What safety label formats should I consider if I sell my products both in the U.S. and Internationally?

Click here for a complete answer to this popular question.

Can I use the ISO symbol-only formats in the U.S.?

To use "symbol-only" formats in the U.S. takes on the liability risk that your labels will not be in compliance with ANSI Z535.4-2002. Note: even though the Z535.4 standard is most often considered to be the legal "state-of-the-art" for safety labeling, the standard is a voluntary standard. Your legal duty to warn is to meet or exceed the standard. It is possible that you could argue that meeting the ISO standard "exceeds" the U.S. standard and is more appropriate for your equipment. This could certainly be the case if space limitations exist and/or if non-English reading users are a predominate part of your audience. But overall, our recommendation is that your revised safety label designs use the ANSI Z535.4 standard for your equipment sold in the U.S.

What is the "harmonized" safety label format?

Over the past several years Clarion has seen a dramatic increase in the need for what it calls "harmonized" safety labels for equipment sold both in the U.S. and abroad. These safety labels currently incorporate one or more ISO-formatted symbols in the symbol panel(s) of an ANSI Z535.4 safety label and include the yellow safety alert symbol in the signal word panel as reflected in the ISO 3864-2 standard. In so doing, you are satisfying the international requirement to communicate safety information in symbolic form. The question still remains as to whether or not the text needs to be translated into the language of the country into which the equipment is exported. Different CE compliance agencies (e.g. TÜV, TÜV Product Service, Intertek, UL, etc.) and even different staff at the same compliance agency will offer up different opinions on the point concerning translation. By and large what our customers have found is that you can most often argue against the requirement to translate the text by stating that the symbol(s) communicate the essential safety information and that you have translated the safety label and all safety information in the manual(s) that accompany the equipment. If translation is still an issue, either produce translated versions of your harmonized safety labels or use symbol-only safety labels with no text for your equipment that exports.
 

How can Clarion assist my company in the design of new safety labels?

Clarion provides safety labels for over 3000 capital equipment manufacturers representing over 100 industries. Unlike other safety label printers, we look at the redesign of an equipment manufacturer's safety labels as a collaborative effort between our staff and your engineering department. We bring to the table our cross-industry experience combined with an unparalleled knowledge of U.S. and international safety labeling standards. Your company's product design engineers bring to the process a thorough understanding of your equipment and the hazards/risks that are inherent in its installation, use, service and/or removal. Clarion often offers suggestions for improvement that your staff must qualify as to their applicability to your products. This is especially true as it concerns the content of your safety labels. You must make the choice as to what best suits your product. See our Terms and Conditions for more information.

What's wrong with the old OSHA-style formats?

Often the safety labels we replace use the old "OSHA-style" ANSI Z535.2 Environmental and Facility Safety Sign Standard formats. These formats will no longer exist in any of the ANSI Z535 standards as of 2002. In the 1998 version of the Z535.2 standard the old formats became an "alternate" format for safety signs - the "preferred" format was changed to the Z535.4 product safety label format (the format you should have been using since 1991 when the Z535.4 standard was first published). Up until the 2002 revision, the Z535.4 standard allowed product manufacturers to use the Z535.2 formats as an exception if they so desired. Labels that use the older formats were not technically obsolete from 1991 to 2001. But with the publication of the 2002 revision of the ANSI Z535 standards they will not be in compliance! After five years as the alternate format, the old formats have been eliminated from the Z535.2 standard and thus, are no longer a valid option for product manufacturers looking to comply with the Z535.4 Product Safety Label standard. There are several reasons why the Z535 committee removed the old formats:
 

1. Doing so allows the signs on walls to match those on products.
2. The 1991-present Z535.4 format includes the safety alert symbol - the symbol which indicates a personal injury hazard (the safety alert symbol is the triangle with an exclamation mark to the left of the signal word DANGER, WARNING or CAUTION).
3. More of the red, orange or yellow color appears in the signal word panel of a Z535.4 safety label when compared to the signal word panel of the old formats.
4. Removing the colored background from the text portion of the old orange WARNING and yellow CAUTION signs makes the text more readable.
5. The Z535.4 format more easily accommodates symbols, which are becoming more and more important on product safety labels (Click here for more information on the usage of symbols).

Since the 2002 revision of the ANSI Z535 standards completely exclude the old formats, Clarion recommends that you change all of your safety labels used on equipment sold in the U.S. to the ANSI Z535.4 format.