Interpretation of certification marks on product packaging

After joining the WTO, domestic companies are facing more serious foreign advanced technology, scientific management and various laws and regulations and severe impacts. Many countries, especially developed countries, have introduced many new technology trade measures, not only New requirements have been added to protect personal safety and health, and new developments have been made in energy consumption and environmental protection measures. Such as electronic and electrical products exported to the European Union, must be affixed CE certification mark on the product or packaging; products exported to North America, must be affixed UL, cUL or ETL, cETL certification mark, otherwise the product will be banned in the country or Regional circulation. In addition, the European Union recently issued the WEEE and RoHS directives, Japan, South Korea has also revised its "Electronic and Electrical Safety Management Act", the United States, Russia and Australia, New Zealand and other countries for the electrical product market access also has specific laws and Technical measures. So how do you prove that the product meets the requirements of these laws and technical measures? This requires testing by an independent third-party testing agency to show compliance with the relevant laws and regulations of the host country and obtaining the corresponding product certification mark. This is what we usually see on the packaging of exported electronic and electrical products. With different certification marks printed, it can be seen that certification can regulate a country's import and export trade capabilities. This article only introduces the use of several common foreign product certification marks and their logos.

CE mark

1, CE mark overview

CE Marking (CE mark) is regarded as a passport for manufacturers to open and enter the European market. All products bearing the “CE” mark can be sold within the EU member states without having to meet the requirements of each member country, thus achieving free circulation of goods within the EU member states.

The significance of the CE mark lies in that the products with the CE marking are indicated by CE acronyms as symbols and are in conformity with the Essential Requirements specified in the relevant European directives, and are used to verify that the product has passed the corresponding conformity assessment procedures and/or manufacturing. The declaration of conformity of the company has truly become a permit for the product to be allowed to enter the EC market. The industrial products that require the CE mark to be attached to the relevant directives shall not be listed and sold without the CE mark. Products that have been marked with the CE mark into the market shall be ordered to be withdrawn from the market if they do not meet the safety requirements, and the relevant CE marking regulations shall be continuously violated. , will be restricted or prohibited from entering the EU market or forced to withdraw from the market. However, not all EU Directives use the CE mark, and some laws do not provide or allow the use of the CE mark, such as packaging and packaging waste instructions, or products that are not technically coordinated, and some instructions have unique representations.

2, CE mark style

According to the directives, the EU has uniform regulations on the size and style of the CE mark. The CE mark pattern is shown in Fig. 1, and it should be enlarged or reduced as required. The height of the CE must be at least 5mm.

3, CE mark use requirements

According to EU regulations on the use of the CE mark, manufacturers shall apply the CE mark on the packaging of products and products as follows:

1. Unless otherwise stated in the technical regulations, the minimum height of the mark is not less than 5mm.

2. The mark shall be affixed to the product or nameplate. If it is impossible or not allowed to adhere to the product due to its characteristics, it shall be affixed to the package. If the relevant regulations require the product to be accompanied by certain documents, it shall be marked on the document.

3. The affixed CE mark must be legible and difficult to wipe off.

4. For different instructions CE mark also need to add the information specified in the instruction.

UL mark

UL Mark Overview

UL is a shorthand for Underwriter Laboratories Inc. The UL Underwriters Laboratories is the most authoritative in the United States and the largest private institution engaged in safety testing and identification in the world. It is an independent, non-profit professional organization that conducts tests for public safety. UL was founded in 1894. In the initial stage, UL mainly relied on the fire insurance department to provide funds to maintain operations. Until 1916, UL was completely independent. After nearly a hundred years of development, UL has become a world-renowned certification body. It has a complete set of organizational management systems, standards development and product certification procedures. UL is managed by a board of representatives with security experts, government officials, consumers, education, utilities, insurance, and standards departments. The daily work is handled by the president and vice president. Currently, UL has five laboratories in the United States and is headquartered in Northbrook, a town in northern Chicago. At the same time, UL has set up corresponding laboratories in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

For UL's different types of services, UL Marks can be divided into three categories, namely, column names, ratings, and recognition marks.

1. Listed. Only for complete products and devices or devices that qualified personnel replace or install in the field. Products that belong to UL Listed Services include: IT equipment, AV equipment, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners and other electrical equipment. If the final product is to be marked with the UL Listed Mark, the sample shall be tested by UL to confirm that there are no hidden dangers of fire and electrical hazards.

2. Recognized. Approval is mainly a safety certification for the implementation of components and materials. The components approved by the approved service will be assembled in the finished product, and the components must comply with the relevant permit conditions before they can be applied to the corresponding finished product. Such as: switches, power supplies, printed boards, transformers, wires, plugs, plastic materials are all recognized objects.

3. Classified. UL's grading service is a safety certification program for assessing the special performance of products used in commercial or industrial environments in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. The graded service is mainly for building materials, various fire protection equipment and navigation equipment.

The three kinds of logos are used for products of three different types of services, and cannot be used together. Otherwise, they can be considered counterfeit products. UL's services are based not only on the U.S. UL standard but also on the Canadian standard (cUL). Thus, the UL mark is also divided into three categories for UL products and cUL products, as well as for both.