CLP Label Printing: Size, Durability, Rules

A printed CLP label must be firmly affixed, readable horizontally when the product sits normally, and clearly and indelibly marked. For packages up to 3 litres the label should if possible be at least 52 × 74 mm, with each hazard pictogram no smaller than 10 × 10 mm, covering at least one fifteenth of the minimum label area, and never less than 1 cm². Get those wrong and the classification behind the label doesn't save you.

Most CLP guidance stops at what information goes on the label. This one covers the physical side — because a compliant design printed on the wrong material stops being compliant about two weeks into a customer's shelf life.

This covers GB CLP requirements for products sold in Great Britain. This is not legal advice.

What the Regulation Says About the Physical Label

Two provisions do most of the work. On affixing and orientation:

"Labels shall be firmly affixed to one or more surfaces of the packaging immediately containing the substance or mixture and shall be readable horizontally when the package is set down normally."

On legibility and permanence:

"The label elements referred to in Article 17(1) shall be clearly and indelibly marked. They shall stand out clearly from the background and be of such size and spacing as to be easily read."

Four requirements sit inside those two sentences, and each has a practical failure mode:

Requirement	Common failure
Firmly affixed	Edges lift on wax-contact or curved surfaces; adhesive fails in a warm room
Readable horizontally	Text runs vertically up a slim jar so the buyer has to tilt the product
Indelibly marked	Home inkjet on paper smudges with handling or moisture
Stands out from background	Low-contrast type on a coloured or kraft label; pictograms printed too pale

The durability point deserves emphasis because it's the one people design themselves into. "Indelibly marked" isn't satisfied by a label that was legible on the day you applied it. It has to survive normal handling and use of the product.

The Size Rules

The regulation sets minimum dimensions by package capacity in Annex I, Table 1.3:

Capacity of the package	Label dimensions (mm)	Pictogram dimensions (mm)
Not exceeding 3 litres	If possible, at least 52 × 74	Not smaller than 10 × 10. If possible, at least 16 × 16
Over 3 l, not exceeding 50 l	At least 74 × 105	At least 23 × 23
Over 50 l, not exceeding 500 l	At least 105 × 148	At least 32 × 32
Over 500 litres	At least 148 × 210	At least 46 × 46

Nearly everything a craft seller makes lands in the first row.

Both figures in that row are qualified the same way. The label size is "if possible, at least 52 × 74", and the pictogram size follows the same pattern: "not smaller than 10 × 10. If possible, at least 16 × 16." The 10 × 10 mm is the hard minimum; 16 × 16 mm is the preferred size where the packaging allows it.

Table 1.3 is not the only size rule. Annex I 1.2.1.3 adds two more, in two sentences:

"Each hazard pictogram shall cover at least one fifteenth of the minimum surface area of the label dedicated to the information required by Article 17. The minimum area of each hazard pictogram shall not be less than 1 cm²."

Those are two separate tests. Note carefully what the first one measures: one fifteenth of the minimum surface area of the label — the figure Table 1.3 sets in its "Dimensions of the label (in millimetres) for the information required by Article 17" column — not one fifteenth of whatever size you happen to print. Work the arithmetic on the first row: the table's minimum label size for a package up to 3 litres is 52 × 74 mm, which is 3,848 mm², so one fifteenth is about 257 mm² — roughly 2.6 cm², or a square a little over 16 mm a side. That is the same figure as the "if possible, at least 16 × 16" pictogram size in that row, and two and a half times the 1 cm² minimum.

The practical consequence: a pictogram that clears 1 cm² is not automatically the right size. Measured against the minimum label area in the table's first row, the proportional figure lands well above the 1 cm² minimum — so treat 1 cm² and 10 × 10 mm as the absolute floor rather than the target. Check all three: the pictogram dimensions in Table 1.3, one fifteenth of the minimum label area for your package, and the 1 cm² minimum.

Note what a "pictogram" includes: the red border, the white field, and the black symbol. Measuring only the black symbol and calling that 10 mm produces an undersized pictogram.

When the product is too small

Shrinking the pictograms is not the answer — the minimums are minimums. The options are:

• Put the CLP label on the outer packaging (the box, bag, or tray) rather than the item
• Use a swing tag or fold-out label attached to the product
• Redesign the label to use the space better — a smaller supplier block buys room for compliant pictograms

Tea lights, small votives, and sample sizes almost always take the outer-packaging route.

Choosing Stock and Print Method

The regulation doesn't specify materials — it specifies outcomes. These are the choices that reliably deliver them.

Label stock

• Synthetic or vinyl — the default for candles, melts and diffusers. Resists oil, wax and moisture, holds adhesive on slightly textured or curved surfaces.
• Paper (matt or gloss) — fine for outer packaging, boxes and swing tags kept away from product contact. Poor against oil and moisture.
• Kraft and uncoated — popular aesthetically, but watch contrast. Pictogram red and black type on brown stock can fail "stand out clearly from the background".
• Clear/transparent — attractive on glass, but the white field inside each pictogram must actually print white. A transparent label letting jar colour through the diamond doesn't meet the pictogram spec.

Adhesive

Standard permanent adhesive is usually fine on glass and tin. Consider high-tack where the surface is curved, textured, wax-contaminated, or where the product goes somewhere warm and humid — a bathroom shelf is a harsher environment than a desk.

Print method

• Home inkjet — cheapest for tiny runs, weakest on durability. If you use it, use waterproof synthetic stock and pigment ink, and test properly.
• Home laser — better smudge resistance; check stock is laser-rated or it will misbehave in the fuser.
• Professional digital — the practical default once you're past a few dozen products. Consistent colour and reliable durability.
• Pre-printed from a label service — you supply the classification, they print. Best per-unit economics on settled ranges, least flexible when you reformulate.

A test worth doing

Before committing to a run: print one, apply it to the actual product, then rub it firmly with a damp cloth, leave it somewhere warm for a few days, and handle it as a customer would. If the print smudges or the edges lift, the stock is wrong — better to find out on one label than on five hundred.

Cosmetic Labels Are a Different Job

If you print labels for soap, bath bombs or skincare as well, don't carry the CLP rules across. Finished cosmetics sit outside GB CLP — no pictograms, no signal word — and their labelling follows the Cosmetics Regulation instead: INCI ingredient list, Responsible Person, batch identifier, product function.

The physical demands differ too. Cosmetic ingredient lists run long and print small, so legibility is driven by type size and contrast rather than pictogram dimensions, and rinse-off products need stock that tolerates a wet bathroom. Our soap labelling guide and cosmetic labelling requirements guide cover what those labels must carry.

Before You Print a Run

1. Confirm the classification is current for the formulation you're actually selling
2. Check the required label elements are present, including the "contains" line
3. Measure the pictograms — at least 10 × 10 mm, at least one fifteenth of the minimum label area (about 2.6 cm² on a 52 × 74 mm label), never below 1 cm², border included
4. Check the label meets the size guidance for the package, or that you've moved it to outer packaging
5. Confirm the layout reads horizontally with the product set down normally
6. Check contrast against your chosen stock
7. Run the durability test above
8. Only then order the run

Step 1 is the one that invalidates everything else. Printing five hundred labels the week before you change fragrance supplier is an expensive way to learn that classification drives production, not the other way round.

Common Questions

What size does a CLP label have to be?

For packages up to 3 litres the label should if possible be at least 52 × 74 mm, and each hazard pictogram must be at least 10 × 10 mm, must cover at least one fifteenth of the minimum label area, and can never be smaller than 1 cm². Measured against the table's 52 × 74 mm minimum label size, one fifteenth works out at about 2.6 cm² — well above the 1 cm² figure, which is an absolute floor rather than the target. Larger packages have larger minimums.

Can I print CLP labels at home?

Yes, provided the result meets the requirements — firmly affixed, legible, indelibly marked, correct pictogram sizes. Waterproof synthetic stock and a pigment or laser print will get you there; plain paper and dye inkjet usually won't survive handling.

Does the pictogram measurement include the red border?

Yes. The pictogram is the whole diamond — red border, white field and black symbol. Measuring only the symbol will leave you undersized.

What if my product is too small for a compliant label?

Label the outer packaging, or use a swing tag. Reducing pictograms below the minimum isn't an available option.

Do cosmetics need CLP label printing?

No. Finished cosmetics for the consumer are outside GB CLP and follow the Cosmetics Regulation's labelling rules instead.

Related Guides

• CLP labels: the complete UK guide for craft sellers
• Easy CLP labels: the fastest compliant route
• Can I make my own CLP labels? Free tools and templates compared
• What to look for in a CLP label generator
• What does CLP compliant actually mean?

Before you print, our free CLP Label Checker confirms the required elements are all present, and the CLP Pictogram Finder confirms which pictograms your classification calls for.

CraftCert produces print-ready draft CLP labels from your formulation, with pictograms at the Annex I sizes, and keeps the classification behind each one so a reformulation tells you which labels need reprinting. See pricing.

Sources

• Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, Article 31 — General rules for the application of labels (legislation.gov.uk)
• Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, Annex I section 1.2.1 and Table 1.3 — label and pictogram dimensions (legislation.gov.uk)
• HSE — CLP labelling and packaging requirements