What are the differences between UL certified and standard battery labels?
💡 💡 At a Glance
Battery labels with UL certification are not the same as ordinary labels. There are huge differences across five dimensions: material flame retardancy, adhesive durability, ink weather resistance, information completeness, and traceability codes. This article provides a comparison checklist from a printing plant's practical operations perspective.
In the second half of 2024, we received a special label order — the client makes power banks and needed 500,000 battery labels that comply with UL certification requirements. At the time, the client brought over a UL standard document with 6 major categories and 28 inspection items — just looking at it was overwhelming.
We had been making ordinary labels (cosmetics, food, beverages) for over ten years, but the UL certification system for battery labels is a different world — it's not just a matter of label printing, but involves multiple dimensions including material flame retardancy, chemical resistance, permanent adhesive, traceability coding, and information integrity.
This article aims to clearly explain the differences between UL certification for battery labels and ordinary labels in one go — it won't give you the complete UL standard (that's hundreds of pages), nor will it give you a certification process guide (that's the certification company's job), but rather a comparison checklist from a printing plant's practical perspective.
What Is UL Certification and Why Battery Labels Need It
UL (Underwriters Laboratories) is an independent third-party safety science company in the United States, founded in 1894. UL certification itself is not mandated by U.S. federal law, but retailers, insurance companies, and regulatory bodies in the United States and Canada widely accept UL certification as a safety benchmark.
The main reasons why battery labels require UL certification are:
1) Major U.S. retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy require UL-certified battery products for listing; 2) insurance companies charge higher premiums for non-certified battery products; 3) traceability requirements from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for battery incidents; 4) mandatory requirements in parts of Canada and certain U.S. states (such as California and New York).
UL's primary standards for battery labels are UL 969 (durability testing of permanent label materials) and UL 2591 (specific requirements for battery labels).
5 Core Differences Between UL-Certified Battery Labels and Ordinary Labels
Difference 1: Flame-retardant requirements for materials.Ordinary labels have no mandatory flame-retardant requirements for materials (food labels and cosmetic labels all use standard materials). Battery labels require the material to pass the UL 94 VTM-0 or VTM-2 flame-retardant rating test — meaning the label material itself must self-extinguish within a short time after the flame source is removed.
Practical impact: The substrate for battery labels cannot use standard coated paper or PET; it must use specially flame-retardant-treated materials, with a cost 3–8 times that of ordinary labels.
Difference 2: Durability requirements for adhesive.Ordinary label adhesives only need to stick; battery label adhesives must pass the UL 969 accelerated aging test — no peeling, lifting, or adhesive residue after 30 days at 60 °C and 95% humidity. They must also pass chemical resistance testing (no peeling after contact with battery electrolyte and organic solvents).
Practical impact: Battery label adhesives use specialized formulations (mostly 3M specialty adhesive series or equivalent products from Nitto Denko), with a per-unit adhesive cost 5–15 times that of ordinary adhesives.
Difference 3: Durability requirements for printing inks.Ordinary label inks are required to be visually appealing and clear; battery label inks must pass the UL 969 abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, and UV resistance tests — text and graphics must not fade, blur, or peel during long-term use.
Practical impact: Battery label inks must use UV-curable inks or specialty weather-resistant inks; standard water-based or solvent-based inks cannot be used. UV inks cost 2–4 times as much as ordinary inks.
Difference 4: Information completeness requirements.Ordinary labels only need to comply with local regulations (such as China's GB 31241 requirements for battery marking and U.S. OSHA requirements for hazardous substance labeling). UL certification for battery labels requires the label information to be complete and traceable — including but not limited to: manufacturer name, battery type, capacity, voltage, production date, batch code, warning statements, and compliance marks.
Practical impact: Battery label artwork is reviewed strictly; every information element has hard requirements for position, font size, and minimum height. The artwork must be approved by a UL-authorized review body (such as UL itself, TÜV, or Intertek) before production.
Difference 5: Traceability coding requirements.Ordinary label batch codes can use any traceable method (inkjet, applied codes, engraving). UL certification for battery labels requires the traceability code to comply with the specific format of UL 2591 — usually containing multiple layers of information such as production date, production line, batch, and serial number, and must be machine-readable (barcode or QR code).
Practical impact: Battery labels require a machine-readable traceability coding system (database + printing equipment + scanning verification), with system setup costs ranging from 50,000 to 300,000.
Differences in Actual Printing Processes for Battery Labels
Beyond certification, the actual printing process for battery labels also differs from that of ordinary labels:
1) Higher printing accuracy — warning statements, minimum-height characters, and traceability codes on battery labels must be clearly legible, typically requiring a printing resolution of 300 DPI or above, with some requirements reaching 600 DPI.
2) Stricter die-cutting accuracy — battery labels are often applied to the irregular surfaces of battery casings (curved surfaces, grooves), and the precision of the die-cut edges directly affects labeling success. Die-cutting tolerances are usually required to be within ±0.1mm.
3) More complex surface finishing — some battery labels require surface lamination (to increase wear resistance) or spot UV (to enhance the recognizability of warning areas).
4) Tighter quality control — the sampling inspection rate for battery labels is typically 5-10% (compared to 1-3% for ordinary labels), with a corresponding inspection SOP for each certification requirement.
3 Common Questions About UL-Certified Battery Labels
Question 1: Does the printing facility need to have its own UL certification?
Answer: No. UL certification applies to the combination of product and material, not to the printing facility. The printer only needs to use UL-certified materials (face stock + adhesive + ink) and produce according to the UL-approved artwork. However, the printer must maintain complete traceability records to prove that compliant materials were used for every batch.
Question 2: If the customer provides artwork that has already passed UL review, can the printer produce it directly?
Answer: In principle, yes, but two things must be confirmed: 1) Whether the UL review of the artwork is still within its validity period (UL review is typically valid for 1–3 years); 2) Whether the materials used by the printer match the materials specified in the artwork (any material change requires re-submission for UL review).
Question 3: What is the approximate cost level of battery labels?
Answer: Compared with standard labels, battery labels carry a price premium of 3–10 times. The specific amount depends on: 1) Material type (higher flame-retardant ratings are more expensive); 2) Size; 3) Complexity of the printing process; 4) Order quantity. A standard label costs about 0.05–0.15 RMB per piece, while a battery label ranges from 0.3–1.5 RMB per piece.
Factory Selection Recommendations for UL-Certified Labels
If your product requires UL-certified battery labels, focus on three aspects when choosing a printing supplier:
1) Material Compliance: Can the printing supplier provide UL-certified material Technical Data Sheets (TDS)? Which certification bodies' certificates (such as UL, cUL, CSA) can they provide?
2) Production Experience: Has the printing supplier produced UL-certified labels? Are there similar cases for reference? It is recommended to require the supplier to provide at least 3 past UL-certified label projects.
3) Quality Control System: Does the supplier's quality control process cover the inspection items required by UL certification? It is recommended to visit the supplier's QC laboratory in person to check whether they have equipment for abrasion resistance testing, chemical resistance testing, and temperature resistance testing.
Future Trend: The EU Battery Regulation Has Also Arrived
In addition to the UL certification in the United States, the Battery Regulation passed by the EU in 2023 (EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542) also imposes new requirements on battery labels—including carbon footprint labels, recycled material content, QR code traceability, and state-of-health display. The new regulation will be implemented in phases starting from 2026, and from 2027 onward, all batteries sold in the EU must comply with the new rules.
Practical impact: For battery products exported to Europe in the future, label design needs to take both UL certification (for the U.S. market) and the EU Battery Regulation (for the EU market) into account. It is recommended to reserve expansion space during the label design stage to avoid redesigning later.
Conclusion
UL certification for battery labels is not simply a matter of printing a label with the UL mark; rather, it is a complete system covering materials, processes, design, quality control, and compliance. Both the customer and the printing house need to understand this; otherwise, situations can easily arise where certification is obtained but production cannot be carried out, or production is completed but certification is not passed.
LeXiang has been providing UL-certified label services for battery customers (including power banks, energy storage batteries, and power batteries) since 2023, with annual shipments exceeding 20 million pieces. If you need UL-certified labels or EU battery regulation labels, you can contact us for a technical solution evaluation.
Further Reading
Why Do Mineral Water Labels Curl After Being Soaked in an Ice Bucket for 24 Hours?
What Exactly Does the Alcohol Resistance Test for Cosmetic Self-Adhesive Labels Measure?
FAQ
Do battery labels need UL certification?
For the U.S. market, UL certification is not federally mandated by law, but major retailers such as Amazon and Walmart require UL certification for listing. For the Canadian market, it is mandatory. The EU passed a new Battery Regulation (EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542) in 2023, which will be mandatory from 2027. Specific regulations vary by state, with California, New York, etc. having stricter requirements. It is recommended that battery products exported to the U.S. or Canada obtain UL certification.
What is the material cost of UL-certified battery labels?
Flame-retardant materials cost 3-8 times that of ordinary labels (depending on flame-retardant grade); specialty adhesive costs 5-15 times that of ordinary adhesive; UV ink costs 2-4 times that of ordinary ink. Overall, the material cost per piece of UL-certified battery labels is 3-10 times that of ordinary labels, with the final cost per label ranging from 0.3 to 1.5 yuan.
Does the printing factory need UL factory certification?
UL factory certification is not required. UL certification applies to products and material combinations (each specific label needs separate certification), not to printing factories. However, the printing factory needs to: 1) Use UL-certified materials; 2) Establish a material traceability system; 3) Pass UL factory inspections (annually, mainly checking production consistency and quality control processes).
How long can UL-certified labels be used?
The validity period of UL-certified labels depends on: 1) The durability test results of the material itself (typically 10-year accelerated aging test); 2) Actual usage environment (temperature, humidity, UV exposure, chemical exposure); 3) Validity period of the UL certification certificate (typically requires re-examination every 1-3 years). In mild usage environments (such as batteries inside electronic products), UL-certified labels can last more than 10 years.
Do domestic battery products exported to the U.S. need UL certification?
U.S. law does not mandate UL certification, but actual market access requires it. Three levels: 1) Legal level — UL is not mandatory, but regulations such as CPSA and CPSC have safety requirements for some battery products; 2) Channel level — retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy require UL certification; 3) Market level — consumers and insurance companies prefer UL-certified products. Overall, it is recommended that battery products exported to the U.S. obtain UL certification.
📚 📚 Related Recommendations
Need a Custom Packaging Solution?
Learn more about packaging, or consult directly for a custom solution and quote