CPV 225 – Printing Plates, Cylinders and Other Printing Media

What does CPV 225 cover?

CPV group 225 (22500000) covers public contracts for printing plates, cylinders, and other printing media – offset printing plates, rotogravure cylinders, screen printing stencils, flexographic printing sleeves, digital printing media, and other physical carriers used in the print production process. The group covers the consumable and semi-consumable tools that transfer ink to the printed substrate.

In the public sector, printing media are procured by authorities and institutions that operate their own print shops or in-house print production facilities. Large federal and state printing offices, municipal print centres, public university print services, and postal authorities with in-house production capacity are typical buyers. Printing plates and cylinders are required for recurring large-volume print jobs such as official forms, publications, and regular information materials produced in-house.

Within CPV group 220, group 225 covers the production input materials rather than the finished printed output. It is closely related to group 226 (printing inks) as a consumable supply for print operations. It is distinguished from group 220 overall (finished printed products) by its focus on the tools of print production rather than the products themselves. Further information on the CPV system is available from the European Commission (SIMAP) and Regulation (EC) No 213/2008.

Typical Services in CPV 225

• Offset printing plates for in-house print shops at government printing offices
• Screen printing stencils for municipal signage and workshop production
• Digital printing media and thermal transfer ribbons for high-volume print centres
• Flexographic printing sleeves for label and packaging production in public facilities

Examples of Tenders with CPV 225

• Offset Printing Plates for a Federal Printing Office: A federal government printing office tenders an annual supply framework for positive and negative offset printing plates in standard formats for use in its production of official forms, publications, and gazettes.
• Screen Printing Stencils for a Municipal Workshop: A municipal enterprise with screen printing production procures photosensitive screen printing stencils and emulsion materials for producing signage, labels, and information boards.
• Digital Printing Media for a State Print Centre: A state government central print service procures compatible digital printing media including imaging drums, transfer belts, and thermal print heads for its fleet of high-volume digital production printers.

Current tenders with CPV 225 are published on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) and on national procurement platforms such as the German Procurement Portal (DTVP).

Who is CPV 225 relevant for?

Public Contracting Authorities

Federal and state printing offices, municipal print centres, public university print services, postal authorities, and other public institutions with in-house printing production are the typical contracting authorities under CPV 225. Procurement is typically organised as annual framework agreements.

Companies and Bidders

Printing plate manufacturers, print media suppliers, and print consumables distributors can win public contracts under CPV 225. Product compatibility with existing press equipment, plate quality and consistency, delivery reliability, and technical support are typical requirements. Information on eligibility requirements and procurement procedures is available from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

How does Bond help with CPV 225?

Tender Match – Automatically Find Tenders (CPV 225)

With tender.match, printing plate manufacturers and print media suppliers automatically receive all relevant tenders with CPV 225 directly in their dashboard. BOND indexes tenders from over 1,000 procurement portals in the EU – from TED to national platforms and regional contracting authorities. Instead of manually searching dozens of portals every day, matching printing media supply contracts are filtered and delivered by industry, competency, region, and company profile. An automated gap analysis immediately shows where the company meets the requirements and where gaps exist. This ensures companies never miss a deadline and can focus on preparing their bids.

Company Match – Find the Right Partners and Suppliers (CPV 225)

For companies looking for suppliers, subcontractors, or consortium partners for printing media contracts, company.match provides direct access to qualified firms from an EU-wide database of over 28 million companies. Especially for contracts requiring multiple plate formats and media types, company.match automatically identifies suitable partners for bidding consortia – increasing the chances of winning the contract.

Frequently Asked Questions about CPV 225

What does the CPV code 22500000 mean?

The CPV code 22500000 designates the group "Printing plates, cylinders and other printing media" in the Common Procurement Vocabulary. It covers the physical production media used in print operations including offset plates, screen stencils, gravure cylinders, and digital print media procured by public printing facilities.

How do I find tenders with CPV 225?

Tenders with CPV 225 are published at EU level on TED and on national platforms such as DTVP.

What are the requirements for participating in tenders with CPV 225?

Typical requirements include proven equipment compatibility, product quality documentation and consistency specifications, delivery reliability for just-in-time production supply, and technical support capability. Details are governed by the VgV and UVgO depending on contract value.