Safety label guides
Plain-language answers about label formats, signal words, US and Canadian labeling rules, materials and ordering. General information, not legal or safety advice.
ANSI Z535 Safety Labels: How the Standard Works
ANSI Z535 is a series of American National Standards for safety colors, facility signs, symbols, product labels, tags and safety information in manuals. A product safety label laid out to ANSI Z535.4 combines a signal word panel, an optional safety symbol and a message that names the hazard, its consequence and how to avoid it.
DANGER vs WARNING vs CAUTION vs NOTICE
In the ANSI Z535 system, DANGER marks a hazard that will cause death or serious injury if not avoided, WARNING one that could, and CAUTION one that could cause minor or moderate injury. NOTICE is for messages that do not involve personal injury, such as property damage, and SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS is for safe practices and procedures.
OSHA Safety Sign Requirements (29 CFR 1910.145)
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.145 sets basic rules for workplace accident prevention signs (danger, caution and safety instruction signs) and, in paragraph (f), for accident prevention tags. A 2013 OSHA rule added references to ANSI Z535.1-2006(R2011), Z535.2-2011 and Z535.5-2011 to OSHA's sign standards while keeping the older 1967 and 1968 ANSI references, so employers may follow either.
WHMIS Labels in Canada: Supplier and Workplace
Under WHMIS, a supplier label is the label a Canadian manufacturer, importer or distributor puts on a hazardous product: it shows the product identifier, supplier identifier, pictograms, signal word, hazard statements and precautionary statements, in English and French. A workplace label is the simpler label an employer applies when a product is decanted, made on site or loses its supplier label, under provincial, territorial or federal workplace rules.
Bilingual English/French Safety Labels in Canada
English and French are required on WHMIS supplier labels everywhere in Canada, on product inscriptions and most public signs in Quebec under the Charter of the French Language, and on the mandatory information of many prepackaged consumer products. Other workplace signs follow the language rules of the province, territory or federal regulator that covers the site.
Choosing Label Materials for Outdoor and Harsh Use
Match the material to the worst condition the label will see: polyester with an overlaminate for most outdoor equipment labels, vinyl for curved or uneven surfaces, aluminum or rigid plastic for posted signs, and metal or specialty stocks for high heat. Then pick an adhesive for the surface and prepare that surface properly, because most label failures start at the adhesive or the edge.
ISO 7010 Safety Symbols and ISO 3864 Explained
ISO 7010 is the international register of standardized safety signs, each with a reference code such as W001 or M002, and ISO 3864 sets the colors, shapes and design rules those signs and product safety labels follow. ISO signs rely on symbols with little or no text, while ANSI-style signs lead with a signal word and a written message; many products sold in several countries use a combined format with both.
How to Order Custom Safety Labels Wholesale
Send the label type, exact wording, symbols, size, material, quantity, language, any artwork, the ship-to country and ZIP or postal code, and your needed-by date through the quote form or the label builder. You get a quote and a proof, nothing is printed until you approve the proof, and you reorder later by quoting the part number.
Machinery Warning Labels for OEMs and Builders
Machine builders should start with a documented risk assessment (as described in ISO 12100 and ANSI B11.0), design out or guard what they can, and use labels for the residual risks that remain. Each label then needs clear content in a recognized format such as ANSI Z535.4 or ISO 3864-2, a placement where people see it before they reach the hazard, a material that lasts the life of the machine, and a controlled part number.