Printing your own chemical labels
Why print your own chemical labels?
Printing your own chemical labels gives you complete control of the whole compliance process and can considerably reduce the cost of your labels. When there are changes to regulations you can simply update your label content and design and carry on printing, without having to go through the expensive and time consuming ordeal of having someone else do it for you.
The GHCLP regulations have introduced a greater degree of complexity and potentially added to the cost of the labelling process. Each hazard requires a unique colour pictogram, signal word and a different set of hazard and precautionary statements for each chemical, which can lead to a proliferation in the variety of labels that need to be printed. In order to meet this added complexity utilising traditional methods, the amount of colour pre-printed labels that would need to be ordered will increase rapidly resulting in more expensive and inefficient labelling. However, with your own colour printing solution, you can effortlessly print colour labels with variable data for little to no extra overhead.
Thanks to major advances in both manufacturing processes and printhead technology, the cost of both purchasing and maintaining a label printing solution has drastically reduced allowing both small and large businesses alike to produce quality on-demand GHS compliant colour labels.
Hibiscus Plc – Experts in chemical labelling
Hibiscus Plc are a UK label manufacturer with over 40 years of industry experience. We have a dedicated team of experts on hand with specific expertise in the chemical industry that can match the most appropriate colour label printer to your specific requirements. If you would like to know more, or request a free sample print of your artwork, then please fill out our enquiry form.
If you produce products subject to international shipping regulations, International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG), GHS (Global Harmonised System), or BS5609 (British Standard 5609) labelling requirements, you will need to label them accordingly — and your labels must be able to withstand harsh environmental conditions. There’s a lot involved including using a GHS BS5609-certified label printer and inks, GHS BS5609-certified chemical label stock for that specific label printer, and chemical labelling software.
Assuming you already have a compliant label printer and use Hibiscus labels certified for use with your specific label printer, what role does chemical labelling software play?
- Chemical labelling software includes required elements. Chemical labelling software makes it much easier to design GHS BS5609-compliant labels complete with all necessary disclaimers, statements, and pictographs. For example, GHS labels require: a product identifier, GHS pictograms, signal words (like “DANGER” or “WARNING”, supplier information, hazard statements, and precautionary statements.
- You can use templates with chemical labelling software. With chemical labelling software, you can work off of a GHS template and insert the appropriate statements and pictograms quickly and easily. Chemical labelling software such as Hibsoft Label Enterprise includes all of the standard items specified by various chemical labelling standards as well as helps to enforce the rules of each standard.
Everything You Need to Print GHS BS5609 Labels
Hibiscus prides itself on offering comprehensive label printing solutions based on the unique needs of each of our customers. If you want to produce your own GHS BS5609 chemical labels in house, we can help you select:
- A GHS BS5609 colour label printer — We have the best brands in the industry including GHS label printers from Epson, and Lexmark. We can help you select the best label printer for your needs based on the number of labels you intend to print each month, print quality preferences, and other requirements you may have.
- GHS BS5609 compliant label stock — Our GHS BS5609-certified label materials are certified for each specific GHS label printer we sell. They are not cross compatible, making it important to select the right chemical labels certified for use with your chemical label printer.
- Chemical labelling software — We highly recommend using chemical labelling software such as Hibsoft Label Enterprise to ensure that your designs are compliant, too.
If you’d like to start printing your own chemical labels, give us a call to get a software demo and further information.
