The XRS marking · XRS 002 and XRS 004
One product, one state, one level.
The XRS marking is the mention a licensee prints on a product to state its level. It is the same object on every pack, at the same dimensions, so that products compare on the shelf. This page explains how to read it and what it commits to.
Full panel, 44 mm wide at nominal size. French version shown; the English version has the same footprint.
The panel
Eight zones, read top to bottom.
- Scale barSix cells from light to dark graphite; the cell of the attributed level is hollowed out in white, outlined and taller. One cell only, always: never two levels, an interval or an evolution.
- LEVEL X_ · BREATHING ENDURANCEThe level code, which makes the marking citable, and the mandatory heading that fixes the scope of the duration: what the resistance permits, not what the product authorizes.
- The endurance mentionNO LIMIT, ALL DAY, SEVERAL HOURS, 1 TO 2 HOURS, UNDER 1 HOUR or 20 TO 30 MINUTES — reproduced word for word from the normative lexicon, never paraphrased, rounded or converted.
- Short comfort qualificationNeutral, high, ordinary, degraded, constrained or critical comfort.
- Subordination line"New respirator · Within the manufacturer's stated conditions of use." Mandatory, complete, in the same colour as the running text, capital height of at least 1,2 mm. A format too small to carry it may not carry the marking.
- RuleSeparates the information from the signature.
- Logotype and signature lineXRS, then "Breathing comfort classification" on three lines. The mark stays visually detachable from the descriptive words.
- Digital referenceA QR code and the address in clear, scalexrs.com/x_, leading to the public page of the level. The code is never lightened, inverted or cropped.
Two formats
Full panel and compact panel.
The full panel is the reference form: every pack with room for it carries it. The compact panel keeps the level, the heading, the endurance, the subordination line and the digital reference; it drops the bar, the qualification and the developed signature, and it is admitted only on a secondary face, always with the full panel elsewhere on the same pack or in the leaflet.
The graphic specification of the marking — colour, typography, dimensions, tolerances, master files — is the object of XRS 004:2026, the artwork annex of the licence, communicated to licensees. The panel is never redrawn: it is reproduced from master files.
What the marking commits to
A declaration, not a label.
A label says a product has obtained something; it supposes failures. The XRS marking reports a measurement on a continuous axis on which no level is a failure. It is a declarative marking, backed by a dated test and granted under a licence with quality control.
Every marking is backed by a declaration instructed by XALPES LLC, identified by a number in the format XRS-D-YYYY-R-NNNN-X_, entered in the public register and valid for twenty-four months. The number, the ownership mention "XRS™ is a trademark of XALPES LLC, used under licence" and the scope mention "The XRS level qualifies breathing comfort. It does not qualify filtration efficiency" appear on the same support or in the leaflet.
The level is determined in the reference state — a new, unworn device, taken out of its original packaging for the test — on at least five units at four flows, the declared Rs being the highest of the four means. A measurement within 12 % of a boundary is recorded in the test report and the least favourable level is declared. Any substantial modification of the product ends the declaration.
The marking is subordinate to the manufacturer's instructions. Where the product carries the NR marking of EN 149, limiting use to a single work shift, "no limit" means that resistance imposes no limit — and nothing more.
Wordings
Authorized and prohibited forms.
XRS is an adjective before a generic noun, never a noun on its own, never plural. The forms below are those of the reference (Table 19) and of the licence annex (Tables 3 and 4).
| Wording | Status | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| "XRS level X2" · "Classified X2 on the XRS scale per XRS 001:2026" · "Breathing comfort: XRS level X2" | Authorized | Adjectival use, single level, reference to the edition. |
| "XRS level X2 — self-declared" (regime A) · "XRS level X2 certified by XALPES" (regime C) | Authorized | The regime mention is not optional: it tells the reader the probative value of the level. |
| "XRS certified" · "XRS approved" · "XRS label" · "meets the XRS standard" | Prohibited | Suggest a regulatory approval or a standard that do not exist. XRS 001 is a heuristic. |
| "XRS®" | Prohibited | The ® symbol is reserved for registered marks; its use on an unregistered mark is unlawful in several jurisdictions. |
| "XRS level X1 to X2" · "XRS X2+" · "X2 → X3" · "in-service level" | Prohibited | A product carries one level, determined in the reference state. Drift in use is a property of the workplace, not of the product. |
| "Unlimited wear" · "wear as long as you like" · an endurance mention without its heading | Prohibited | Separated from its heading BREATHING ENDURANCE, the mention becomes an allegation of unlimited use. |
| An XRS level next to a filtration class in the same block | Prohibited | Keeps alive the confusion between comfort and protection that the scale exists to dispel. |
| A level on a range, a brand or a catalogue | Prohibited | A declaration covers one declared product, never a set. |
What the level does not say
The real wearing time is the minimum of several ceilings. The level sets one.
- Breathing enduranceSet by the resistance of the device. This is the object of the XRS scale.
- Clogging of the filterResistance rises as particles accumulate, at a rate that depends on the working atmosphere.
- Exhaled moistureLoads the media, alters the fit and favours microbial growth.
- Surface hygieneThe outer surface is contaminated by deposit and by handling.
- Fit over timeDegrades with handling and the loosening of the straps.
- The manufacturer's instructionsPrevail over everything else — notably the NR marking limiting use to a single work shift.
None of these ceilings enters the scale, and none is meant to. Integrating them would mean weighting them against each other, hence replacing a single physical measurement by a composite judgement. The scale measures a quantity; it does not decide in place of the wearer or of the manufacturer.
Verify a marking
A marking is genuine only if a declaration in force backs it. The public register lets anyone check that a level shown on a product corresponds to a real, current declaration, and it publishes withdrawals with their effective date.