Technology News

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) labels do not require direct contact or line-of-sight visibility to be read. Zebra has developed a transfer printer for the production of RFID labels.

A recent development in printing technology is the introduction of radio-frequency identification (RFID) labels, or so-called smart labels. Manufacturers can encode data in the labels, which appear and function like standard labels, explains Matt Ream, senior product manager for RFID systems at Zebra Technologies Europe Ltd. (High Wycombe, Bucks, UK). The encoded data can be read with a handheld or fixed-position RFID reader/writer.

"One of the advantages of the smart label is that it uses radio frequency to read the data on the label," says Ream. "This means it does not require direct contact or line-of-sight. Unlike a bar code, you don't have to see it to read it, which makes it very suitable for harsh environments. If you scratch up the label or get dirt on it, you can still read the tag. One of the other advantages is that it's a read-and-write technology. After you print and program the label, you can actually update the information as needed." For example, label data can be changed when it is necessary to reship an item to a different location, or quantity numbers can be modified to maintain up-to-the-minute inventory tracking.

Zebra has just released the R-140 transfer printer for the production of smart labels. The R-140 has been designed to work like Zebra's direct-thermal and thermal-transfer printers: "Operators can print and encode in one step without having to learn anything new," Ream says.

Ream contends that RFID represents a major innovation in medical labelling, not only for its usefulness in tracking and traceability, but also because it has the potential to introduce substantial clinical improvements. For example, Zebra has been working with a company called En-Vision America (Normal, IL), which has developed a product called ScriptTalk that reads RFID drug labels aloud to patients who are unable to read the labels themselves. Ream also notes that critical applications such as blood storage can benefit from this technology. In France, for example, a major effort is under way to standardize the labelling of blood bags using RFID labels to ensure traceability.

Leslie Laine