The European Union’s Digital Product Passport is moving from policy into operation. In July 2026, the European Commission launched the DPP Registry and a testing environment for companies preparing to place covered products on the EU market. The first implementation deadline arrives on February 18, 2027, for certain large batteries. Other product groups will follow as their requirements are finalized.
A Digital Product Passport is a digital record connected to a physical product. Depending on the product category, that record may contain information about materials, manufacturing, repair, regulatory compliance and end-of-life handling. The detailed product information remains decentralized, while the EU Registry stores the unique identifiers and supporting metadata needed to locate and verify each passport.
For printers and converters, the important part is how the physical product connects to that digital record.
GS1’s provisional DPP application standard identifies a QR Code or Data Matrix using GS1 Digital Link as a primary data carrier. RFID may also be used, but during the current transition it must accompany the 2D code rather than replace it. When the barcode carries a serialized identifier, the serial number must match the serial-number component encoded in the RFID tag’s SGTIN. Characters and leading zeros must remain unchanged.
That requirement creates a production challenge. A QR code may scan correctly while still pointing to the wrong product record. An RFID tag may encode successfully while carrying a serial number that does not match the printed code. Both identifiers can appear valid when tested separately, yet the finished product still contains a mismatch.
Once that product enters distribution, the error can affect inventory records, warranty claims, repairs, returns or recycling instructions. Correcting it becomes far more difficult after thousands of products have left the facility.
A reliable workflow needs to treat printing, encoding and inspection as one connected process. The system receives the product record, writes the required information to the RFID tag and prints the corresponding QR Code, Data Matrix and human-readable information. Inline inspection then reads both data carriers and compares them against the original record. An unreadable code, defective tag or mismatched serial number can be identified and marked before it leaves the line.
This is where DPi’s work in variable data printing and RFID integration becomes especially relevant. DPi systems can add printed variable data alongside RFID encoding and inline quality inspection, keeping the visible information and encoded information aligned during production.
Digital Product Passports will place more responsibility on the physical label or package. The printed code has to remain readable, the RFID tag has to perform properly and both must identify the same product. For converters, successful DPP production will depend as much on verification as it does on printing or encoding.
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