{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Use British English|date=August 2017}} [[File:NS Savannah - Reactor Control Panel - SCRAM Button.jpg|thumb|right|Section of the NS Savannah reactor control panel with engraved phenolic plastic labels]] '''Traffolyte''', sometimes spelled '''Traffolite''', was a brand name for multi-layered phenolic plastic sheets suitable for engraving. 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 Electrical Ltd. at their Trafford Park factory in Manchester, UK for transformer labels. The complete business was sold to De La Rue Insulation Ltd<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/wiki/Thomas_De_La_Rue_and_Co|title=Thomas de la Rue and Co – Graces Guide}}</ref> 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 in the United States 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== {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://www.sets.org.au/library/jim.lawton1/html/page_100.htm Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co. Ltd. 1899 - 1949 by John Dummelow M.A., A.M.I.E.E] <!-- Originally was at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jim.lawton1/html/page_100.htm --> <!-- in the absence of reliable sources, these at least show the terms in use --> * [http://www.aviationancestry.co.uk/?searchQuery=metropolitan+vickers+electrical&startYear=1909&endYear=1980 Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Ltd advertisement from 1939] * [http://able-engraving.co.uk/what-is-traffolyte/ What is Traffolyte and How is it Made?] <!-- these are intended to show actual usage to establish notability, not to promote the products -->
Category:Phenol formaldehyde resins Category:Engraving Category:Metropolitan-Vickers Category:Plastic brands
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