The cable and the label
How it will be read
Results
How these numbers are produced
Circumference is pi times the outside diameter you enter. Wrap coverage is the label length divided by that circumference, and the clear tail is whatever length remains after the printed zone. A self-laminating wrap needs its clear tail to reach at least one full turn so the laminate bonds to itself rather than to the cable jacket.
The character height is arithmetic, not a standard: it divides the reading distance by the ratio you select. The ratios offered are editorial starting points for different reading situations. Character width is estimated at roughly 0.62 of the height, which suits the condensed faces commonly used on cable labels and will differ for your own typeface.
Treat every number here as a starting point for a printed proof. Print one label, apply it to the real cable in the real position, and read it at the real distance and lighting before ordering a batch. The proof is the acceptance evidence; this calculator is not.
Read the guidance behind it
Choose a label printer for the work you actually do ↗
Select label materials for the conditions at the label ↗