The Real Boundaries of UN Performance Level Marking for Export Dangerous Goods Packaging: The 3 Fields Printers Most Often Misread—Packaging Type Code / Relative Density / Pressure Test Value
💡 💡 At a Glance
A UN performance level marking is a 7-part mechanical code consisting of the type code, solid/liquid designation, class letter, density or pressure value, year, country code, and manufacturer code. Printers cannot select any value independently. The 3 most common errors are treating 1A2 as a product model for pricing, treating relative density as the density of the customer’s product, and changing the 2-digit year 25 to 2025. The corresponding actions are to prepare a 7-segment confirmation table, obtain the packaging manufacturer’s test report, and add a responsibility statement to the shipping document.
On the evening of October 8, 2026, a sales manager at a color-box and inner-tray printing company in Suzhou received an English message from a Vietnamese customer on WeChat. The attachment was a sample image of a UN performance level marking. The customer wrote: “Just print it exactly as shown, red ink, we only need the box.”
The image showed 1A2/Y1.4/150/25/USA/+AB123. The sales manager forwarded the design file to a prepress colleague, who completed the layout and sent it to press. Seven days later, the inner trays were shipped to Vietnam. The customer’s third-party testing laboratory returned the samples with one reason: “The 4th segment of the performance level marking does not match the actual test data of the packaging.”
On inspection, 3 parts of the marking had been printed incorrectly. Each of these is a field into which printers most commonly fall when they simply “print what is shown on the design file.”
What Is a UN Performance Level Marking? A 7-Part Mechanical Code, Not a Product Model
The red diamond-shaped marking on export dangerous goods packaging—such as lithium-battery inner trays, chemical drums, and dangerous goods transport boxes—does not contain a product model, customer item number, or name invented by the packaging factory. It is a packaging specification mark required by the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations. It consists of 7 segments, each containing tested or registered data. None of the characters may be descriptive or used at the printer’s discretion.
| Segment | Content | Test or registration source | May the printer decide? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Packaging type code, such as 1A2 / 4G / 4C | Registered packaging design type and material | No |
| 2 | Solid contents (S) or liquid contents (L) | Packaging test conditions | No |
| 3 | Dangerous goods class letter: X/Y/Z | Packaging strength-level testing | No |
| 4 | Relative density for liquid contents or hydrostatic test pressure in kPa for solid contents | Measured test data | No |
| 5 | Year of manufacture, expressed with 2 digits | Date of manufacture | No |
| 6 | Country-of-manufacture code | Place of manufacture | No |
| 7 | Manufacturer code | Registered packaging factory identification number | No |
In other words, none of the 7 segments may be selected “based on experience” by the printer. The entire code must be copied from the packaging manufacturer’s test report. The printer is only transferring it from the report to the board. The Vietnamese shipment was not returned because it was misaligned. It was returned because the number in the 4th segment did not match the box’s actual test data—and the printer had never requested the report before printing.
Boundary 1: The 3 Pieces of Information in Packaging Type Code 1A2 Are Treated as One “Model Number”
Each of the 3 characters in 1A2 has an independent meaning. The first character, 1, identifies a drum or box-type package for solid contents (4 indicates a fibreboard box, and 3 indicates a box). The second character, A, identifies steel (B aluminium, C natural wood, D plywood, F fibreboard, and G fibreboard, with G requiring an additional numerical subdivision). The third character, 2, indicates a non-removable inner lining, while 1 indicates a removable lining.
The most typical printer error is to treat 1A2 as the customer’s product model. When a customer orders “1A2 drums,” the printer searches its internal price list for a 1A2 entry. If none is found, it may ask, “Is 1A2 the model we quoted last time?” The “1A2” in these two contexts refers to completely different things: one is a United Nations specification code, while the other is the printer’s internal product-numbering convention.
What the printer can actually do: during preflight review, break the marking into its 7 segments in a table, ask the customer to confirm each segment in writing, and include the statement, “This facility prints only according to the customer’s confirmed content and is not responsible for the accuracy of the marking.” This is not an excuse; it accurately records the printer’s position in the supply chain. The printer does not conduct packaging tests, does not manufacture packaging components, and only prints the designated surface.
Boundary 2: Relative Density 1.4 Is Mistaken for “Product Density” or “Contents Density”
For liquid packaging, the 4th segment indicates relative density. A value of 1.4 means that the package was tested with a liquid having a density of 1.4. For solid packaging, it indicates the hydrostatic test pressure, with 150 meaning 150 kPa. Neither value is the density of the customer’s product or the total weight understood by the printer.
A common error occurs when the customer states verbally, “We are packing a liquid with a density of 1.4.” The printer enters 1.4 in the 4th segment. In reality, the liquid’s density is 1.25, while 1.4 was a more stringent test condition selected by the packaging factory. The printer reproduces the customer’s verbal statement, but the carrier requires packaging appropriate to the 1.4 level. Testing then fails. The printer bears responsibility because it printed the number appearing on the marking.
Another less visible error is printing 1.4 as 1,4 or 1.40. The United Nations model regulations prescribe a specific format for this segment: use a solid decimal point, add no thousands separator, and do not add trailing zeros. This format error is nearly invisible during visual proofreading but causes immediate noncompliance during a testing laboratory’s format validation.
What the printer can actually do: during preflight review, accept only 2 sources—the packaging factory’s PDF test report or a customer-signed and approved specification. If a customer says in a WeChat group that the value is “about 1.4,” request written confirmation by email and repeat the number in the email for the customer to answer “Confirmed.”
Boundary 3: Year of Manufacture 25 Is Printed as 2025
The 5th segment is a 2-digit year, not a 4-digit year. Packaging manufactured in 2025 must show 25, while packaging manufactured in 2026 must show 26. This field is often changed on the printer’s initiative: after seeing “2025” in the design file, a layout operator may consider that a 2-digit year looks too short or unprofessional and expand it to 2025.
This is not a mere formatting preference. The year segment is used to determine whether the packaging has exceeded its periodic inspection interval. In most countries and regions, dangerous goods packaging must undergo periodic design-type testing or requalification. The year segment provides an inspection reference for traceability. An incorrect year creates a false inspection point for the entire batch. If a transport accident occurs later, the traceability chain is broken at this segment of the marking.
A related issue is the country-of-manufacture code in the 6th segment. USA represents the United States, CHN represents China, and DEU represents Germany. A printer in Wuxi may correctly use CHN if the packaging is produced there. However, if the customer supplies branded packaging manufactured in Vietnam and the printer is responsible only for printing, the correct entry depends on which company legally and operationally qualifies as the “packaging manufacturer.” This must be clarified during preflight review rather than assumed by the printer.
3 Response Actions for Printers
Action 1: Create a 7-segment confirmation table. After receiving an order containing a UN performance level marking, the prepress department must not release the files. First create a table with one row per segment and ask the customer to reply “Confirmed” or provide the correct value for each row. Archive the table together with the customer’s response.
Action 2: Request the source document. Tell the customer: “Every value in this marking must be supported by the packaging manufacturer’s test report, and this facility prints according to the report. Could you provide a scanned copy?” This directly excludes the most dangerous data source—verbal customer instructions—from the process.
Action 3: Add a responsibility statement to the shipping document. State on the packing slip or delivery note: “The UN specification marking content was confirmed in writing by the customer. This facility prints only the confirmed content, and the confirming party is responsible for the accuracy of the marking.” In the event of an accident, this statement can be worth as much as the value of the entire shipment.
Further Reading
- 4 Compliance Requirements for Packaging Exported to the EU: REACH / 1935/2004 / 94/62/EC / EN 13427
- 3 Compliance Gates for Packaging Exported to the United States: What FDA, Prop 65, and CPSIA Each Regulate
- Real Data from 6 Packaging Testing Methods
- 6 Practical Factory-Audit Actions for Packaging Suppliers
- 3 Types of Copyright Risks in Customer-Supplied Design Files
FAQ
The UN performance level marking is printed by the printer. Is the printer fully responsible if it is printed incorrectly?
The party providing the data—the packaging manufacturer or brand customer—is responsible for the accuracy of the marking content. However, the printer is directly responsible for printing errors, such as changing 25 to 2025 or printing 1,4, because the printer transferred the data onto the printed surface. In practice, pure formatting errors usually place primary responsibility on the printer, while incorrect data that the customer confirmed in writing places responsibility on the confirming party. The key evidence is the preflight confirmation table and the customer’s written response.
How should packaging type code 1A2 be read?
The first character identifies the packaging type: 1=drum or box for solids, 2=box for solids, 3=box for liquids, and 4=fibreboard or board box. The second character identifies the material: A=steel, B=aluminium, C=natural wood, D=plywood, E=plywood, F=fibreboard, G=fibreboard with further subdivisions such as G1/G2/G3, H=plastic, I=paper, and N=composite. The third character identifies removability: 1=removable inner lining and 2=non-removable inner lining. Therefore, 1A2 means a non-removable steel drum for solids.
Does relative density 1.4 mean that my product has a density of 1.4?
No. This value is the test-liquid density selected by the packaging manufacturer during design-type testing and represents the upper limit of liquid density that the package can withstand. An actual customer-product density below the marked value is acceptable. If the density stated by the customer is higher than the marking, the marking itself is noncompliant. The value must be verified with the packaging manufacturer and must not be changed based solely on the customer’s verbal instructions.
The customer only sent a WeChat image and insists that it be printed exactly as shown. What should the printer do?
Do not print immediately. Reply: “Received. To avoid rejection by a testing institution, please confirm the 7 segments of this marking or provide the packaging manufacturer’s test report. This facility will print according to the content confirmed in writing.” Archive the image and send the customer a segment-by-segment confirmation table. If the customer refuses to provide written confirmation, the printer may decline the order or state on the shipping document: “The customer provided only an image and did not provide a test report; this facility prints according to the image.”
Is the 2-digit format in the 5th segment really intentional?
Yes. The United Nations Model Regulations specify a 2-digit year abbreviation for this segment. It identifies the packaging’s year of manufacture and links it to the packaging’s periodic testing or requalification cycle. Printing 2025 is a format violation and will be judged noncompliant during inspection. The year refers to the packaging’s year of manufacture—not the order year or printing year—which is particularly important when the packaging is manufactured under contract.
Our company only prints designated surfaces and never manufactures packaging drums or boxes. Do we still need to understand UN markings?
Yes. The designated printed surface is where the marking physically becomes part of the packaging. When the customer says, “Print it exactly as shown,” you are the last control point before an incorrect marking reaches production. Even if you do not understand packaging testing, you must understand the rule that none of the 7 segments may be altered and the workflow requirement not to print without written confirmation. These controls cost nothing and can prevent an entire category of risk.
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