Traffolyte, sometimes spelled Traffolite, was a brand name for multi-layered phenolic plastic sheets suitable for engraving. Each layer was a different colour so engraved letters or shapes would be a different colour from the unengraved portions. Thus it could be used for name tags, labels and signs.
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The material dates back to 1927, when it was first produced by Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Ltd. at their Trafford Park factory in Manchester, UK for transformer labels. The complete business was sold to De La Rue Insulation Ltd [1] in 1945; De La Rue went out of this business in the early 1960s. There are a large number of companies manufacturing bi- and tri-layer phenolic engraving stock and it has become a generic term; no record of its having been a registered trademark in the US or UK has been found.
Traffolite is manufactured by (among others) PG Bison in Alrode, South Africa:
Cost wise it is a very economical product to use and was very popular in the past but has proved a health hazard if precautions are not taken.