IP Ratings Explained for Commercial Screens: What IP65, IP66, and IP68 Actually Test

The definition, digit by digit

IEC 60529, “Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP Code),” is the source document (iec.ch/ip-ratings). A quotable summary for procurement documents:

An IP rating grades the enclosure, not the screen. The first digit covers solids: 5 is dust-protected (ingress permitted but must not interfere with operation), 6 is dust-tight. The second digit covers liquids: 5 is water jets, 6 is powerful jets, 7 is 1 m immersion for 30 minutes, and 8 is continuous immersion under manufacturer-specified conditions that must be stated alongside the code.

The IPX8 disclosure rule matters more than most buyers realize: two IP68 devices with different stated depths and durations are not equivalent claims (IP code reference).

The grades you actually meet, by device class

Our catalog tracks these figures as sourced device facts on each device page, for example Zebra TC53, Honeywell CK65, Panasonic Toughbook 40, and Getac F110.

IP69K, IPX9, and the washdown wrinkle

IPX9 entered IEC 60529 through its amendment and covers high-pressure, high-temperature washdown. The familiar “IP69K” label itself comes from the German standard DIN 40050-9 and lives in ISO 20653 for road vehicles, so “IP69K” and “IPX9” are close but not identical designations (IP69K testing explainer). If a food-plant or vehicle spec hinges on the difference, ask the vendor which document the device was tested to. Related reading for washdown buying: the manufacturing guide.

One more spec-sheet trap nearby: NEMA enclosure types are a different US standard that adds corrosion, ice, gasket, and construction requirements, and NEMA is explicit that IP ratings cannot be converted into NEMA types (NEMA enclosure types). A kiosk spec that says “NEMA 4X or equivalent IP” is not a conversion, it is a question.

The film trap: “IP68 protector” is a category error

Marketing sometimes attaches IP codes to screen protectors. The code cannot transfer: the device was tested as an enclosure before the film existed, and the film changes the assembly the lab never saw. A film vendor that commissions its own water-immersion test on a laminated sample gets a test report about that specimen. That is material-level data, useful on its own terms, and it is not an IP rating for your device. The same logic applies to drop and vibration claims, which are covered on the MIL-STD-810H page, and to impact energies on the IK ratings page.

How to read an IP figure on a spec sheet

• Ask for both digits to be broken out, and for IPX8 conditions in writing (depth, duration).
• Ask which document and revision the test was performed to (IEC 60529, ISO 20653, DIN 40050-9).
• Remember that IP testing is largely self-declared by the manufacturer or done at its direction; the OEM spec sheet is the claim of record.
• Treat any IP figure printed on an accessory, including a film or a case, as marketing unless the vendor names the lab, the standard, and the artifact tested.

Where ingress actually bites fleets, the sector guides show the pattern: warehousing (condensation, wipes, freezer transitions) and parking and transit kiosks (weather, wash-down, vandalism).

Frequently asked questions