This European Standard details generic gasket parameters for use in EN 1591-1 during preliminary calculations during which the type of gasket to be used in an application is to be decided. Once the gasket type has been decided the parameters for gaskets of that type from the different potential commercial suppliers should be used in further calculations as within a gasket type there will be differences depending upon the supplier. WARNING - For the final calculations using the method given in EN 1591-1 the reader is directed to obtain gasket parameters for the selected generic type of gasket from the intended gasket manufacturer. This is because the data for a generic gasket type will vary between manufacturers. This variation can be seen in the tables of data which are embodied in this document.