Patchbae 💕

What is Patchbae 💕?

The app generates print-ready label strips at exact 1:1 scale for A2, A3, or A4 paper. Cut along the guide lines and slide the strips into your patchbay. Every label, section colour, and divider is preserved between sessions in your browser's local storage.

It supports 15 patchbay models across TRS, XLR, and Bantam/TT formats, with accurate hardware preview diagrams for each unit. Print options include A2 (single sheet), A3 tiled, A4 tiled, A3 diagonal (full panel on one sheet), and a multi-bay stacker for printing entire studio racks efficiently.

Quick Start

1. 1Select your patchbay model from the Model dropdown in the Preview panel. The diagram and geometry update automatically.
2. 2Type labels into the channel grid — each channel has a Top and Bottom row field. Or click Number channels to auto-fill CH-01 through CH-24.
3. 3Optionally add coloured sections to group channels visually (e.g. Inputs 1–8 in green, Outputs in blue).
4. 4Click A2 Print, A3 Print, or A4 Print to open the print layout.
5. 5In your browser's print dialog, set scaling to 100% or Actual size. Print or save as PDF.
6. 6Cut along the guide lines and fit the strips into your patchbay.

Interface Layout

The workspace is divided into five numbered panels:

Supported Patchbay Models

Select your patchbay from the Model dropdown at the top of the Preview panel. The channel count, label strip geometry, and hardware diagram all update automatically.

TRS 24-Channel Models

XLR Models

Bantam / TT 48-Channel Models

Bantam (TT) patchbays are twice as dense as TRS — 96 points (48 channels) in a single 1U rack space. Jacks are 4.4mm diameter vs 6.35mm for TRS. The channel grid expands to 48 channels automatically when a Bantam model is selected.

Neutrik NPPA-TT Series

The NPPA-TT series uses a distinct silver-anodised aluminium front panel (AlMgSi0.5 F22) fitted into a black coated steel shell — visually different from other bantam panels. All models use NJ3TTA gold-plated double-contact TT jacks (4.4mm barrel, 5000+ cycle lifetime) and share identical front panel dimensions: 482.6 × 44.45mm. Two removable paper label strips (top and bottom row) are accessible by unscrewing one outer fixing screw.

Label Editor

Each channel has two text fields — Top and Bottom — corresponding to the two rows of jacks on the patchbay. Labels are limited to 24 characters each.

Toolbar Buttons

Label Font

Choose a font for individual channel labels using the Label font dropdown. Bold and Italic checkboxes apply to all individual channel labels globally. Section labels (for grouped spans) have their own font setting per section.

Interactive Preview

Click any label area in the preview diagram to jump directly to that channel's input field in the editor. Click a coloured section to open it in the section editor for quick changes.

Draft Persistence

All in-progress form field values — section name, channel range, fill colour, font, border settings, divider fields, normalling fields, and the preset name — are automatically saved to your browser as you type. If you close the tab, refresh the page, or navigate away, every field is restored exactly as you left it when you reopen the app. Drafts are only cleared when you successfully submit a form (e.g. click Add section or Save preset).

Sections & Colors

Sections create a single merged label that spans one or more channels, with a solid fill colour. They're ideal for grouping inputs, outputs, returns, sends, or any logical group.

Adding a Section

1. 1Enter a Section label — this text appears centred across the span.
2. 2Set Start channel and End channel. For a single-channel label, set both to the same number. For a stereo pair, use e.g. 15–16.
3. 3Choose Apply to row: Top only, Bottom only, or Top + Bottom (default).
4. 4Pick a Fill color using the colour picker or the quick crayon palette swatches.
5. 5Optionally set a Font, Bold, Italic, or Leading spaces offset.
6. 6Click Add section.

Editing a Section

Click any coloured section in the Preview to load it into the section form for editing. The button changes to Save section. Click Clear text on a section card to blank its label without deleting it. Click Delete to remove it entirely.

Crayon Palette

The Quick palette row shows 10 pre-set pastel swatches for fast colour selection. Click any swatch to apply it to the current section colour. The Edit palette row lets you click any swatch to customise that colour using your system colour picker — custom palette colours are saved in your browser.

Section Borders

Each section can have an optional bounding box drawn around it, independent of the fill colour. This is useful for highlighting a section or creating an outlined-only style with a white or transparent fill.

Vertical Dividers

Dividers draw a heavier vertical rule between channels — useful for marking boundaries between groups independent of section spans (e.g. a divider between channel 8 and 9 even when both are inside the same section).

Normalling Indicators

Normalling indicators add visual arrows in the gap between the top and bottom label strips, showing which channels carry a normalised connection and in which direction. They appear in the preview and all print formats.

The section sits beneath Vertical Dividers in the Sections panel.

Direction Options

Presets

Presets save a complete snapshot of the current patchbay state — model, all labels, all sections, all dividers, font settings, and geometry — so you can reload it at any time.

Saving a Preset

1. 1Type a name in the Preset name field (e.g. "Studio Patchbay — Synths").
2. 2Click Save preset. It appears immediately in the list below.

Loading a Preset

Click the Load button on any preset card. This replaces the current state entirely — including labels, model, sections, and geometry.

Updating a Preset

Select a preset card (click it to highlight), then click Update preset to overwrite it with the current state. The name in the preset form is used if you want to rename it at the same time.

Export & Import

Multi-Bay Print

Stack multiple saved patchbay presets onto a single print sheet. Each bay is packed top-to-bottom with a preset name label above it. A new sheet is created automatically when the current page is full.

1. 1Save all the patchbays you want to print together as presets first.
2. 2In the Multi-Bay Print section, select one or more presets from the list. Hold Cmd (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) to select multiple.
3. 3Choose a Page size: A2, A3, or A4 landscape.
4. 4Choose a Print mode: Full patchbay or Labels only.
5. 5Click Print multi-bay layout.
6. 6In the print stage, click Print or Save PDF at 100% scale.

Print Modes

A3 Diagonal Print

The A3 Diagonal button prints the full 482.6mm panel on a single A3 sheet by rotating it 35.26° — the exact angle of the A3 diagonal (514mm), which is comfortably longer than any supported panel width.

How to Use

1. 1Click A3 Diagonal in the print button row.
2. 2The print stage shows the panel rotated diagonally on the A3 page with teal and red cut guides overlaid.
3. 3Print at 100% actual size on A3 landscape paper.
4. 4Cut along the teal diagonal lines to extract each label strip. The strips will be at an angle on the page — this is correct.
5. 5Straighten and fit into the patchbay as normal.

Print Geometry

All geometry values are in millimetres. Default values are pre-loaded accurately for each patchbay model. You should only need to change these if your printer has unusual scaling, or if you're trimming paper differently.

Print Guide

Page Formats

Cutting Guide

The printed sheet includes coloured reference lines to guide your cutting:

1. 1Cut along the horizontal teal lines to separate the top and bottom strips from the rest of the page.
2. 2For A4 tiled prints, cut along the red vertical lines at the tile edges, then butt the two strips together precisely.
3. 3Trim the left and right ends along the outer red vertical lines to match the panel width.
4. 4Slide the strips into the patchbay label slots — top strip in the top row, bottom strip in the bottom row.

Data & Storage

All data is stored entirely in your browser's local storage. Nothing is sent to any server. The app works fully offline.

Moving to a Different Computer

1. 1Click ↓ Export presets — this downloads a patchbay-presets.json file.
2. 2Copy the JSON file and the index.html file to the new computer.
3. 3Open the HTML file in a browser, then click ↑ Import presets to load your presets.

Tips & Shortcuts

Workflow Tips

• Use sections for everything that spans more than one channel — it's much cleaner than individual channel labels and allows larger, more readable text.
• Set the section label to empty and just use a fill colour for a colour-only block with no text — useful as a visual spacer between groups.
• Single-channel sections (start = end) are great for labelling individual important channels in a contrasting colour without a spanning label.
• Use Leading spaces in a section to push the text off-centre if you want the label to appear on the right half of a wide span.
• The preview is interactive — clicking labels is faster than scrolling through 24 channel cards.
• Save a preset before making large changes so you can always revert.
• Use dashed borders on sections to indicate patching that is temporary or variable.

Print Tips

• Print on plain white 80gsm paper first to verify scale, then on heavier card stock for the final version.
• Laminating the strips significantly extends their life in a working studio environment.
• For A4 tiled prints, use a metal ruler and scalpel for the join cuts — even a 0.5mm error will be visible.
• If your printer has a "borderless" mode, disable it — standard margins are fine since the strips sit well within the printable area.
• Save as PDF first, then print the PDF — this gives you one more opportunity to check scale before committing to paper.

Supported Browsers

Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge (all modern versions). Internet Explorer is not supported. For best print results use Chrome or Edge which offer the most accurate PDF export.

Version History