Custom Arc Flash Labels: Order From Your Study Data

Last Updated: 2026-10-14

Answer Capsule: To order custom arc flash labels from a study, export the study's equipment table to Excel or CSV, one row per label with equipment ID, voltage, arc flash boundary, incident energy and working distance or PPE category, and assessment date. Check that no row shows both PPE methods. Then attach the file to the Print Pro AZ quote form.

The arc flash study is done and the PDF is sitting in your inbox. Now someone has to turn 60 rows of engineering data into 60 labels that pass inspection. That handoff is where most label errors happen. A typo in one cell, a value copied from the wrong row, or a PPE category pasted next to an incident energy number, and the label fails even though the study was right.

Print Pro AZ prints arc flash labels custom to your study data for contractors across the country. Brent Hanke has handled enough of these orders to know where the file goes wrong. This guide gives you the five steps from study report to finished label set, the columns your spreadsheet needs, the errors to catch, and how to attach your PDF, Excel or CSV file to the quote form on this page.

What Do You Need Before You Order Custom Arc Flash Labels?

You need a completed arc flash risk assessment from a licensed engineer, and its equipment table is the only source you should print from. NFPA 70E-2024 Section 130.5 requires the assessment, and Section 130.5(H) requires the label to reflect its results. The calculation behind it comes from IEEE 1584-2018. If your study still uses the 2002 model, ask the engineer to re-run it before you print anything.

Print Pro AZ does not calculate incident energy, and neither should any label vendor. Your job is to move the engineer's answer onto the label without changing it. The Print Pro AZ guide to arc flash labels under NFPA 70E 2024 covers what the code requires. This post covers the order itself.

Here are the five steps:

1. Export the equipment table from the study report.
2. Build a label spreadsheet with one row per label.
3. Check every row for both-methods errors and missing data.
4. Choose the label material for each location.
5. Attach the file to the Print Pro AZ quote form.

Step 1: Export the Equipment Table From the Study Report

Every arc flash study report includes a results table, usually near the back, with one row per bus or piece of equipment. Ask your engineer for that table as an Excel or CSV file. Most power system software exports it directly. A PDF works too, since Print Pro AZ accepts PDF, Excel or CSV files on the quote form, but Excel makes the review in Step 3 easier.

Do not retype the values by hand. Every manual copy is a chance to move a decimal or swap two rows.

Step 2: Which Columns Does the Label Spreadsheet Need?

The label spreadsheet needs one row per label and the columns below, using the same equipment IDs as the study. A multi-section switchboard gets one row per section, because each section can carry different values.

Column	Example value	Required on the label?
Equipment ID	MSB-1	Not by code, but needed to match the label to the gear
Nominal system voltage	480 VAC	Yes, NEC 110.16 and NFPA 70E 130.5(H)
Arc flash boundary	4 ft 6 in	Yes, NEC 110.16 and NFPA 70E 130.5(H)
Incident energy	8.7 cal/cm2	Yes, if the incident energy method was used
Working distance	18 in	Yes, whenever incident energy is shown
Arc flash PPE category	blank on this row	Yes, if the PPE category method was used
Limited approach boundary	3 ft 6 in	No, but common. From Table 130.4(E)(a) or (b)
Restricted approach boundary	1 ft 0 in	No, but common. From Table 130.4(E)(a) or (b)
Assessment date	08/12/2026	Yes, NEC 2026 110.16
Signal word	WARNING	Program choice, not a code rule
Quantity	1	For the order

The assessment date column trips up more orders than any other. NEC 2026 110.16 requires the date the assessment was completed, not the date the labels ship or the date you install them. Use the date on the engineer's signed report for every row.

Keep units consistent. If one row says "4.5 ft" and the next says "4 ft 6 in," pick one format for the whole sheet. Print Pro AZ prints what you send, so the sheet is the proof.

Step 3: How Do You Check for Both-Methods Errors?

Sort the spreadsheet and look for any row where both the incident energy column and the PPE category column have a value. NFPA 70E-2024 Section 130.5(G) lets the engineer use the incident energy analysis method or the arc flash PPE category method for a piece of equipment, but not both. A label that shows both is one of the five inspection failures in the Print Pro AZ field guide.

Run these checks on every row before you send the file:

• Both methods filled in. Ask the engineer which method applies to that equipment and blank out the other.
• Neither method filled in. The row cannot become a label. Get the missing value.
• Incident energy with no working distance. The number means nothing without the distance. Add it, commonly 18 inches for 600 V class equipment.
• PPE category on equipment that does not qualify for the table method. The table method has disqualifiers: fault current above the table limit, clearing time above the table limit, equipment type not in the table, or equipment not properly installed and maintained. If any apply, the engineer needs to provide an incident energy analysis instead.
• Missing or mixed assessment dates. Every row from one study should carry the same date.
• Equipment IDs that do not match the one-line. The inspector matches labels to drawings.

Print Pro AZ checks every file for the both-methods error before printing. If a row has both values, the order pauses and you get a call. Partner companies report 45%+ better first-time inspection pass rates.

Step 4: Which Label Material Should You Choose?

Choose UV-rated polyester for indoor gear in clean, dry rooms, and .048 aluminum for anything outdoors, in sunlight, or exposed to washdown, oil or chemicals. The NEC requires field-applied hazard markings to be durable for the environment where they are installed. A faded label fails the same way a missing one does.

In Arizona, that decision is simpler than most places. Any label on a rooftop disconnect, an outdoor MCC or a meter socket enclosure on the sunny side of a building should be aluminum. Print Pro AZ's aluminum arc flash and shock hazard label is printed on .048 aluminum for exactly that use. Indoor switchgear in a conditioned electrical room does fine on polyester.

Add a material column to the spreadsheet if a single order mixes both. One line per row, "poly" or "alum," is enough.

Step 5: How Do You Send Your Data to Print Pro AZ?

Attach your spreadsheet, CSV or study PDF to the quote form on this page and Print Pro AZ builds the label set from it. The layout is already set to show the four NEC 2026 110.16 items plus the shock boundaries and equipment ID. Here is what happens next:

1. Print Pro AZ reviews the file for both-methods errors, missing dates and missing working distances.
2. You get a proof showing one label from each equipment type in the file.
3. You approve the proof, or send corrections.
4. The label set prints on the material you chose and ships the same week.

Mixed orders are normal. Browse the arc flash label collection if you want to see stock layouts before you send.

What Happens After the Labels Arrive?

Install each label where it can be read before the cover is opened, and keep the spreadsheet with the study for the next review. NFPA 70E 130.5(H) requires a review of the supporting data at intervals not to exceed 5 years, and an update when a change in the electrical distribution system could affect the results. Your label spreadsheet becomes the checklist for that review.

Here is a call Print Pro AZ gets every month. A contractor finishes a tenant improvement, swaps a main breaker for a different trip setting, and asks whether the old labels still work. They do not. A trip-setting change is a relabel trigger, because it changes the clearing time behind the incident energy number. The engineer updates the study, you update the affected rows, and you reprint only those.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a label company do my arc flash study?

No. The arc flash risk assessment under NFPA 70E 130.5 is engineering work based on IEEE 1584-2018, and it needs a licensed engineer with your system data. Print Pro AZ prints the labels from the engineer's results.

What file format do you need for custom arc flash labels?

Excel, CSV or PDF. Excel or CSV is easiest because it exports straight from the study software and you can check it row by row. A PDF of the study results table also works. Attach the file to the quote form on this page.

How many labels do I need for a switchboard?

One per section. Each section of multi-section switchgear can have a different arc flash boundary and incident energy, so each gets its own row in the spreadsheet and its own label.

Do I need to reorder all my labels after a system change?

Only the rows affected. A new breaker trip setting, a new utility source, a generator or battery tie, or a transformer change can all change the results. The engineer updates the study, and you reprint the equipment whose values moved.

Conclusion

Custom arc flash labels come from one place: the equipment table in your engineer's study. Export it, build one row per label with the four required items, and check every row for the both-methods error before you send it. Choose aluminum for outdoor and harsh locations and polyester for clean indoor rooms.

Getting the file right the first time means the labels are right the first time, and that saves you the re-trip and the reprint. Print Pro AZ checks the file, sends a proof, and ships the same week.

Ready to order? Attach your PDF, Excel or CSV to the quote form on this page, or send us your plan sets for a full commercial job. Questions? Call Brent: (602) 649-5305.

Sources

• NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace
• IEEE 1584-2018, Guide for Performing Arc-Flash Hazard Calculations

Brent Hanke | Print Pro AZ | (602) 649-5305 | b.hanke@printproaz.com

Brent Hanke is the founder of Print Pro AZ, supplying NEC-compliant labels to contractors across the country.