Linx helps plant growers to comply with new EU Plant Passport legislation

Linx Dutch distributor, De Koningh BV, is working with plant producers in the Netherlands to find the perfect solution to meet the new EU regulations for plant passports. Customers are choosing to install Linx 8920 and 8940 small character continuous ink jet printers onto their potting lines to apply the new format plant passports onto every plant pot, box or tray as they move along the potting line.

Dutch nurseries are very happy with the solution provided by the Linx 8920 printer:

“For the printing of the new plant passport, I work with the Linx 8920 inkjet machine. This ink applies the correct data at the moment of potting on each individual pot”.

Growers and associated service providers need to have confidence in a coding and marking solution that delivers an accurate and legible plant passport on each container every time; essential for making sure the plant passports comply with the regulations.

Companies who offer potting services to small growers are also benefitting from continuous ink jet printing technology. These companies support smaller plant nurseries who lack the resources to invest in large-scale automation and assume responsibility for the accuracy and quality of the code.

Customers immediately feel the impact of saving costs and time when moving to the convenience of continuous ink jet printing technology:

“With us, no more hassle with many different stickers and labels, which mainly saves on sending orders away. When 30 different products go out in one order, you are ready with one scan.”

Linx solution

The Linx 8920 and 8940 continuous ink jet printers offer the ideal solution to growers who need a solution capable of printing the plant passport onto plant containers, whether they are pots, trays or boxes. No matter the shape or size of the container, the printer applies the plant passport onto each container as it moves along the potting line. Each container is detected as it approaches the printer, so the quality of the printed passport remains consistent for every container whatever the distance between the containers.

The Linx 8920 and 8940 printers are equipped with faster software enabling them to print reliably at speeds that do not slow down the potting line and the grower’s production. Lighter inks can be selected to print the plant passport onto dark coloured containers.

The customer need

Businesses involved in moving plants or plant products to other businesses in the EU may be required to apply a plant passport to every plant container to meet new EU legislation and regulations that come into force on 14 December 2019.

The new passport has a fixed layout and must be applied to the smallest trading unit, such as a pot, tray or box. The information on the passport must be legible to the naked eye and consist of the following information:

Top left corner: the EU flag (in colour or black and white)

Top right corner: Plant Passport (in official language of country of origin) / Plant Passport

A – Botanical name

B – Registration number

C – Traceability code

D – Country code of origin

The EU requirements

From 14 December 2019 new EU legislation and regulations concerning the Plant Passport obligation will come into force. The new regulations mean that more businesses involved in trading plants may be required to have a plant passport. The scope of the plant passport system will be widened to include all ‘plants intended for planting’ extending the range of plants and plant products that require a plant passport.

The plant passport proves that your plants meet the phytosanitary requirements that apply within the EU. By providing traceability the Plant Health Authority can investigate any pest or disease outbreak in the event of contamination. The aim is to ensure safe trade, as well as to reduce the impacts of climate change on the health of our crops and forests helping to protect the plant trade and the whole supply chain.

Back to Case Studies