WebScreen is EU Ready! Our Journey to CE Marking

WebScreen CE Marking Certifications Product Design

Big news from the HW Lab team! We're thrilled to announce that our innovative product, WebScreen, has successfully completed the CE marking process. This is a huge milestone for us and an exciting step towards bringing WebScreen, your compact secondary display with wireless connectivity for notifications and productivity, to a much wider audience across Europe!

You might have seen the "CE" letters on various products, but what does it actually mean? In essence, the CE marking is a declaration by us, the manufacturer (HW Media Lab LLC), that WebScreen meets the high safety, health, and environmental protection requirements set by the European Union. It's a symbol of our commitment to quality and your assurance of a safe product.

Why is CE Marking a Big Deal?

For you, our backers and future customers, the CE mark signifies that WebScreen has been assessed and deemed to comply with stringent EU standards. It means you can be confident in its safety and operational integrity.

For HW Lab, achieving CE marking isn't just about ticking a box. It opens the door to the expansive European Economic Area (EEA) market, allowing us to share WebScreen with even more people who can benefit from its unique productivity-boosting features. It also underscores our dedication to global best practices and responsible product development. This marking is mandatory for many products manufactured anywhere in the world that are intended for sale within the EU.

Our Path to CE Marking for WebScreen

The journey to CE marking is a meticulous one, and for many products like WebScreen, it's a process of self-certification. This means we, as the manufacturer, bear the sole responsibility for declaring conformity. Here’s a glimpse into the steps we took for WebScreen:

Identifying the Rulebook: First, we identified all the relevant EU directives that apply to WebScreen. Given its features – a display with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity – the key directives included:

■ The Radio Equipment Directive (RED) (2014/53/EU), because WebScreen uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
■ The Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive (2014/30/EU), to ensure it doesn’t interfere with other devices and isn't unduly affected by them.
■ The Low Voltage Directive (LVD) (2014/35/EU), which applies to electrical equipment within certain voltage limits, ensuring user safety.

Meeting the Standards: We then ensured WebScreen conforms to the specific harmonized standards under these directives. This involved rigorous assessment against standards for:

■ Health and Safety (RED): Such as EN IEC 62368-1:2020+A11:2020 for the safety of IT and communication technology equipment, and EN IEC 62311:2020 for assessing RF exposure.
■ Electromagnetic Compatibility (RED & EMC): Including EN 301 489-1 for general EMC requirements for radio equipment, EN 301 489-17 specifically for wireless devices in the 2.4 GHz band (that’s WebScreen Wi-Fi and Bluetooth!), and EN 55032 for emissions from multimedia equipment.
■ Efficient Use of the Radio Spectrum (RED): Applying EN 300 328 V2.2.2, crucial for devices operating in the 2.4 GHz band.
■ Documenting Everything: A key part of the process is compiling detailed technical documentation. This file, which we maintain at our Japan office, includes design information, test results, and how WebScreen meets the required standards. This documentation must be available to competent national authorities if requested.

What This Means for You, Our WebScreen Community

This CE marking is more than just a label. It's our promise to you:

■ Quality and Safety: You’re getting a product that adheres to high European safety and operational standards.
■ Ready for Europe: We're now a significant step closer to shipping WebScreen to our supporters across the EU and EEA.
■ Transparency: It reflects our commitment at HW Lab to be open and adhere to important regulatory frameworks.

Support Us on Crowd Supply

We’re on Crowd Supply, and we need your help to bring WebScreen to more people. Your backing makes it possible to keep prices low and quality high—so everyone can enjoy the power of an open-source secondary display.