Two documents are quietly changing what brand owners ask of label converters. One is a technical standard for flexographic process control that has existed for years and is now referenced in more supplier agreements. The other is a European regulation on packaging waste that applies across the EU from August 2026 — to the packaging your labels are part of — and reaches North American plants through their multinational customers.
Here is what a converter needs to know about each, on either side of the Atlantic, without reading the full text.
ISO 12647-6: the flexo process control standard
What it is. ISO 12647 is the family of standards for process control in graphic technology. Part 6, currently in its 2020 edition (ISO 12647-6:2020), covers flexographic printing: the parameters and tolerances a flexo process should meet for half-tone color separations, proofs and production prints.
What it specifies. In general terms, the standard defines the reference printing conditions (substrate classes, solid ink colors, tone value increase), how color is measured (referencing ISO 13655 for illuminant and geometry), and tolerances for deviation and variation between the OK sheet and production. The exact tolerance values depend on the printing condition and are in the standard itself; we do not reproduce them here.
Why it matters in 2026. Brand owners writing color specifications increasingly reference ISO 12647-6 rather than "match the proof." A specification that says "ΔE00 within tolerance per ISO 12647-6" is measurable, auditable, and impossible to meet by eye. And because it is an international standard, it means the same thing in a plant in Ohio and a plant in Lyon — which is exactly why multinational brand owners write it into their supplier agreements.
What it means on press. Two things. First, your offline and inline instruments have to agree with each other: an audit has no room for two sets of numbers for one color. Second, "variation" tolerances apply across the run, not just at approval. That is a continuous measurement requirement, which is exactly what inline spectral systems such as DeltaOne provide: every colorbar, every revolution, logged.
Where to get it. The standard is sold by ISO (iso.org, ISO 12647-6:2020) and by national standards bodies — ANSI in the US, DIN in Germany, AFNOR in France, BSI in the UK. Industry bodies such as the FTA publish guidance that builds on it; check their current documents before adopting internal tolerances.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40: the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation
What it is. The PPWR is an EU regulation (directly applicable in all member states, unlike a directive) that replaces the previous packaging directive. It was published in early 2025 and applies from August 12, 2026, with many obligations phased in over subsequent years.
What it covers. Packaging minimization, recyclability requirements, recycled content targets, labeling of packaging for sorting, extended producer responsibility, and restrictions on certain packaging formats and substances. The full text is on EUR-Lex. Several law firms have published timelines; the phased dates run to 2040.
What it means for a European converter. Most obligations fall on whoever places the packaging on the market — usually your customer. But a label is part of the packaging it sits on: its substrate, adhesive and inks are among the components the recyclability criteria look at. Expect the questions to arrive through your brand owners' specifications before they arrive from an inspector.
Why a North American converter should care. Three routes. First, if you export labels or packaging into the EU, the requirements apply to that packaging. Second, if you supply a multinational brand owner, their EU compliance program will push requirements into supplier agreements globally, because maintaining two sets of specifications is more expensive than one. Third, US state EPR programs are developing along similar lines, and brand owners are building one compliance framework for both.
What it means on press. The PPWR is about the packaging, not the printing process. But it makes waste a reported number, and it makes "minimization" a design and production obligation. Makeready waste, roll rejects and reprints all land in that number. A converter who can show, from measurement logs, that press stops halved and restart lengths dropped has a documented waste reduction story. One who cannot has a promise.
What to do before your next brand owner audit
Three practical steps, in order.
First, ask your top five brand owner customers two questions: which color standard and which tolerances their specifications reference, and which PPWR data they will need from you, by when. If the answer to the first is "the proof," expect that to change within the year.
Second, check that your offline and inline instruments agree within their combined repeatability. Disagreement between instruments is the most common reason operators stop trusting color data.
Third, estimate your current makeready waste per job with the VEORIA ROI calculator, and keep the number. It is the baseline you will be asked for.
VEORIA's approach to standards-based inline color measurement is described on our approach page. For the regulatory side — recyclability grades, Declarations of Conformity, EPR registrations across 27 member states — we built PPWR Connect, a compliance dashboard for converters and their customers. This article is a primer, not legal advice: for compliance decisions, refer to the standard text, your customer's specification, and qualified advisors.
