Truss Tape Plus

Truss Tape Plus

Hang off the marks.

Forty feet on the plot. Forty feet on the paper.

Turn a lighting plot into a full-size paper truss tape — built for 1:1 with per-printer calibration and an on-tape verification ruler. Stick it on the truss. Hang the fixtures. Done.

Start a free trial See how it works

macOS · Windows in progress

No cloud account needed. Works at the dock; printer on shop LAN is fine.

The problem

Load-in shouldn’t be a scavenger hunt.

Plots live on screens. Truss lives in the air. Somewhere between them, marks get guessed, argued over, and redone.

Guessing mid-span

Tape measures and “about here” don’t survive a busy hang with three crews on the floor.

Plot ≠ paper

Screenshots and scribbled sticks don’t scale. You need continuous tape that matches the plot.

Labels that wander

Channel, fixture, and position notes belong on the truss — not on a phone you’ll lose in the shop.

The gap

Tape tools that print a hang usually need a Vectorworks seat. Label tools don’t print a continuous truss tape. Web tools need a login and a network at the loading dock.

Truss Tape Plus is the hang tool in between — tapes and labels from the same export, on your laptop, calibrated to your printer.

Why scale matters

Why scale matters

A 1% feed error is about five inches over forty feet. That’s enough to put every fixture past the midpoint in the wrong place.

Truss Tape Plus treats the printer as an instrument. Print a short strip, measure it, apply the factor — recorded per printer and per roll of stock. Every tape carries an on-tape verification ruler so the crew can check it against a steel tape before anything goes up.

Built for 1:1 with per-printer calibration and an on-tape verification ruler. No inch / ± headlines. (The 1% / five inches is scale illustration in this section only — not a product accuracy spec.)

How it works

Plot to paper in one pass

1

Open the export

Vectorworks Spotlight CSV, MVR, or any spreadsheet fixture list.

2

Preview the hang

Warnings when one name is really several bars, or the data can’t make one honest tape.

3

Calibrate once

Print a short strip, measure it, apply the factor. Per printer and per roll of stock.

4

Print, gaff, hang

One position, one tape. Stick it along the truss. Hang off the marks.

Fixture stickers, cable flags, loom labels, and sheet stock from the same file — with an alignment test page for part-used sheets.

Why crews trust the tape

Built for 1:1

Per-printer measured feed calibration, plus an on-tape verification ruler you can check with a steel tape.

No cloud / no internet required

App on your laptop; the printer may sit on the shop LAN.

No Vectorworks license required

Standalone desktop app. macOS ships now; Windows in progress. No VW serial tied to your seat.

How you compare

Built for the hang — not another paperwork suite

Capability next to tools shops already know. Standalone local app with measured calibration and an on-tape ruler — no Vectorworks seat. We don’t replace Lightwright, PatchPrinter, or AutoPlot.

No Vectorworks license required Measured calibration + on-tape ruler Local app · no cloud
Capability Truss Tape Plus Lightning Tapes AutoPlot PatchPrinter Lightwright paperwork.show
Truss / pipe tapes (continuous thermal) Yes Yes Yes — — Yes
Fixture / cable / position labels Yes — Yes Yes Yes Yes
Both tapes + labels in one local app Yes No Yes — No Browser
Runs without a Vectorworks license Yes No No Yes Yes Partial*
Per-printer measured feed calibration Yes Manual Manual — — Manual
On-tape verification ruler Yes — — — — —
No cloud / no internet required Yes — — Desktop No No
Curved truss No — Yes — — —
Mobile crew viewer No — — Yes — Browser

Yes = verified does. No = verified absent. Not yet = not verified yet. — = unknown.

* paperwork.show: Partial — labels / CSV / patch without Vectorworks; continuous truss tapes need their plugin.

* Vectorworks export = worksheet CSV. MVR is a file format (not a vendor) — see MVR import row.

Built for 1:1 with per-printer calibration and an on-tape verification ruler.

App runs on your laptop; the printer may sit on the shop LAN.

For a limited time - founders pricing: $179/yr through June 1, 2027 · then $249/yr · 30-day trial, no credit card.

Others start at $329/yr and need a Vectorworks license.

Built for the people who hang the rig

“I need forty feet of truss hung correctly before lunch, with three people I met this morning.”

ME

“Show me it’s faster — and that it still works when I have no signal.”

Freelancer

Prep, label, send it out — tapes and labels from the same file.

Shop

Theatre · touring · festival · corporate LX

Venues

Works with your thermal printer

Works with shop thermal printers; we recommend the Epson TM-T20IV or TM-T20III with an ethernet port. Truss Tape Plus will help you calibrate your printer on day one and help you keep it calibrated as you print.

See supported printers

For a limited time - founders pricing

Become a founder

Founding
$179/yr through June 1, 2027
Then
$249/yr
Trial
30 days · no credit card
Platform
macOS now · Windows in progress

Move your license between computers in the app.

Become a founder

For a limited time - founders pricing: $179/yr through June 1, 2027 · then $249/yr · 30-day trial, no credit card.

Others start at $329/yr and need a Vectorworks license.

Questions crews ask

Do I need Vectorworks?

No. CSV, MVR, or spreadsheet export.

Offline?

No cloud / no internet required to print. Shop LAN to the printer is fine.

Mac and Windows?

macOS ships now. Windows is in progress for the Sep 18 launch — not verified yet. No Windows download until packaging is confirmed.

Do you sell the printer?

No. Use a supported thermal printer you already have — or buy one from your usual supplier. We recommend the Epson TM-T20IV or TM-T20III with an ethernet port.

Adhesive tape?

No — gaffer. No linerless on the TM-T20IV or TM-T20III.

What is founders pricing?

Limited-time founders rate: $179/yr through June 1, 2027, then $249/yr. 30-day trial, no credit card.