RFID Printers
writing to RFID tags
SageData is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
There is much confusion around RFID technologies, and particularly RFID Printers. We get many strange questions - one example is given below, just as it was received. A frequent question is about writing to RFID tags, and although this is not difficult, the first question should be "do you really need to write to an RFID tag"
In many cases the tag is used for item level tracking, where the tag is identifying a specific item or package. In this case, it is often better to use the information stored in the tag to access a record in a database, the benefits including easy of access. In this case "pre-printed" or more correctly "pre-programmed" tags may be a better solution, and for this the tags will be programmed in bulk, usually as a matching barcode is printed, the RFID tag programming head being part of the printer.
In the case where a specific tag must be updated, this can be done from a handheld device, but care must be exercised. In the same way that care is required so that an RFID tag reader can be sure exactly which tag it is reading, so care must be taken to ensure that an RFID tag writer (or editor) knows exactly which tag it is writing to.
The question, exactly as received, was...
What do you know about RFID printers? OK, that is only part of my question ...
I've done some digging but not found much about how they work. OK, I can live with a
printed antenna but what about the chip itself? Again I can live with the whole PCB/IC
technology but is technology really so advanced in this area that I can have a RFID
printer on my desk and churn them out? What am I missing here? And what the heck are
chip-less RFID tags? Or is it that the label stock actually has a RFID tag embedded in
each one and the print goes on at the same time as info is loaded onto the tag? THAT I
could believe though it does not sound cheap.
A: Well, you are really addressing two different technologies here....
Q - What do you know about RFID printers?...
A - RFID printers are nothing more than a conventional barcode printer with an RFID write head mounted close to the barcode print head. As not all locations are configured for RFID, a package passing through the supply chain may pass points using different technologies. It is useful therefore, if a package can be read either way - with an RFID reader or a barcode reader. To accommodate this, you could put and RFID chip on a package, and a barcode label. It is easier and quicker to put on a single label that does both, plus it improves system integrity, the barcode and RFID information are less likely to be mismatched.
Q - OK, that is only part of my question ... I've done some digging but not found much about how they work....
A - The software that drives the print mechanism also writes to the RFID tag...
Q - ... OK, I can live with a printed antenna but what about the chip itself?...
A - Yes, some antenna are printed, but the chips are mostly conventional in this application.
Q - Again I can live with the whole PCB/IC technology but is technology really so advanced in this area that I can have a RFID printer on my desk and churn them out?
A - Yes, the printer merely prints the barcode label, and writes to the RFID chip.
Q - What am I missing here? And what the heck are chip-less RFID tags?
A - There is work going on for printing the whole tag directly, but this is
some way off from real world deployment, and likely to be for specialized applications,
and razor blades is the application that comes to mind. I have been told that razor
blades are the most shoplifted item
.
Q - Or is it that the label stock actually has a RFID tag embedded in each one and the print goes on at the same time as info is loaded onto the tag?
A - Yes, I think you've got it. You did not really need to send in your question, did you?
Q - THAT I could believe though it does not sound cheap.
A - Yes, you are correct, but the price is not so bad. Pretty much the same price as an RFID tag and a barcode label...
Give us a call if you are interested in additional information.
If you found this useful, you might also want to review:
- active RFID
- mobile data collectors
- barcode, RFID software
QAOK5018
