Symbols FAQs

Are symbols necessary?

Clarion believes that symbols are the key element of today's safety labels. The ANSI Z535.4 standard says that they are optional but European standards recognize that symbols have the ability to communicate across language barriers. For U.S. manufacturers, three factors make it important to have the right symbols on their product safety labels:

1. The world has become a single marketplace for their products.
2. Legal ramifications often make it necessary to communicate safety messages to a diverse and sometimes illiterate U.S. population.
3. A good legal argument can be made that safety labels are more adequate if they contain well drawn symbols because such safety labels have the ability to communicate hazard information quickly and serve to remind persons of hazards with which they are already familiar. Where word messages can be ignored, symbols stand out and are seen, distinct from the "clutter" of text information we are confronted with on a daily basis.

Because of our company's knowledge of the national and international standards that exist for graphical symbols, and because we have developed safety labels for thousands of industrial products in over 100+ industries, our library of equipment safety symbols is the largest one of its kind in the world. If you don't find what you need on this website, simply contact us. Whether it is a standard symbol or a newly designed symbol that has been developed using standardized drawing elements and methods, we highly recommend that you consider the use of proper symbology on your safety labels.

Which symbol should I use?

The answer to this question depends on several factors. First, if the safety label is going on a product shipping outside the U.S., you probably want to use a symbol that appears in an ISO format. This means that the symbol appears as a black graphic in a yellow triangle with black band, or a white graphic in a blue circle, or a black graphic inside a red prohibition circle with red slash. If you are shipping the product in the U.S., you can use either an ISO formatted symbol or a non-ISO formatted symbol (i.e. a black symbol that does not appear in a colored international surround shape).

Now as concerns a specific symbol, it is best to use a symbol that has acceptance in a standard when the symbol is appropriate to the hazard information you are trying to convey. But if the symbol does not quite match the hazard, you have the leeway to find and use a different symbol or to create a new symbol. Clarion has developed hundreds of symbols to meet the requirements of our customers and many of these symbols have gone on to become incorporated into standards. That is the evolutionary progress that is taking place in field of symbol standardization.

In our opinion it is usually better to use a symbol that suits your specific purpose than to use a generic symbol. For example there is a crush hazard symbol that appears in several standards that illustrates a downward force hitting the top of a hand (Clarion &hash;1017). If your hazard is a hand crush from the side, don't use the symbol that shows a hand crush from the top - use a symbol that shows a hand crush from the side (like Clarion #1042). The goal should be to illustrate a SPECIFIC hazard or SPECIFIC avoidance information when it is appropriate. Orientation of the human part with the hazard, direction of interaction or direction of motion, context of use...these are all specific elements that can often be portrayed in a symbol. Doing so can help the symbol to communicate your intended message.

Can more than one symbol be used on a safety label?

Yes. You may want to consider using multiple symbols to communicate both hazard description and hazard avoidance information. Though the use of symbols is not mandatory according to the Z535.4 standard, the vast majority of safety labels we produce for the 3000+ capital equipment manufacturers we supply contain one or more symbols. The simple fact is that the dependence on symbols is growing because the scope of the marketplace has become global rather than national. Symbols communicate across language barriers and in so doing, are the one "universal" element of properly designed safety labels. Additional symbols can communicate additional hazards and/or hazard avoidance information. The following illustrations show how additional symbols can be added. (See also multi-hazard safety labels.)

What are ISO-formatted symbols?

ISO safety symbols come in three categories:

1. Yellow warning triangle/black graphical symbol, indicates what the hazard is (fig. C).
2. Red circle-with-slash/black graphical symbol, indicates a prohibited action to avoid the hazard (fig. D).
3. Blue mandatory action circles/white graphical symbol - indicates an action to take to avoid the hazard (fig. E).

For export you can use either ISO symbol-only safety labels or you could choose to use harmonized safety labels (though the question of whether translation is necessary arises if you choose the latter option). If you choose the symbol-only safety labeling approach for your exported products, companies often have Clarion create a harmonized safety label by placing the same ISO symbols in the symbol panel of their ANSI Z535.4 safety labels - and then use these safety labels for equipment sold in the U.S.

Should I use ISO-formatted symbols?

Since 1995 when CE certification first became a requirement for machinery exported to Europe, Clarion has seen a trend in safety labeling towards the use of ISO-formatted symbols. This trend is illustrated in the following illustration - note how in example B the symbol has been placed in the proper ISO surround shape and color. (The word message has also been changed to black text on a white background, which follows the color requirements stated in ISO 3864, the primary ISO standard regarding safety signage). For more about label format options, go to FAQ on Standards Formats.

Where can I find the safety symbols I need?

Look no further than Clarion! Contact us and let us help you find exactly the safety symbols you need. If we do not have what you want in stock, we'll customize it for you - FREE OF CHARGE! Click here to find out more about our free customization services.

What are the origins of the symbols that appear on Clarion safety labels?

Many of the symbols Clarion uses in its safety label designs appear in U.S., international, or other countries' safety standards. In addition to symbols from standards, Clarion has developed hundreds of symbols to meet the requirements of our customers. Many of these custom-designed symbols have had a wider application and Clarion has used them to meet the needs of other customers. Several of the Clarion symbols have gone on to become incorporated into standards.

It is important to note that except for those symbols that appear in standards, Clarion maintains the copyright on all of the symbols we have developed.

Symbol research and development is a continual process at Clarion and the result is in an ever-growing library of symbols that our customers can utilize for their safety labels. Use of the Clarion symbol collection is a major benefit of using Clarion as your safety label vendor.