Safety-related labels are critical to the manufacturing of durable goods. For electrical goods and components to enter the US market, identification and warning labels must be tested and certified by the UL. Therefore, converters who supply labels for products being sold in the US must use materials that meet these requirements.
However, working with the UL can be a complex process. Materials for safety relevant labels must be selected carefully to ensure all parameters of the applications will be recognized by UL. Avery Dennison offers converters a wide range of UL recognized label materials, as well as leading support on UL-recognized label constructions.
UL Testing Criteria
The UL 969 “Marking and Labeling Systems Standard” requires that labels on durable goods will adhere to the product and remain legible. Therefore durable labels must undergo intensive testing that involves temperature, water, and UV light exposure conducted in UL laboratories.
The testing process can take up to 12 weeks, and if a label fails to meet these storage conditions, converters must re-evaluate the label material and start the process over again. Choosing label material that is already UL-recognized can simplify and shorten this process.
Label adoption streamlines the process
Avery Dennison offers a full portfolio of durable goods label materials that are already UL-recognized on numerous substrates, with different thermal transfer ribbons. Converters can take advantage of our UL recognitions by transferring pre-approved labels to their own UL label file via a process called “Label Adoption”. This is done by simply requesting UL to adopt from an Avery Dennison recognition for a material that has already passed the specification.
If your specific application does not fall within the parameters of Avery Dennison’s UL-recognitions, we can adapt our recognition parameters with additional substrates and thermal transfer ribbons.
Durable label experts at your service
Communicating with UL can be complex and resource-intensive for converters. Avery Dennison is a market expert in the unique needs of durable goods manufacturers and offers support for converters who are managing their own UL recognitions.
Our technical and compliance teams have years of industry-defining knowledge and are available to partner on your label construction. Whether assisting converters on effective ways to communicate with UL representatives or giving advice on the detailed process of how to get labels tested and recognized, our partnership with the UL allows us to provide you with invaluable support.
Avery Dennison experts are here to support your label construction project for durable goods. If you have any questions please contact us at label.support@eu.averydennison.com or refer to more information in our datasheets.
