• Login
    • Join
  • Subscribe Free
    • Magazine
    • eNewsletter
    Checkout
    • Magazine
    • News
    • Exclusives
    • Labels & Packaging
    • Markets
    • Technology
    • Equipment
    • Supplies
    • Buyers' Guide
    • Events
    • Jobs
    • More
  • Magazine
  • News
  • Exclusives
  • Labels & Packaging
  • Markets
  • Technology
  • Equipment
  • Supplies
  • Buyers' Guide
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Current / Back Issues
    Features
    Editorial
    Columns
    Digital Edition
    eNewsletter Archive
    Our Team
    Subscribe Now
    Advertise Now
    Top Features
    Pouch Converting

    Metallic Inks

    A COMMON $ENSE APPROACH TO COATING APPLICATIONS

    Print Management Systems

    Narrow Web Profile: Pacific Barcode, Inc.
    Breaking News
    Converter News
    European Label News
    Industry News
    Industry People
    M&A News
    New Products
    Expert's Opinion
    Live From Shows
    Top News
    Meech adds new Pulsed DC Controller to Hyperion range

    Primera announces on-demand RFID label printer

    Five TLMI converter members win World Label Awards

    Lecta launches range of one-side coated papers

    CRON-ECRM to feature HDI Flexo CTP at INFOFLEX
    Beauty & Personal Care Labels
    Beer Labels
    Beverage Labels
    Flexible Packaging
    Folding Carton
    Food Labels
    Glue-Applied
    In-Mold
    Industrial Labels
    Medical Labels
    Pharmaceutical Labels
    Pressure Sensitive
    Prime Labels
    Promotional Labels
    Security Labels
    Shrink
    Smart Labels
    Specialty Labels
    Spirits Labels
    Wine Labels

    Primera announces on-demand RFID label printer

    TLMI's L9 World Label Award winners

    Five TLMI converter members win World Label Awards

    Dscoop examines new opportunities for label converters

    Label Impressions wins World Label Award
    Africa
    Asia
    Australia
    China
    Europe
    India
    Latin America
    Middle East
    North America

    CRON-ECRM to feature HDI Flexo CTP at INFOFLEX

    Bobst expands infrastructure in France

    Mark Andy explores the anatomy of craft spirits labels

    INX International promotes John Hrdlick to president

    Dscoop examines new opportunities for label converters
    Flexography
    Digital Printing
    Prepress
    Finishing
    Sustainability

    'CupCycling' with James Cropper

    Primera announces on-demand RFID label printer

    CRON-ECRM to feature HDI Flexo CTP at INFOFLEX

    Mark Andy explores the anatomy of craft spirits labels

    Dscoop examines new opportunities for label converters
    Digital Printers & Presses
    Flexo Presses
    Label Converting Equipment
    Label Finishing Equipment
    Prepress Equipment

    Meech adds new Pulsed DC Controller to Hyperion range

    Primera announces on-demand RFID label printer

    Label Impressions wins World Label Award

    Preview: Pack Expo East

    X-Rite and Flint Group announce global partnership
    Dies And Tooling
    Flexo Supplies
    Ink & Coatings
    Prepress Supplies
    Pressrooom Supplies
    Substrates

    'CupCycling' with James Cropper

    CRON-ECRM to feature HDI Flexo CTP at INFOFLEX

    INX International promotes John Hrdlick to president

    Esko releases WebCenter 18

    Label Impressions wins World Label Award
    All Companies
    Categories
    Company Profiles
    Label Converters
    Trade Associations
    Add New Company
    International Buyers Guide Companies
    Wilson Manufacturing

    Durst Image Technology US, LLC

    Meech Static Eliminators USA

    PC Industries

    Alphasonics USA Inc.
    Industry Events
    Webinars
    Live from Show Events
    • Magazine
      • Current & Past Issues
      • Features
      • Editorial
      • Columns
      • Digital Edition
      • eNewsletter Archive
      • Subscribe Now
      • Advertise Now
    • Breaking News
    • Buyers' Guide
      • All Companies
      • Categories
      • Company Profiles
      • Label Converters
      • Trade Associations
      • Add Your Company
    • Labels & Packaging
      • Beauty & Personal Care Labels
      • Beer Labels
      • Beverage Labels
      • Flexible Packaging
      • Folding Carton
      • Food Labels
      • Glue-Applied
      • In-Mold
      • Industrial Labels
      • Medical Labels
      • Pharmaceuticals Labels
      • Pressure Sensitive
      • Prime Labels
      • Promotional Labels
      • Security Labels
      • Shrink
      • Smart Labels
      • Speciality Labels
      • Spirits Labels
      • Wine Tables
    • Markets
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Australia
      • China
      • Europe
      • India
      • Latin America
      • Middle East
      • North America
    • Equipment
      • Digital Printers & Presses
      • Flexo Presses
      • Label Converting Equipment
      • Label Fishing Equipment
    • Supplies
      • Dies And Tooling
      • Flexo Supplies
      • Ink & Coatings
      • Prepress Supplies
      • Pressrooom Supplies
      • Substrates
    • Online Exclusives
    • Slideshows
    • Experts Opinions
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Infographics
    • Whitepapers
    • Events
      • Industry Events
      • Live from Show Events
      • Webinars
    • Jobs
    • Resources
      • Supplier Gallery
      • Literature Showcase
      • Homepage Showcase
    • About Us
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of Use
    Narrow Web Europe

    Still waiting

    07.19.05
    RFID technology remains an enigma. There have been some encouraging developments, but the soaring rates of growth spoken off in the mid 1990s look as far away as ever. Even the events of last September have failed to expand RFID security usage to any great degree. Despite the appearance of cheaper microchips and relatively more affordable laminating and application methods, high implementation costs remain a formidable barrier. Potential users are also daunted by the problems associated with integrating read/write equipment within existing bar code legacy systems. There is no room for any weak links in individual operations.
    The more optimistic of system providers remain confident that the technology’s undoubted benefits will win through. They refer to the fact that RFID labels, tags or tickets can securely carry far more encoded information than is possible with conventional bar codes. The line-of-sight reading rates are faster and users can modify information. This makes smart RFID products perfect for tracking goods within supply chain logistics. Some can help protect against product tampering, counterfeiting and parallel trading, perhaps combined with some secure holographic device. In fact there are countless ID and logistics related applications.
    The problem is convincing the key growth markets of these attributes. An example of how frustrating this can be comes from KTP, a leading UK based systems integrator in Beverley, Yorkshire. It has seen two major projects placed on the back burner. More than two years ago British Airways tried smart baggage tags on certain European routes to beef up check-in procedures. KTP’s label division later supplied Baggage Direct with smart products for an airport-to-hotel or -office tracking and delivery service, again using Tag-it disposable tags from Texas Instruments.
    “Both schemes were technically successful, but the customers have placed them on hold,” said Harry Clark, KTP’s chairman. He agrees that the market has not taken off as expected: “A lot of initial harm was done by people claiming that smart labels would soon replace bar codes. Smart products can certainly complement them, but may not necessarily replace bar codes. Users must be selective and have the right application.”
    It is commonly recognized that the market needs even lower-cost inlay units combined with “interrogation” ranges of at least three feet.
    The expense of conventional inductive RFID tags derives from their transmit/receive coil antenna circuit, transponder microchip and a capacitor, which are contained on a thin aluminum foil. The antenna picks up the magnetic energy generated by a reader and modulates it in order to retrieve and transmit data back to the reader, which directs the data to the host computer. Prices can vary anywhere from 30-35 cents per unit for passive button tags to tens of dollars for battery-powered, read-write tags. Further developments could see lower-cost disposable alternatives, similar to the low-cost passive electronic article surveillance types for retail anti-theft labeling.

    Production factors
    Other positive moves include the setting up of dedicated suppliers. For example, UPM-Kymmene Rafsec (a sister company of Raflatac) now supplies reels of transponder inlays based on Philips Semiconductors I Code IC chip to converters and system integrators. It uses Rafsec’s own antenna on a thin polyester carrier, a permanent adhesive on the back and a laminate to protect the top of the inlay. In Germany, X-ident produces a range of RFID label, tag and ticket materials for converting into process printed or thermally-printed materials. Usage by mass transit authorities is seen as a key sector.
    New methods of merging inlay webs with pre-printed label or tag webs while maintaining register and eliminating static look promising. Bielomatik’s latest Qualified Manufacturing Process system includes a compact transponder coding and transfer machine aimed at label converters. The machine has an unwind for diecut labels and another for reels of transponder inlays, which are tested as they unwind.
    Melzer offers the entry-level SL-L 100 for single-track production. Higher-volume production is handled by the SL-L 400, giving up to four track production over the 250-mm width for 30-40,000 labels/hour. It also has a test facility. Both machines incorporate diecutting, trim removal and rewinder.
    The Burton Group’s Omega Systems division offers the TI 410 line to handle multiple webs, applying inlays onto double-sided webs using an adapted label dispenser with integral diecutting. The TI 150 is a simpler and narrower version, handling webs up to 150mm. Omega supplied KTP’s customized machine with a verifier to run in-line with its multi-color label press.
    Van den Bergh Engineering from Belgium has released its iLi-250 module, intended to apply inlays between a release liner and self-adhesive facestock or with split piggy-back labels. The 250mm-wide applicator includes a laminator and hot-melt gluer. It runs in tandem with the Labeller 18S, part of the company’s Inter Label Combination system for integrating diecut labels with forms or similar documents.
    Equipment of the type mentioned is a vital step in the right direction because at least it provides a platform of involvement for specialized label converters. Perhaps it will eventually reduce the gap between the capabilities of RFID technology and the market’s attitudes towards it.
    Related Searches
    • Release liner
    • Smart labels
    • Bar codes
    • Label press

    Related Narrow Web Europe

    • Viva Italia!

      Viva Italia!

      Readers who remember the Converflex and Grafitalia shows in Italy will be surprised not to find them this year. Along with the Inprinting show, they have all been amalgamated into Print4All (they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,…
      John Penhallow 04.09.18

    • Roll-to-roll solar energy

      Roll-to-roll solar energy

      The name of Count Lev Perovski may not be familiar to all readers of this column, but it was he who, in 1839, discovered and named perovskite, a compound of calcium, oxygen and titanium. This remained a geological curiosity until 10 years ago when a…
      John Penhallow 03.09.18

    • Good news in unexpected corners of Europe

      Good news in unexpected corners of Europe

      The fourth quarter returns for 2017 are not in yet, but Europe’s economy is at last looking up, with 2.2% year-on-year GDP growth for the Euro area (running neck-and-neck with the US), and industrial production (a better indicator for label dem…
      John Penhallow 01.26.18


    •  A toast to Champagne and Labelexpo

      A toast to Champagne and Labelexpo

      There will be just two topics in this edition of Narrow Web Europe: Labelexpo (which will not surprise you), and champagne (which will probably not surprise you either). With 600+ exhibitors at Labelexpo Europe, not all of them could get the press…
      John Penhallow 11.17.17

    • Heavy Levy

      The United Kingdom has particularly draconian packaging regulations. All UK companies with a turnover of more than $2.7 million must assess how much packaging they have placed onto the UK Market. If the volume exceeds 50 metric tons per year, then th…
      John Penhallow 10.06.17

    • ...and brew it mein way

      Many readers of L&NW may have forgotten the Great Beer Battle, which inflamed the drinking classes of Europe in the 1960s. An ancient German law called the Reinheitsgebot, dating back to the 16th century, laid down the only ingredients allowed fo…
      John Penhallow 09.11.17


    • Rule the data, rock the world

      Rule the data, rock the world

      The Internet of Things has become a buzzword, but not everyone can explain it as well as Andy Hobsbawm, co-founder of the organization EVRYTHNG (this is not a misprint). He foresees that the Amazons of this world will make serious inroads into retail…
      John Penhallow 07.14.17

    • English eccentrics

      English eccentrics

      Your correspondent was visiting central London a few years back, when round the corner came two cyclists. What’s so special, you say? What was special is that they were both totally naked. They were followed by some 50 other cyclists, also as n…
      John Penhallow 05.30.17

    • Decline and fall

      Decline and fall

      It is said that the decline of the Roman Empire began when the emperor and his court started spending more time in-fighting than on running the show. Much the same thing seems to have happened, on a rather smaller scale, with the Ecocis reprocessing…
      John Penhallow 04.07.17


    • Landa Hoy!

      Landa Hoy!

      The business press is generally loud in its praise and soft in its criticism. If a product fails to live up to the bleeding edge quantum-leap technological breakthrough promised by its PR people, the business press will say it “needs time to fu…
      John Penhallow 03.13.17

    • Why Belgium?

      Why Belgium?

      Readers of L&NW, who are mostly a well-traveled lot, will not need to be told about Belgium. It is that small, flat, triangular shaped country awkwardly placed between France, Germany and Holland. Because it is so flat it gets invaded regularly a…
      John Penhallow 01.20.17

    • The pound takes a pounding –  collateral damage to Marmite

      The pound takes a pounding – collateral damage to Marmite

      With all eyes on the outcome of the US presidential election, few Americans will have noticed the dramatic slide in the value of the UK pound. A 15% drop since June 2016 is starting to make consumers sit up and take notice in a country that imports m…
      John Pennhallow 11.14.16

    • French labels rising gently

      French labels rising gently

      Every summer, the French label magazine Etiq & Pack publishes a detailed analysis of the health, or otherwise, of the country’s leading 100 label converters. This year’s statistics reveal much “business as usual” but also…
      John Penhallow 09.07.16

    • Did drupa droop?

      Did drupa droop?

      The weather in Düsseldorf was hot and sultry, there was a major fire in an outlying hall being used to house refugees, police detained three men allegedly planning a terrorist attack in the city – and despite this, nearly all the exhibitor…
      John Penhallow 07.15.16

    • Landa lands back at drupa

      Landa lands back at drupa

      Readers of L&NW will remember reports of Benny Landa’s very considerable media splash at the drupa 2012 show in Dusseldorf. The Nanographic digital press was about to take the printing world by storm – and it may yet do so. But as one…
      John Penhallow 05.20.16


    Breaking News
    • Meech adds new Pulsed DC Controller to Hyperion range
    • Prestige-Pak installs PCMC’s Fusion C flexo press
    • Schawk Manchester receives FlexoExpert certification
    • Grafikontrol names new North American sales VP and GM
    • Primera announces on-demand RFID label printer
    View Breaking News >
    CURRENT ISSUE

    April 2018

    • Pouch Converting
    • Metallic Inks
    • A COMMON $ENSE APPROACH TO COATING APPLICATIONS
    • Print Management Systems
    • Narrow Web Profile: Pacific Barcode, Inc.
    • View More >

    Copyright © 2018 Rodman Media. All rights reserved. Use of this constitutes acceptance of our privacy policy The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Rodman Media.