Manufacturing & Engineering UK-wide

Which printing and media reproduction regulations apply to your business

Printers and reproduction businesses — commercial, digital and screen printers, packaging printers, and reproduction of recorded media — carry workplace-safety duties and face extra environmental and chemicals obligations wherever they use solvent-based inks and cleaning chemicals.

Guide summary

You must follow health and safety laws and, if you use solvent-based inks or cleaners, get an air-emissions permit and meet UK REACH rules for chemicals. Run a safe print works, manage your solvents and emissions, and use the compliance checklist to make sure you have covered everything.

  • Follow health and safety law for all printing work
  • Use solvent-based inks, coatings or cleaners? Get an air-emissions permit
  • Meet your UK REACH duties for chemicals in inks
  • Control risks from inks and solvents under COSHH
  • Set up safe work equipment, manual handling and fire safety
  • Get employer’s liability insurance and follow data protection laws
  • Check the printing compliance checklist to confirm you are done
  • Penalties for breaking health and safety law: unlimited fines or up to 2 years in prison
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Printing is a machinery- and chemical-intensive process, so workplace health and safety duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 apply. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates in Great Britain and HSENI in Northern Ireland.

If you use solvent-based inks, coatings and cleaning agents, you take on extra environmental and chemicals duties — an air-emissions permit and UK REACH obligations on the substances in your inks.

What you need to do

  1. 1

    Run a safe print works and employ people

    Whatever you print, start with the universal spine. Follow "Set up and run a safe printing business" for your health and safety, COSHH controls on inks and solvents, work equipment, manual handling, fire safety, insurance, equality and data protection duties.

  2. 2

    Manage your solvents, inks and emissions

    If you use solvent-based inks, coatings and cleaning agents above the threshold, you need an air-emissions permit and you must meet your UK REACH duties on the substances in your inks. Follow "Manage solvents, inks and emissions in printing".

  3. 3

    Confirm you have covered everything

    Finish with the printing business compliance checklist to confirm your obligations are met.

Official sources

Authoritative starting points for printing businesses.