What does UL test?
The UL 969 Marking and Labeling Systems Standard requires that a label will adhere to the surface of a durable product and remain legible for the life of the product, enduring the extreme conditions it may face. Both the raw materials (such as facestocks and overlaminates) and the printing processes (including inks and thermal transfer ribbons) used must be approved by UL.
The tests include:
Legibility, to ensure the safety information and product details included on the label are readable
Defacement, to verify permanence of label when subjected to frictional deformation
Adhesion, to ensure the adhesive that fixes the label to the product cannot easily be peeled off
Conditioning, to ensure the label can withstand the environment of its intended application, whether indoors or outdoors, through a series of tests to simulate humidity, water immersion, accelerated weathering and exposure to chemicals and solvents
After passing the appropriate tests, UL-recognized label materials, inks, thermal ribbons and other components are added to an approved file. UL continues to retest recognized materials monthly to validate approval on an ongoing basis.
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Benefits of file adoption
By adopting the preapproved label printing systems included in the Avery Dennison Customer-Ready Durables Portfolio, converters can simplify the approval process while gaining these additional benefits.
Reduced complexity. The streamlined portfolio covers a wide range of preapproved materials and printing processes suited for more than 70 percent of applications in the durables market. Rather than evaluating an endless combination of materials, converters simply select preapproved materials from the Customer-Ready Durables Portfolio, slimming their inventory and shortening the qualification process.
Reduced cost. By adopting a file of preapproved materials through the Customer-Ready Durables Portfolio, converters skip the step of producing sample labels for UL testing, which lowers the overall project cost, as well as the testing quote.
Reduced waste. Preapproved materials in the Customer-Ready Durables Portfolio are available in exact quantities and low-volume orders, allowing precise estimating while eliminating scrap.
Reduced wait time. Without having to wait for full UL evaluation of label samples, converters increase their speed to market to deliver certified materials to end-users sooner.
Reduced risk. Because the base materials, inks and thermal ribbons included in the Customer-Ready Durables Portfolio have already received UL approval, converters can adopt them without worrying about the testing results. The Customer-Ready Durables Portfolio lowers the barriers of transitioning to new materials by ensuring that label systems are already certified for converters to use. >
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