Does every inmetro case need its own certificate?

A: No. Certification is issued per product category, and an empty plastic case is usually packaging. The powered equipment is what gets certified.

Can the six fields be printed in English only?

A: No. Portuguese only, no parallel English. Name, model, manufacturer or importer, origin, batch and rated data are all required.

Does the case side set the energy grade?

A: No. The step is fixed by the equipment side under the current Portaria; the case side reproduces the band at 8 mm per step and keeps colour within ΔE 2.

How long does the label stay on?

A: Five years indoors, if the surface is 38 dyn/cm or more and the curvature radius is 50 mm or more. Direct UV cuts that to 2 years.

INMETRO Case Label

Quick answer: Energy labelling rarely covers a bare shell: an inmetro case label joins it only as the enclosure of powered equipment, so reproduce layout and durability.

Who Certifies, Who Only Carries the Label
Splitting a 60 × 40 mm Face into Three Bands
Six Portuguese Fields and a Four-Digit Body Number
Reproducing the Multi-Step Grade Band
Fifty Wipes and Five Years
FAQ

1. Who Certifies, Who Only Carries the Label

A 60 × 40 mm label sits bottom right of the shell, 20 mm in from both edges. Fixed scan brackets in a warehouse sit at that height, and a label 10 mm higher forces manual scanning on every carton.

The phrase inmetro case invites a wrong reading, as if the shell were certified. Mandatory certification is issued per product category, and an empty plastic case is not on that list; the powered equipment or accessory is certified, and the grade, registration and body number follow it. Energy labelling is narrower still: a bare plastic shell normally sits outside it and joins only as the enclosure of powered equipment declared with the machine.

Add a lamp, a charging port or a cooling module, even bolted on, and the scope pulls the assembly in. A bare shell with foam and latches is packaging, and the case side only carries the label.

2. Splitting a 60 × 40 mm Face into Three Bands

Sixty by forty is not much room for a mark, a number, six fields and a 38 mm barcode. Bands are the only reliable answer: 16 mm at the top, 14 mm in the middle, 10 mm at the bottom, which adds to exactly 40 mm.

inmetro case closed on a warehouse rack beam, white shell scuffed, embossed round mark on the lid, two latches and a folding handle facing out

The mark takes 12 mm, three quarters of the top band, with a 3 mm gap to the four-digit number. The middle band runs two columns at 6 mm rows and 1.8 mm type. The barcode is 38 mm wide with a 2.5 mm quiet zone on each side.

Skip any area with a curvature radius under 50 mm, hold flatness to 0.3 mm per 100 mm, and never bridge a 1.2 mm rib. Natural polypropylene sits near 31 dyn/cm; below 38 dyn/cm the adhesive cannot wet out, and the label peels off whole at -10 °C.

Element	Value	If it fails
Outline	60 × 40 mm, R2 corners	Will not feed the applicator
Mark height	12 mm	Layout rejected
Body number	4 digits, 2.5 mm type	Whole run scrapped
Fields	6, Portuguese	Held at customs
Position	20 mm margins	Scanner misses it
Barcode	38 mm, 2.5 mm zone	Read rate falls to 70%

3. Six Portuguese Fields and a Four-Digit Body Number

The six fields are fixed: product name, model, manufacturer or importer, country of origin, batch number, rated data. A bare shell writes not applicable for rated data; the field is never left blank.

Portuguese only, no parallel English. Units take international symbols, and country and company names are used exactly as the importer supplies them, because a retranslation breaks the match with the registration file.

The four-digit number is the most fragile element. At 2.5 mm type, one wrong digit scraps the run, and a roll change needs a line clear, since a leftover piece prints onto the next batch.

4. Reproducing the Multi-Step Grade Band

The step count is not fixed: it follows the product category, commonly A to G with seven, under the current INMETRO Portaria. On the label it becomes a vertical band plus a pointer arrow, 8 mm per step, 30 mm tall, 6 mm letters. The case side does not judge the step, it reproduces the artwork.

inmetro case line staging area, blue crates and kraft bags on a green floor, two workers at the conveyor under ceiling fans

Mixed rolls are where this fails. Adjacent steps differ by a few ΔE after printing, so a roll change without a line clear pushes the old grade into the next batch and the container comes back. Hang a colour card on every roll and reject above ΔE 2; after five years the limit is 3.

Band parameter	Value	Check	Typical fault
Step count	Per category, often 7	Compare with current artwork	Carrying over an old count
Step width	8 mm	Caliper	Rows out of line after shrink
Total height	30 mm	Caliper	Overlaps the barcode zone
Letter height	6 mm	Projector	Broken strokes
Pointer arrow	Tip on the current step	Visual	Arrow sitting between steps
Colour shift	ΔE 2 or less at dispatch	Colorimeter	Adjacent steps look mottled

5. Fifty Wipes and Five Years

Durability arrives as one line, must not rub off. The executable version is 75% ethanol, 500 g load, 50 strokes, then no print loss, barcode grade 1.5 or better and ΔE 3 or less.

Temperature runs 24 h at -10 °C and 24 h at 50 °C with a 2 h recovery; damp heat runs 48 h at 40 °C and 90% RH. Adhesion uses a 1 mm cross-cut, a 6 × 6 grid, grade 3 or better.

Five years is an indoor estimate. Direct UV cuts the acrylic adhesive to about 2 years, so move the label to a shaded face or switch to a UV-stable face stock, and check 3 samples per batch.

Test	Condition	Pass
Ethanol wipe	75%, 500 g, 50 strokes	No print loss
Cold storage	-10 °C / 24 h	No lifting
Hot storage	50 °C / 24 h	No adhesive bleed
Damp heat	40 °C / 90% RH / 48 h	No blister
Cross-cut	1 mm, 6 × 6	Grade 3 or better

Conclusion

An inmetro case label divides cleanly: certification sits with the equipment, layout and durability sit with the shell. A bare plastic case normally falls outside energy labelling and joins it only as the enclosure of powered equipment. Fix the 60 × 40 mm face at 16 / 14 / 10 mm bands, a 12 mm mark, a four-digit number, six Portuguese fields and a 38 mm barcode, reproduce the grade band at whatever step count the current Portaria sets, then prove durability with 50 ethanol strokes and 48 h of damp heat.

This article covers case-side specifications only and does not address any handling, loading or use of the contents.