BS7272 is the international standard for pen caps and end closures for writing and marking instruments, and is the only published safety standard for end closures. The first “Security of Final Closures” standard was published by BSI in September 2000. It was revised in April 2008 and is applicable from September 30, 2009.

As a supplier of promotional pens, you might wonder if there is a need to prepare an international standard for something as seemingly benign as a pen cap, but too many people have choked on pen caps and end caps, so you have It makes no sense to define specific requirements that will allow people to continue breathing, if by some misfortune, they accidentally inhale one.

Most manufacturers of promotional pens and other marking instruments are responsible producers and comply with the standard, but of course there are suppliers outside of Western Europe who may not even be aware of the existence of this standard. There are eight sections in the standard that importers of writing instruments must be familiar with to ensure compliance. Five of the requirements have the same status and the pen caps/end closures must meet at least one of them, ie size, security, inaccessibility, minimal protrusion or airflow.

• An end seal shall not pass through a 16mm diameter ring under its own weight.
• End lock will not remove when subjected to a force of 50 Newtons
• Where the end closure is a plug, it must be recessed and capable of withstanding a force of 10 Newtons.
• The gripping surface of a socket should not extend more than 1mm beyond the end of the writing instrument and the overall length should not extend more than 3mm.
• A final closure must allow an air flow of 8 liters per minute at room temperature under a pressure of 1.33 Kilo Pascals.

There are two other requirements, that is, when the writing instrument has a cap and its length is greater than its diameter, it must meet the safety and airflow requirements. Finally, the manufacturer’s name must be clearly identifiable on the product or on its packaging/documentation.

So what is a force of 10 Newtons in a meaningful context? One Newton is defined as the force applied by gravity on an apple-sized object typically weighing 100 grams, and a Kilopascal is approximately 1% of atmospheric pressure.

• The above standards may sound complicated, but they are actually common sense applied.
• A 16mm plug is not enough to completely block the trachea.
• An end cap or plug should be very difficult to remove.
• If one gets stuck in your trachea, you should be able to get enough air through to keep breathing.

For suppliers of promotional pens and writing instruments in general, this standard may seem unnecessary and difficult to understand, but BS7272 uses basic science to turn physiology into numbers and this will ultimately save lives. Therefore, it makes sense to check with your suppliers of Promotional Pens that they meet the standard.