Radio frequency identification (RFID) is one of the most innovative and useful labeling and product tracking technologies to come along in some time. More and more companies that supply both industry and government are being required to use RFID technology to identify their products during transit and storage. 

 

RFID is an automatic identification technology whereby digital data encoded in an RFID tag or “smart label” is captured by a reader using radio waves. Simply put, RFID is similar to bar code technology but uses radio waves to capture data from tags, rather than optically scanning the bar codes on a label. RFID does not require the tag or label to be seen to read its stored data. 

 

Zebra’s R110Xi4 RFID printer/encoder is optimized for high-volume operations and can print and encode a variety of UHF radio frequency identification smart labels for a multitude of applications. (Image courtesy is Zebra Technologies Corp.)

The finished label consists of a unique layer—the inlay—inserted into a traditional label construction. The inlay contains an antenna and microchip that stores data. The RFID label communicates via radio frequency rather than optical scanning, and is produced using a type of thermal transfer digital printing technology.

 

PASSIVE AND ACTIVE TAGS

RFID tags come in various formats. The most common, and cheapest to produce, are passive RFID tags. They rely on the radio signal of the scanner to power the circuit and antenna, and produce a relatively weak signal that scanners can only detect within a few feet. Battery-assisted tags use an internal power source to boost the signal, allowing scanners to pick them up from longer distances. Active RFID tags contain an internal power source strong enough to transmit data through the antenna in regular pulses, and work best in situations where constant monitoring of the tag is necessary.

 

AVERY DENNISON

As both a materials supplier and a high-volume converter of specialized labels, Avery Dennison is one of the companies that is at the forefront of the RFID revolution. 

 

“When we first started the RFID division about seven years ago we utilized a printing technology that used flake silver particles in a printable format, but we moved away from that because the price of silver was too high,” says D.J. Lee, technical marketing manager, Avery Dennison Corporation’s RFID division located just outside Atlanta. “A lot has changed since then, the process we use today is sort of like die cutting, taking a sheet of foil metal and cutting it in sections to make antennas for the tags.”

 

Avery Dennison RFID inlays are attached to or embedded in labels and tags produced by multiple label converting partners and distributed in more than 60 countries worldwide. (Image courtesy Avery Dennison)

Avery Dennison RFID inlays have become more widely used by major apparel brands and retailers in “item-level marking” systems. (Image courtesy Avery Dennison)

Today, Avery Dennison RFID is the world’s largest producer of radiofrequency identification inlays. In April 2011 the company announced the shipment of its one billionth ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID inlay—an industry first, Avery Dennison RFID provides both UHF and high-frequency (HF) inlays to supply chain applications and the health care, aviation, retail and other industries.

 

EVOLVING MARKETS

Lee says the marketplace for UHF RFID tags has evolved in recent years from U.S. Department of Defense compliance mandates and pallet-based supply chain applications to versatile and quantifiable business process solutions. “Over the past year, Avery Dennison RFID inlays have become more widely used by major apparel brands and retailers in ‘item-level marking’ systems. Avery Dennison’s Retail Branding and Information Solutions business is leading the growth of such systems, which provide retailers with benefits ranging from improved inventory productivity, labor efficiency and loss prevention as well an enhanced customer experience,” he adds.

 

ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES

One of the leaders in RFID printing technology is Zebra Technologies Corp. A broad range of applications benefit from Zebra-brand thermal, “smart” label, receipt, and card printers, offering their users enhanced security, increased productivity, improved quality. “We are the world leaders in RFID printing technology primarily in the area of labels and receipts. Zebra’s RFID printers are based around thermal transfer technology,” reports Michael Fein, technical product manager, RFID at Zebra Technologies Corp., Lincolnshire, Ill. “Our RFID printers use a ribbon system and a print head. The pixels in the print head get hot and that causes the ink to transfer from the ribbon to the page of the paper,” he explains.

 

HOW RFID PRINTING WORKS

Fein explains that basically there’s an RFID inlay embedded into the label stock. Before printing the tag, the printer will communicate with the RFID tag and encode its information to it. 

 

“Just like in a print shop where you would send information on to the printer of what you’d like to print, the RFID printer provides the information that you would need to encode to the tag. The printer then codes the information and then reads the tag to make sure it is correct and prints the ‘image info’ for the tag,” he says.

 

“Today one of the traditional channels for RFID media is from an inlay manufacturer through a label converter. But as RFID technology becomes more main stream and moves more toward the consumer, I see more applications in the print sector popping up. The recent momentum in near-field communications (NFC) technology, enabled by RFID-equipped smart phones, is particularly exciting, and I think it will open up the opportunity for many new applications for consumers as well as businesses. I could see it being utilized in a Kinko’s one day where you are able to order posters and business cards being read by technology off a cell phone,” Fein says.

 

Zebra’s RP4T is the world’s first mobile thermal transfer printer with RFID printing/encoding capability. Users can print lasting bar code labels, UHF smart labels, and documents up to 4” wide. (Image courtesy is Zebra Technologies Corp.)

He adds that NFC devices can read NFC tags on a museum or retail display to get more information or an audio or video presentation. “NFC is a short-range communication device protocol that’s tied to secure transactions. Imagine in the future you take your cell phone and walk up to a movie poster, hold your phone up to the poster and your phone gets authenticated and you instantly get a discount sent to your phone for that movie. That’s where I think this might have another application in the display signage space. Enabling print shops to encode tags on and embed them into posters and signage is a strong possibility,” he predicts.

 

OTHER FUTURE IN PACKAGING

The technology required for printing RFID tags is continuing to grow but a good deal of research still remains to be done and material prices need to drop before printed tags can be offered commercially—and before they can be printed directly onto packaging. However, once these two milestones are achieved—at a reasonable price—some believe that RFID tagging will one day become pervasive throughout supply chains for almost every type of good.

 

Avery Dennison’s Lee thinks that there is a possibility in the future that RFID tags will be printed directly onto the packaging once costs come down and demand goes up. 

 

“This is a very exciting time for the RFID industry. As technology continues to evolve, there is still a role for digital printing technology to play. We could see RFID tags printed directly into the packaging and directly into different types of substrates similar to what is happening in the labeling industry. I also see some of the ink companies developing new technologies for low cost metal type inks that can be applied into RFID industry as well,” he says.