Five OSHA Compliance Priorities For Wide-Format Print Providers

For wide-format print service providers, and the industry as a whole, OSHA compliance is not limited to a binder on a shelf. It reaches into the cords powering equipment, the bottles used during cleanup, the guards surrounding moving parts, and the response to an employee who reports an odor. In a conversation with Wide-format Impressions, Gary Jones, vice president of Environmental, Health, and Safety Affairs for PRINTING United Alliance, outlined recurring risks and practical steps print service providers (PSPs) can take to address them.

1. Start With the Violations That Recur

Gary Jones

OSHA compliance can feel sprawling. Luckily, PSPs do not have to begin from scratch. Jones points to the printing industry's recurring violation categories as a practical roadmap. Although OSHA's statistics do not isolate every individual print process, he said the industry's overall list remains a useful indicator for most operations.

"Really what happens, I think the top five don't really change a whole lot. They just change their order, if that makes sense," Jones says. "So HazCom (Hazard Communication), for at least 2025, was the most commonly violated standard in the printing industry."

Powered industrial trucks also moved into the top five for 2025, while lockout/tagout, machine guarding, and electrical safety remain prominent. PSPs can use those familiar categories as an internal audit framework and focus on the places where problems repeatedly surface.

2. Electrical Convenience Can Create Multiple Hazards

A lack of can be an everyday operational frustration, especially as shops add printers, finishing systems, computers, and auxiliary equipment. But solving that problem with extension cords and power strips can quickly compromise OSHA compliance, as well as shock, fire, and trip hazards, Jones says.

"Extension cords are allowed only for temporary purposes. And then power strips have limitations," Jones explains. "Actually, it's a fire hazard, not only is it a violation of OSHA's regulations. A lot of power strips are limited in their capacity."

The risks multiply when cords and strips are connected together and left across walking surfaces. Jones described that combination as a compliance “trifecta” involving walking-working surfaces, electrical safety, and fire safety. His recommendation is to plan adequate permanent electrical service.

Pendant drops need scrutiny, too. "You need a solid box when you have a pendant drop. And pendant drops need to have spring and tension relief," Jones says. Even a newly built facility can contain improper drops if a contractor cuts corners, making a post-installation safety review essential.

3. Handing Out a Respirator Can Trigger a Full Program

When an employee reports an odor or worries about airborne contaminants, providing a respirator may seem like a caring, immediate response. However, the type of respirator and whether it's use is required can activate substantial OSHA obligations.

"If you require or if you give them an N95 or a filtering elastometeric face piece, like a respirator with cartridges,. That opens up a whole different ball game," Jones says.

Requirements can include a written respiratory protection program, medical evaluations, training, and continuing administration. Cartridge respirators require a full compliance program even when used voluntarily, Jones noted. Certain voluntary filtering-facepiece use can trigger OSHA's respiratory protection standard and require training and documentation.

The better first move is often to determine whether respiratory protection is actually needed and address exposure through ventilation. "Having good ventilation in an area or enhancing ventilation when people are concerned about potential exposure is going to solve a lot more problems than handing them a respirator," Jones says. Indoor air-quality testing can also help a PSP document actual conditions rather than relying on odor alone.

4. Machine Guarding and Lockout/Tagout Work Together

Wide-format printers, laminators, flatbed cutters, routers, and guillotine cutters all create points of human-machine interaction. That interaction is where injury risk rises sharply. Jones says the printing industry is considered high hazard for amputations, with 40 to 70 occurring annually.

"And the way you solve that is lockout/tagout, and machine guarding," he says. "Machine guarding is the physical guard that's present," he says. "And it could also be electronic now with light curtains."

Operators should never defeat an interlock merely to see a printhead or gain easier access. Guards, light curtains, covered foot pedals, two-hand controls, and interlocks must remain present and functional. Shops should also assess new equipment instead of assuming that a new machine arrives fully guarded for every task.

Lockout/tagout covers a different operating condition. "Machine guarding protects your operator during equipment during the production cycle, while it's doing its intended function. And lockout/tagout applies when you are not doing this," Jones explains.

When servicing or maintenance requires lifting or bypassing a guard, the energy source generally must be isolated. Minor servicing exceptions may apply, but a shop needs a defined safe method. Crushing injuries, amputations, and fatalities can result when a machine starts unexpectedly.

"When you look at incidents in amputations and fatalities, they can all be prevented," Jones says. “They're all preventable, but we still experience them because we have a breakdown."

5. HazCom Compliance Requires All Five Elements

Hazard Communication has existed for decades, yet it remains the printing industry's most frequently violated OSHA standard. Jones says facilities often complete some requirements while overlooking others. A complete HazCom system has five parts: a written program, a chemical inventory, current safety data sheets, employee training, and a container-labeling system.

"So you need to have a written program that explains how you're going to meet the standard," Jones says. Every chemical or product on the production floor should appear in the inventory and have a corresponding, up-to-date safety data sheet. Employees must be trained on chemical hazards, exposure prevention, and what to do after a spill or release.

Jones explains that secondary containers are also a common weakness. Chemicals transferred from a drum or five-gallon container into a squirt bottle still need identifying and hazard information. Because solvents can damage or remove labels, labeling cannot be a one-time task.

"You can't have unlabeled containers with chemicals in them, period," Jones emphasizes. He adds that OSHA may select chemicals at random and ask for their safety data sheets, which must also be available to employees. Assigning responsibility for maintaining inventories, sheets, and labels helps keep the system intact as products enter and leave the facility.

Preparation is the Best Defense

The common thread across all five priorities is preparation. Compliance depends on planned electrical infrastructure, informed respiratory-protection decisions, disciplined equipment practices, and complete records.

PRINTING United Alliance members can access articles, webinars, safety resources, an OSHA inspection roadmap, an OSHA resource guide, reduced-cost iLEARNING+ courses, and direct guidance from subject matter experts. Jones says the inspection roadmap explains the process and provides a way to record what inspectors request and what the company must supply. That documentation matters if a citation is later challenged.

Attending PRINTING United Expo and what to hear more of what Gary Jones has to say? Check him out at the sessions The Industry Expert Roundtable: Trends, Truths & Takeaways and Preventing Amputations In Printing Operations, both taking place on day one of The Expo.