Book Printers Get CPSIA Exemption
WASHINGTON, DC—Book and commercial printers received some good news for a change as Congress quickly and convincingly pushed through an amendment to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement (CPSIA) Act of 2008 that provides an exemption for children's books and paper-based printed materials. Printing Industries of America lobbied to advocate the industry's position on Capitol Hill.
The law was enacted in the wake of several high-profile cases involving the discovery of children's products with high levels of lead, including many Chinese imports. CPSIA constricted limits of lead and phthalates allowable in children's products and also called for third-party testing. While the law was ostensibly aimed at toys, it cast a wide net over any products that would be used by children, including books, magazines, flash cards and maps.
The exemption covers "ordinary books" printed on paper or cardboard with ink or toner, and that are bound and finished using a conventional method. Paper-based goods include magazines, posters, greeting cards and similar products. Books or printed material that contain components printed on materials other than paper or cardboard, that contain nonpaper-based components such as metal or plastic, or that contain accessories not among conventional binding and finishing materials, are not exempt.
