Environment


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


www.imagereportsmag.co.uk | 21


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.


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION DESCRIBES IT AS A “DIGITAL CONTAINER” FOR INFORMATION ABOUT


PRODUCTS, COMPONENTS AND MATERIALS


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