Release the warning artwork for an inflatable aquatic toy destined for Mexico only after the physical pre-production sample supports the warning check—not because the PDF looks correct. NOM-015-SCFI-2007, clause 5.2.7, specifies a minimum 1.5 mm letter height for the indelible, contrasting adult-supervision warning. The buyer’s practical decision is to approve or hold the warning based on its wording, measured printed height, permanence, and contrast, with the evidence attached to the artwork revision. DOF: NOM-015-SCFI-2007
What does NOM-015 clause 5.2.7 require buyers to check?
Clause 5.2.7 makes letter height, indelibility, and contrast part of the adult-supervision warning requirement for inflatable aquatic toys; checking only whether a warning is present is insufficient. The minimum letter height is 1.5 mm. Match the production wording to the applicable Spanish text in the clause rather than approving an English paraphrase or a shortened supervision message. DOF: clause 5.2.7
Keep this approval bounded: it concerns this product-specific warning, not every commercial-information requirement under NOM-015. Handle the applicable edition, any subsequent changes, and import-stage implementation as a separate regulatory review; a passed warning inspection does not establish complete labeling conformity or customs clearance.
What can artwork approval establish, and what needs a physical sample?
Artwork can establish the intended warning, but the printed sample is needed to assess the result on the actual substrate.
| Warning wording | Artwork check: compare the complete Spanish warning with clause 5.2.7. Sample check: confirm that the same text appears without omissions, clipping, or substitutions. |
|---|---|
| Letter height | Artwork check: review the intended printed dimensions. Sample check: measure the printed lettering against the 1.5 mm minimum; a font-size setting is not a physical measurement. |
| Indelibility | Artwork check: specify the intended marking process. Sample check: examine marking retention using an agreed handling and rubbing assessment appropriate to the substrate. |
| Contrast | Artwork check: review text and background colors. Sample check: inspect readability against the actual surface, including graphics or transparency behind the warning. |
How should buyers measure the 1.5 mm letter height?
Measure the printed lettering on the pre-production sample with a suitably calibrated optical scale or measuring magnifier, not a screen ruler or the artwork’s point-size setting.
First match the sample to the artwork revision and intended printing process. Support the warning area without stretching it, and record the sample’s condition during measurement. For a curved surface, use a viewing arrangement that avoids perspective distortion; an angled photograph can make the text appear taller or shorter.
As a buyer inspection method, measure printed character bodies from their visible top edge to bottom edge, excluding surrounding blank space. Check multiple positions and the smallest lettering used in the warning, documenting which characters were measured. Do not use one tall capital or an accent mark to stand in for smaller lettering elsewhere. If the typeface mixes character sizes, agree the measurement interpretation with the labeling reviewer before release.
Record the individual readings, the smallest observed height, the instrument, and a close-up showing the scale in the same plane as the print. If measurement uncertainty leaves it unclear whether the lettering reaches 1.5 mm, hold the warning approval and resolve the measurement or enlarge the print. Set a production target above the minimum where practical; the design target and the measured result are separate entries.
How should buyers assess indelibility and contrast?
Assess permanence and contrast on the actual printed surface using a documented buyer screening method; a visual artwork review cannot establish either result.
For marking retention, agree a substrate-compatible rubbing assessment before inspection. Specify the rubbing material, whether it is dry or water-dampened, the applied loading method, duration or number of passes, and the inspection condition. Photograph the warning before and after, and record smearing, transfer, flaking, or loss of readability. These are proposed purchasing controls—not a test procedure attributed to clause 5.2.7.
Inspect contrast under documented, representative lighting. Look at the complete warning against the actual background, including any pattern, transparency, or surface glare. For this aquatic application, include agreed water-exposure conditions in the buyer screen where relevant. Record what was observed rather than writing only “contrast OK.”
A clean rub-screen result supports a purchasing decision under the agreed conditions; it does not prove indefinite permanence. Likewise, these checks are not laboratory certification or proof of conformity with all applicable toy requirements.
Why should artwork sign-off cite clause 5.2.7 explicitly?
A clause-referenced sign-off identifies exactly which warning requirement was reviewed and ties the decision to a particular artwork revision and sample.
Use “NOM-015-SCFI-2007, clause 5.2.7” alongside the approved Spanish warning text, rather than a generic “warning approved” note. Link the measured result and photographs to that same revision. A later reviewer should be able to distinguish wording approval from physical-print approval without reconstructing an email chain.
This is a recommended purchasing record, not a statutory approval form. It supports traceability but does not itself detect an undisclosed production change. Require renewed review when a change to scale, typeface, substrate, background, ink, or printing process could affect the warning.
Illustrative Pre-Production Warning HOLD Record
An artwork-only review should remain on HOLD for physical-warning release until sample verification is completed. The following completed desk-review example illustrates that decision; it is not a supplier inspection result or a claim that a sample was tested.
| Record identity and revision | Illustrative warning review A, dated November 1, 2026; applies to illustrative Mexico warning artwork revision A. |
|---|---|
| Sample identity and linkage | Physical-sample approval withheld. Assign the inspected sample’s unique reference and link it to artwork revision A before closing this hold. |
| Requirement reference | NOM-015-SCFI-2007, clause 5.2.7: adult-supervision warning with minimum 1.5 mm letter height, indelibility, and contrast. |
| Warning wording decision | Production wording not approved in this desk-review example. Closure requires the complete Spanish text to be compared with the clause and retained verbatim in the controlled record. |
| Letter-height target versus observation | Target: at least 1.5 mm on the printed sample. Observation: no physical measurement performed at this review. Artwork dimensions are not accepted as the sample result. |
| Indelibility target versus observation | Target: indelible warning. Observation: marking retention has not been assessed on the physical surface. Complete and attach the agreed screening record before release. |
| Contrast target versus observation | Target: contrasting warning. Observation: physical-surface readability has not been assessed. Complete the documented viewing check before release. |
| Decision and conditions | HOLD warning release for mass production. Retain any separately valid artwork review evidence; do not treat it as approval of the unverified physical marking. |
| Responsible approver and date | Responsible role: buyer quality approver. Review date: November 1, 2026. No release authorization granted; the actual approver must identify and date the final disposition. |
| Follow-up and closure | Buyer quality approver to review the clause-matched wording, sample identity, measured heights, retention observations, and contrast evidence. Close the hold only with the resulting decision, approver identity, date, and evidence references. |
What corrections are needed before warning release?
Correct the failed attribute and recheck the affected warning on the revised sample; changing the PDF alone does not close a physical-print issue.
If the measured lettering is below 1.5 mm, enlarge or revise the warning and measure a new printed sample. If contrast is poor, revise the text/background combination or warning panel and reassess the actual surface. If print transfers or loses readability during the agreed retention screen, review the marking process and substrate compatibility, then repeat the documented assessment.
Where the physical evidence is satisfactory but the sign-off lacks the clause citation or revision link, complete the traceability record rather than discarding valid inspection evidence. Release this warning check only when the required attributes are supported and the responsible approver has closed the recorded conditions.