With Digital Product Passports set to make their introduction in 2027, assistant editor Benjamin Austin, delves into what wide-format print providers can expect.
Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are set to become an increasingly important part of how products are made, sold and tracked in the EU, and though these changes may not apply to wide-format printers’ directors at first, the implications could see themselves leak into the industry.
Put simply, a DPP is a digital record containing information about a product. The European Commission describes it as a ‘digital container’ for information about products, components and materials.
A physical product could carry a QR code or another type of data carrier. Scanning it could then provide access to information about the product, such as what it is made from, where its materials came from, how it can be repaired or reused, and what should happen to it at the end of its life.
The important point is that the QR code itself is not the passport. It is simply a way of connecting the physical product to its digital information.
The system forms part of the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which is intended to make products more sustainable and make information about them easier to access.
The first major mandatory application arrives on February 18, 2027, when certain batteries, including electric vehicle batteries, light means of transport batteries and some industrial batteries, will require a DPP.
For the print industry, however, textiles are arguably the most important area to watch.
The European Commission currently plans to adopt the delegated act covering textile products in Q4 2027. This legislation will set out exactly what information needs to be included and who will be responsible for providing it.
This may be a year ahead, but it is still important to understand it, what could happen, and what legislative changes to prepare for.
Why does this matter to printers?
The basic idea behind DPPs is traceability.
Today, a printer might know which substrate or garment it has bought, but information about where that material came from, what it contains and what happens to it after use can be spread across different suppliers and documents.
DPPs are intended to bring more of this information together. This aligns closely with the sustainability changes already underway across the printing industry.
FESPA’s work on sustainable textile and apparel decoration highlights areas including recycled and organic materials, more sustainable inks, waterless printing, waste reduction and greater efficiency.
DPPs could provide a way of recording and communicating information about these types of products and processes. The exact information required will depend on the product and the final legislation.
With textiles one of the priorities for the EU, the development is particularly relevant to businesses involved in digital textile printing, direct to garment, direct to film, dye sublimation, transfer printing and garment decoration.
Imagine a clothing brand selling a printed T shirt in Europe. The DPP could eventually provide information about the garment’s materials, production and end-of-life options.
Some of that information may come from the garment manufacturer, while other information could come from businesses further down the supply chain.
That is where printers could become involved.
The European Commission’s current textile work recognises that information can need to move between different businesses involved in producing a finished textile product.
However, it is important not to overstate the situation. The final textile rules have not yet been established, so printers should not assume that they will definitely be required to report specific amounts of ink, energy or other production data.
What is much more certain is that customers will increasingly need reliable information from their suppliers.
It’s about data, not just QR codes. It would be easy to think of DPPs as simply putting a QR code on a product.
That is only the visible part. The bigger change is the information sitting behind it.
For a printer, this could make good record keeping much more valuable. Being able to identify the material used on a job, retain supplier information and find relevant certificates could become an important part of meeting customer requirements.
The European Commission says DPP information is intended to be accessible throughout a product’s lifecycle, helping with areas such as reuse, repair and recycling.
In other words, printers may increasingly need to think about their production data as something that has value beyond the factory floor.
What about other areas of wide-format?
Textiles are not the only area worth watching. The EU’s current plans also cover areas including construction products, aluminium, furniture and other product groups.
That could eventually have implications for parts of the architectural and interior-printing market.
Printed wallcoverings, decorative surfaces, panels and other printed products could become relevant where they form part of a regulated product category.
Packaging is another area to monitor, although printers should not assume that every printed package will automatically require a DPP.
The important distinction is that the product determines whether a DPP is required, not simply the fact that it has been printed.
A standard banner, poster, exhibition graphic or vehicle wrap is therefore not suddenly going to need a passport simply because DPPs are being introduced.
What should printers do now?
There is no need for printers to panic or rush into buying new DPP software before the rules are finalised.
A more sensible first step is to look at the information they already have.
- Can you identify the materials used for a particular job?
- Can you find the supplier documentation?
- Can you prove recycled content or certification claims?
- Can you connect a finished product with the information about the materials used to make it?
If the answer to these questions is yes, a business is already in a much stronger position.
A gradual change
The system is being introduced product category by product category, and the exact requirements will vary.
But the direction of travel is clear: more information, greater traceability and less reliance on vague sustainability claims.
For printers, that could ultimately mean that knowing what they print is no longer enough.
They may increasingly need to know what it is made from, where it came from and what happens to it afterwards.
The companies that begin getting that information organised now could find themselves better prepared when DPPs eventually reach their part of the market.
