Time Savings Calculator

Calculate how much you could
save with thermal printing

Compare traditional individual character slide-on cable markers against the Fox-in-a-Box thermal printing system and see the real difference in time and labour costs.

Enter Your Labelling Stats

Adjust the values below to see your personalised time and cost savings.

What are we comparing?
Traditional individual character slide-on cable markers on a reel
Traditional Method
Individual character slide-on cable markers, each character selected from a reel and slid onto a carrier strip or ferrule, then attached to the cable.
Silver Fox non-shrink tubing thermal printed cable label
Fox-in-a-Box®
Thermal printed labels, print any text instantly onto non-shrink tubing (Legend™ or Fox-Flo® LSZH), ready to slide onto the wire.

This could be for a single project, a week's work, or a whole year.

With individual character markers, more characters means more time. Each one is picked individually from a reel. With thermal printing, it takes the same time regardless of character count.

£ /hour

The cost of the person doing the labelling. Default is the UK average for an engineering apprentice (£17.08/hr based on £35,520/year from Reed.co.uk).

15×
faster with Fox-in-a-Box®
Based on 6 characters per label. Traditional method takes 1.6 min per label vs 0.1 min with thermal printing.
Time Saved
25 hours
for 1,000 labels (24.8 hours per 1,000 labels)
Labour Cost Saved
£424
25 hours × £17.08/hour

Time trial: Time trial conducted at the University of Hertfordshire for Silver Fox Limited. The test compared applying 50 non-shrink wire markers using traditional methods (ferrules/individual character slide-on markers) versus Fox-in-a-Box thermal printing with Legend Non-Shrink Tubing or Fox-Flo LSZH Non-Shrink Tubing.

Traditional method time: 50 markers took 80 minutes (1.6 min each). Broken down as approximately 0.3 minutes fixed time plus 0.22 minutes per character for finding and attaching each marker.

Fox-in-a-Box time: 50 markers took 5.5 minutes (0.11 min / 6.6 seconds each). Print time is constant regardless of how many characters are on the label.

Default labour rate: £17.08/hour, UK average engineering apprentice salary of £35,520/year divided by 2,080 working hours. Source: Reed.co.uk

View Fox-in-a-Box® Contact Sales
Please note: The savings shown are based on time and labour costs only. This calculator does not include the cost of labels, markers, printers, or other materials. It focuses purely on the time saved and what that time is worth. Results and speed may vary.

Sources: Time data from a time trial conducted at the University of Hertfordshire for Silver Fox Limited. Labour rates from Reed.co.uk.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this calculator is based on data we believe to be reliable and is given for information only and without guarantee and does not constitute a warranty. All calculations are performed under ideal conditions with zero waste. Actual results may vary depending on print coverage, printer settings, and environmental conditions. E&OE.

All sales subject to Silver Fox Terms & Conditions.

See the speed difference for yourself

Watch a side-by-side comparison of traditional individual character markers versus Fox-in-a-Box thermal printing.

15×Faster labelling
6.6sPer label
Independently tested data Real-world tested 45+ years of expertise