height in inches or millimetres.

03How the builder sizes a plate

The Lamacoid Builder gives you two ways to size, under step 2:

Letter heightChoose a height such as 1/4". The plate grows to fit your longest line with a clean margin. Want a heading bigger? Use the 1× menu beside that line.
Plate sizeChoose a common size or type your own. The letters grow to the largest height that fits, and the preview shows the resulting letter height.

The preview is drawn at actual size at 100% zoom, so you can hold a ruler to the screen if you want to be sure.

04Layout tips that make tags easier to read

Put the name on top. The equipment name on line one, details like voltage or fed-from underneath, one size smaller.
Keep a matching style. Same font, letter height and colour for every tag of the same kind.
Leave room for hardware. With screw holes turned on, the builder opens the margins so letters clear the screws.
Use capitals for short IDs. Capitals read cleanly at small sizes. Turn on All capitals under More options.