Traffolyte, sometimes spelled Traffolite, was a brand name for multi-layered phenolic plastic sheets suitable for

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

. Each layer was a different colour so engraved letters or shapes would be a different colour from the unengraved portions. Thus it could be used for name tags, labels and signs.

History

The material dates back to 1927, when it was first produced by

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

Electrical Ltd. at their

Trafford Park Trafford Park is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Manchester city centre and north of Stretford. Until the la ...

factory in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, UK for

transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

labels. The complete business was sold to De La Rue Insulation Ltd in 1945; De La Rue exited this business in the early 1960s. There are a large number of companies manufacturing bi- and tri-layer phenolic engraving stock and it has become a generic term; no record of its having been a registered

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

or UK has been found.

Hazards

Traffolyte signs and labels are cheap to produce, and were very popular in the past. However, phenolic dust is now recognized as a health hazard and so precautions must be taken during label production.

References

External links

Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co. Ltd. 1899 - 1949 by John Dummelow M.A., A.M.I.E.E

Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Ltd advertisement from 1939

What is Traffolyte and How is it Made?
Phenol formaldehyde resins Engraving Metropolitan-Vickers Plastic brands {{polymer-stub