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Label Center

Module: ChemIQ

The Label Center lets you generate and print compliant labels for secondary chemical containers — directly from your ChemIQ data. No more handwriting labels, no more outdated label templates, and no more guessing which pictograms belong on which container.

Print to standard office printers using Avery-compatible label sheets, or use a thermal label printer for single labels on demand. Every label pulls its data directly from parsed SDS documents, so your labels always match the manufacturer's hazard classification.


Why Workplace Labels Matter

OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200(f) requires that all containers of hazardous chemicals in the workplace be labeled. While original manufacturer containers come pre-labeled, secondary containers — spray bottles, transfer containers, smaller portions — need workplace labels that include:

  • Product identifier (chemical name)
  • Hazard information (pictograms, signal words, or other standard labeling)

Unlabeled or mislabeled containers are one of OSHA's most frequently cited violations. The Label Center makes it easy to produce correct, compliant labels every time.


Key Features

Quick Print

The fastest way to generate labels for your chemicals:

  1. Navigate to ChemIQ > Label Center > Quick Print
  2. Select one or more chemicals from your inventory
  3. Choose a label type (GHS, Secondary Container, NFPA, or HMIS)
  4. Select a printer typeLabel Sheets for office printers or Single Label for thermal/dedicated printers
  5. Configure the label layout and size
  6. Preview the batch
  7. Print

You can select multiple chemicals and print labels for all of them in a single batch — helpful when labeling a full shelf of secondary containers at once.

Label Types

Tellus supports four standard label formats:

GHS Labels

Full GHS labels include all six required elements per OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(1):

  • Product identifier — Chemical name matching the SDS, plus CAS number for single-substance products (required by OSHA for unique identification)
  • Signal word — "Danger" or "Warning"
  • Hazard pictograms — The red-bordered diamond symbols (flame, skull and crossbones, corrosion, exclamation mark, etc.)
  • Hazard statements — Every H-code statement from the SDS is included on the label. Duplicate statements from SDS parsing are automatically removed.
  • Precautionary statements — All P-code statements for safe handling, storage, and disposal. No statements are truncated or omitted.
  • Supplier information — Manufacturer name, address, and emergency phone number

All data is pulled directly from the parsed SDS. When labels contain many statements, text automatically scales down and switches to a 2-column layout on medium and large labels so that everything fits without truncation.

Completeness warnings — If any required element is missing from the SDS data (signal word, pictograms, hazard statements, precautionary statements, or supplier address/phone), the label displays a red italic warning so you know the label is incomplete. When supplier address or emergency phone is unavailable, the label shows "Not available in SDS" in the supplier section rather than silently omitting the field.

Secondary Container Labels

A simplified label format designed for workplace secondary containers. Per OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(6), secondary container labels must provide at minimum:

  • Product identifier — Chemical name
  • Signal word — "Danger" or "Warning"
  • Hazard pictograms — GHS diamond symbols
  • Hazard statements — Specific descriptions of the hazard (enabled by default, configurable toggle). OSHA requires "words, pictures, symbols, or combination thereof" that provide the same hazard information as the full GHS label.

Secondary container labels are compact and practical for smaller containers like spray bottles and transfer vessels.

NFPA 704 Diamond Labels

The National Fire Protection Association's "fire diamond" rating system, commonly used by fire departments and emergency responders:

  • Red (top) — Flammability rating (0 to 4)
  • Blue (left) — Health hazard rating (0 to 4)
  • Yellow (right) — Instability/reactivity rating (0 to 4)
  • White (bottom) — Special notices (oxidizer, water reactive, etc.)

NFPA diamonds are especially useful for storage areas, chemical cabinets, and any location where fire departments need to quickly assess hazards during an emergency.

HMIS Labels

The Hazardous Materials Identification System label format, developed by the American Coatings Association:

  • Blue — Health hazard rating
  • Red — Flammability rating
  • Orange — Physical hazard rating
  • White — PPE code letter indicating required personal protective equipment

HMIS labels are popular in manufacturing and coating operations.

Sheet Printing

Print labels on standard office printers using Avery-compatible label sheets. Select Label Sheets as the Printer Type in the label configuration panel to access sheet layouts.

Supported sheet layouts:

Sheet FormatLabels per SheetLabel SizeBest For
Avery 516030 per sheet1" x 2.625"Barcode labels
Avery 516310 per sheet2" x 4"Barcode labels, secondary container labels
Avery 51646 per sheet3.33" x 4"GHS labels, secondary container labels, NFPA diamonds
Avery 52651 per sheet (full page)Full letter sizeLarge GHS labels, drum labels

Labels tile left-to-right, top-to-bottom on each sheet. When your batch exceeds the number of labels that fit on one sheet, additional pages are generated automatically — just load the sheets and print.

Single Label mode — Select Single Label as the printer type if you use a thermal or dedicated label printer. This produces one label per page, matching the behavior of dedicated label printing hardware.

Label Sizes

GHS labels are available in multiple sizes to fit different container types:

SizeUse Case
SmallSmall bottles and vials
MediumStandard containers and spray bottles
LargeLarger containers and jugs
X-Large (A4)Drums and large containers with many hazard/precautionary statements

The X-Large (A4) size is designed for chemicals with extensive hazard classifications — it provides enough space to display all statements at a readable font size, even for products with dozens of H-codes and P-codes.

Full-Size Label Preview

Click any label thumbnail in the batch preview grid to open a full-size preview modal. This lets you:

  • View the label at full readable size with all content visible
  • Review all pages when printing multi-page sheet layouts
  • Navigate between chemicals using arrow keys
  • Verify completeness warnings and statement accuracy before printing

A "Click any label to view full size" hint appears in the preview grid.

Templates

Save label configurations as templates for reuse:

  • Define your preferred label size, printer type, sheet format, and content options
  • Apply a template when printing to maintain consistency across your organization
  • Share templates across sites so every location produces the same label format

Track every label print job:

  • Date and time of each print job
  • Which chemicals were included
  • Who printed the labels
  • Label type and template used

Print history helps you demonstrate to inspectors that your labeling program is active and current.

Label Configuration

Customize the content and format of your labels:

  • Printer typeLabel Sheets (office printer) or Single Label (thermal/dedicated printer)
  • Sheet format — Avery sheet layout (when using Label Sheets mode)
  • Label size — Small, Medium, Large, or X-Large
  • Content options — Choose which optional fields to include (all required GHS fields are always included; secondary container labels have a toggle for hazard statements)
  • Auto-scaling text — Text automatically shrinks to fit all content on one label instead of truncating
  • Language — Primary label language

Who Uses This

RoleWhat You Can Do
AdminFull access to all Label Center features; manage templates
ManagerPrint labels for chemicals at managed sites; create templates
Program CoordinatorPrint labels; manage label templates
EmployeeView label templates (printing typically requires manager or coordinator role)

Availability

All Label Center features listed above are included on every Tellus EHS account ($99/month).


Common Tasks