The RFID Smart Label Challenge

There can be few label converters who have not been aware of the media coverage over the past year or two on the whole topic of RFID and smart labels. But how many label converters - or even packaging producers - have taken any action to become part of this fast changing world? Indeed, how many believe that it will have an impact on their business in the future?

 

Certainly much of the attention up until now has been largely focussed on RFID solutions for pallet labelling and how the industry can meet the new demands of major retail groups such as Walmart, Tesco or Metro. Not unnaturally, those converters already involved in producing bar-coded pallet and logistics labels have been gearing up to incorporate RFID solutions into those same labels. It is a big business opportunity for them.

 

But bar code pallet and logistics labels are only produced by a relatively small number of the 15,000 or so self-adhesive label converters that are to be found around the world. - perhaps less than a couple of hundred at present. So, should the thousands of label producers involved in the printing of prime product or item-level labeling be concerned or interested about the forecast future growth of RFID smart labels?

 

The answer is almost certainly yes. Already major global drug companies such as Pfizer are saying that they will start to put RFID smart labels onto individual high value drug bottles as of this year. Similarly, some key international retail groups are indicating that they will commence product (item) level tagging of added value items and packs later in 2005. More such companies are expected to follow in the coming months.

 

Put together, current industry forecasts by IDTechEx estimate a requirement for more than 1,000 billion RFID tags by 2015, of which some 99.5% will be in the form of labels and around 95% of those as product or item level labels - label volumes which will almost certainly impinge on thousands of label converters, particularly those involved in product labeling of higher-added-value products such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, wines and spirits and similar applications.

 

Rather than add even more labels to such items a far better solution - already being developed - is for label converters to produce high quality black-and-white or even color-printed product labels that incorporate RFID tags. Sounds difficult? Well, it's certainly a challenge for label converters who are primarily concerned with quality color printing.

 

How do they source, specify and purchase RFID tags for inserting into pressure-sensitive labelstock? Once purchased, how do they go about inserting the tag inlays? In-line on press? Off-line finishing systems? At the point of application? And what printing processes are suitable? Alternatively, they can source the RFID labelstocks from key suppliers with the RFID tags already incorporated and ready for printing/overprinting, but how do they successfully overprint? Or should they print the antenna and apply the chips themselves as part of the RFID smart label manufacturing process?

 

Currently, much development and activity is going on in all of these areas to find the best solution, or solutions, for quality and quantity RFID smart labels - both for pallet level and for item level labels - with companies such as Avery Dennison, Rafsec, Mark Andy, Tamarak, HP Indigo, Schober, Bielomatic, Precision, Stork, Domino, AB Graphic and others, looking to aid the converter in their future smart label market growth.

 

In simple terms, an RFID smart label is made up of an integrated circuit (IC) chip, a carrier substrate and an antenna - all incorporated into a pressure-sensitive labelstock. This can be seen in the diagram. Where the IC chip, carrier and antenna are pre-prepared and supplied to the labelstocks manufacturer or printer/converter they are in the form of an inlet or inlay, which must then be inserted into the pressure-sensitive web to make the RFID smart labelstock. This can be done before printing, after printing, in-line, off-line, at the point of application. There are a number of possible options.

 

So what are some of these options for label converters looking to be part of tomorrow's 1,000 billion smart label supply market? Solutions include:

 

 

A range of variations on all these options are either currently available or being developed at the present time to meet the demand for printed (conventionally or electronically) smart labels containing RFID tags. However, in the longer term, it is anticipated that RFID smart labels will probably become chipless. That is, they will no longer contain a silicon chip.

 

Such labels will still be printed - and that includes all the RFID elements. Again, much work and activity is already going into the best methods of printing the necessary circuitry. What are the best (conductive) inks, or the most suitable printing process? Will we have totally printed transistor circuits in label produced by the converter in the future?

 

Even when the RFID smart labels have been produced they will still need to be verified before going off to the label user. Indeed, they will also have to have data written to the tags before use - again a challenge for the label converter to understand and undertake.

 

There seems little doubt that RFID smart labels are going to be a key part of the label industry of the future and that many label converters will become part of this fast-growing world. Pallet level RFID labels, product and item-level RFID labels, printed RFID technology - all hold a future for the label converter prepared to understand and invest in tomorrow's RFID label world.

 

Fall behind in this new RFID-enabled world and the label converter may well see part of his business disappear to a more enlightened competitor in the years to come. It is a challenge that needs to be addressed today - or certainly in the near future.

 

There will be practical events to help converters understand how to specify RFID inlays or materials, the standards required, print methods, tag integration solutions, verification, how to write and read data, handling and storage issues, etc. For more details of these events the converter can visit www.smartlabelsusa.com website.

 

Like bar coding technology, thermal price-weight printing, digital pre-press, management information systems, digital color printing, e-procurement, etc, that have come before, RFID smart label production is yet another challenge for the label converter to understand and apply to their business. The smart ones will have a smart future - the rest may well have a more uncertain time ahead.

 

For more see www.smartlabelsusa.com.