Customisable surfaces
A garment's class 1, 2 or 3 depends on how much of its fluorescent and retroreflective material remains visible, and that class appears on its certificate and on its label. A logo that covers part of that surface can make the garment stop meeting the class it is labelled with.
Customisation and high visibility class
Before adding a logo, check the garment's customisation limits.
Considerations to bear in mind
EN ISO 20471:2013 · Clause 4.1
“The minimum visible area requirements for achieving the classification of a garment according to Table 1 shall not be reduced or compromised by the presence of logos, lettering, labels, etc.”
Our own wording based on the English text of ISO 20471:2013, clause 4.1.Regulation (EU) 2016/425 · Recital 19
“Any economic operator who places PPE on the market under their own name or trade mark, or modifies it in such a way that compliance with the requirements of this Regulation may be affected, should be considered the manufacturer and should assume the obligations incumbent on them as such.”
If you customise the PPE yourself, the Regulation may consider you the manufacturer of that PPE.
What does this mean when customising a garment?
In other words, customising PPE with the company logo can be risky if it is not done correctly. To avoid unnecessary risks and guarantee the user's safety, ask your distributor for advice or contact us. We will be glad to help.
Minimum required areas of visible material, per garment (m²)
EN ISO 20471:2013+A1:2016, clause 4.1, Table 1.
| Material | Class 3 | Class 2 | Class 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Background material (fluorescent) | 0,80 | 0,50 | 0,14 |
| Retroreflective material | 0,20 | 0,13 | 0,10 |
| Combined-performance material | n/a | n/a | 0,20 |
n/a: not applicable — the standard does not allow class 2 or class 3 to be achieved with combined-performance material.
Note from the standard itself: a garment's class is determined by the smaller area of visible material; an excess of background material does not make up for a shortfall of retroreflective material.
These figures are the high visibility material that must remain visible on the garment once customised. They are not surface area available for logos: anything a logo, lettering or a label covers is deducted from the total. And meeting the surface area is not enough: the standard also requires the bands to encircle the torso, the sleeves and the trouser legs, with their set widths and spacings.
Check the specific limits for each model.
Each garment's page includes the Area Calculator: it tells you whether your logo's area fits on that model.