OSHA Compliant Safety Labels

OSHA compliant means ANSI compliant.  ANSI sets the standards for what safety labels need to look like.  It's known as the ANSI Z535 standard.  It specifies, for example, that an orange header is used on a warning label and a yellow header on a caution label.  You can read more about the ANSI Z535 standards here:

http://www.duralabel.com/applications/osha-compliant-signs-labels.html

A guide to OSHA labels and the ANSI Z535 standard is available free here:
http://www.duralabel.com/free-osha-safety-sign-best-practices.html

Note: The same standards apply to both labels and signs.

What about the materials the label is made from?  OSHA only states that the label (or sign) itself must be safe. That means the selection of label material is mostly based on non-safety related factors, such as durability.  However, one safety related factor related to label material selection is visibility.  The material selected must result in a label that is visible in the conditions in which it is used.  That means, for example, that reflective labels should be used in outdoor locations in which they need to be visible under low light conditions.

For durability labels are typically made from vinyl printed with a thermal transfer printer such as the DuraLabel PRO.  We typically think bigger means stronger, but with vinyl labels a thicker vinyl can mean reduced label life.  Thicker vinyl provides longer life in application that experience a lot of abrasion. That's why the vinyl used for floor marking is thick.  But must labels and signs are placed on walls and are not subject to abrasion.  In that case other factors come into play.

For outdoor signs and labels, thinner vinyl will provide longer life.  The thicker the edge, the more room there is for moisture to collect. Moisture causes the adhesive to dry out and fail.  To reduce moisture build-up on the label edge a thinner vinyl is used.

DuraLabel has more than 50 types of supplies available for the DuraLabel PRO printer. More supplies than are available for any other printer. You can always get the right vinyl... and the exact right supply with DuraLabel.  Call 1-888-326-9244 today to get the right labeling solution for your workplace.