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It’s always the final product, and not its individual components, that must be certified.

WHAT ARE CSA/UL CERTIFIED LABELS?

Some products require special labels. Labels that can’t fail. For example, the registration label on your car door, or the electrical spec labels on your appliances. These labels must be CSA and/or UL certified.

Who are CSA and UL?

CSA International and UL are leading providers of product testing and certification services. They’re responsible for defining industry specific national and international standards, as well as for the testing required to prove product compliance to those standards. Once a product is tested, and if it complies, they issue certification marks for those products.

They are private and independent companies, and not associated with any brand or industry. That independence assures their neutrality and objectiveness.

CSA stands for Canadian Standards Association. Originally they were responsible for establishing norms in the Canadian market. UL stands for Underwriters Laboratory, and they used to be responsible for establishing the norms for the US market.

Why use CSA and UL certification?

Certification marks tell potential customers and users that a product has been evaluated by a formal process involving examination, testing, and follow-up inspection, and that it complies with applicable standards for safety and performance.

Certification is a guarantee that the certified product meets certain standards in safety and functionality in pre-defined conditions. In some cases, manufacturers will voluntarily comply with these standards in order to meet the needs and expectations of their clients. However, in other sectors of industry, these standards are imposed by governmental regulations.

Many people erroneously believe that assembling a product composed solely of CSA or UL certified parts makes the final product certified as well. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. It’s always the final product, and not its individual components, that must be certified.

Label Conformity to CSA/UL standards

Labels are also subject to CSA or UL approval. For example, if you’re applying a serial number label in a refrigerator (which itself must be CSA/UL certified), you want what’s printed on the label to remain readable and you don’t want the label to fall off due to cold or humidity (otherwise the refrigerator won’t receive certification). Same goes for products like ATV’s (All Terrain Vehicles), which are outdoors most of the time. Those products must have labels that resist UV rays, otherwise what’s printed on the label fades and becomes unreadable (and the ATV won’t get certification). Therefore, it’s extremely important to test labels and their performance under extreme conditions, and entities like CSA and UL do just that.

The IMS Solution

In order to help our clients conform to CSA or UL guidelines, IMS has had certain combinations of materials, inks, printers, and thermal transfer ribbon, pre-approved by CSA/UL.

IMS can therefore provide its clients with a variety of CSA/UL approved labelling solutions that range from pre-printed labels (printed by IMS) to variable information labels that you can print at your own location.

Since our products have been pre-approved by CSA/UL, this greatly reduces the amount of work our clients have to go through.

Let’s keep in mind that even if all the components that make up the label are CSA/UL approved (material, ink, etc), the final product, the resulting label itself, might not be. Many companies have been found at fault by inspectors because even if all the components of the labels were CSA/UL certified, their label manufacturer or supplier was not.

With IMS you never have to worry about that happening to your business. We are proud to offer our clients not only a fully CSA or UL certified service, but also the peace of mind that comes with that certification. For further information, please give us a call, one of our experts will be delighted to answer any and all questions you might have.