Labels are cheap, load-in time is not. These seven points come from companies running hundreds of cases.
1. Label two sides
A case pushed against a wall shows one side, and it is never the side with the label. Put one on the top and one on the long side. Twice the labels, a tenth of the turning.
2. Pick a fixed position
Always top right, or always centred - which spot you choose matters far less than sticking to it. A crew learns the position within a day and after that only scans that corner.
3. Number your cases, even if you name them
"Case 14" works over the radio. "The black one with the cabling" does not. Numbers are also what ends up on a packing list and a waybill.
4. Use colour per discipline
Lighting, sound, video, rigging: a coloured edge or a coloured sticker next to the label sorts a truck full of cases faster than any amount of text. Colour does the work at a distance, the label does the work up close.
5. Put the weight on it
Above 25 kilos that belongs on the case explicitly. It is a health and safety requirement, but more importantly it decides whether someone lifts alone or asks for help. A weight on the label prevents back injuries and damaged equipment.
6. Replace a label the moment the contents change
A label with a crossed-out line and a pen mark next to it is a label nobody trusts any more. When the contents change, print a new one. That is only sustainable if printing takes a couple of clicks - budget less than a minute from change to printed PDF.
7. Keep the source central
The label is a printout of your records, not the other way round. If the truth only exists on the sticker, that truth is gone the moment the sticker comes off. Keep your case data in one system and print from it.
A label is a snapshot. Your records are the source. Never let those two drift apart.
Want to see what that looks like in practice? See what Caselabel does, or read why the layout of your label matters more than the design.