IDCRAFT's RFID Label Print Service combines printing and encoding in a single work step. Each RFID label is printed using thermal transfer – with variable data such as serial numbers, barcodes, QR codes, company logos or plain text. At the same time, the integrated RFID chip is electronically encoded, for example with EPC data, a unique UID or NDEF records for NFC applications. The result: a fully personalized RFID label that can be applied directly to your product, packaging or container. If you first want to understand how RFID works, start there.
Changing imprints, consecutive numbering or individual barcodes are often uneconomical in conventional printing processes such as flexographic or screen printing – especially with small to medium quantities. Our print service using thermal transfer printing eliminates this problem: no tooling costs, no programming costs and no minimum order quantities. Even individual RFID labels can be produced economically and quickly. We accept print data as a finished BarTender layout or build the layout for you.
IDCRAFT keeps a variety of UHF RFID label blanks in stock that are regularly used by various customers. This enables us to also offer short delivery times. Our high quality standards, fast service and flexible production convince – whether you need 10 prototype labels for a pilot test or 10,000 labels for a rollout. For an overview of every transponder form factor, see our guide to RFID transponders and tags; for rugged housings see 3D-printed RFID tags.
Label, inlay or smart label?
The terms are used interchangeably in the market but describe different stages of manufacture. The inlay is the electronic core: a microchip bonded to an etched or printed antenna, both on a thin PET carrier film. An RFID label is what you get once that inlay is laminated between the printable face stock and the adhesive layer – from the outside an ordinary label that also carries a contactlessly readable and writable identity. Smart label is the trade name for exactly this product; in the wider sense it also covers labels with a display or a sensor. All of them belong to the transponder family, which alongside labels includes solid hard tags.
UHF or HF: which RFID label for which job
Frequency is decided before form factor. UHF | RAIN labels at 860–960 MHz are read in bulk and over several metres – the choice for goods receipt, stocktaking, shipping and asset tracking. HF | NFC labels at 13.56 MHz read over a few centimetres only, but work with any NFC smartphone and cope better with nearby liquids – the choice for product authentication, smart packaging and customer interaction at the shelf. Where both processes meet, a dual-frequency label saves the second sticker. On metal no ordinary label works: the conductive surface detunes the antenna, so on-metal form factors with a spacer are required.
Which RFID chips go into our labels?
The chip determines the read range, memory and security features of an RFID label. IDCRAFT supplies the common chip families from every relevant manufacturer – NXP, Impinj, Alien Technology and STMicroelectronics – with up to 8,192 bits of user memory:
- HF | NFC (13.56 MHz): NXP NTAG213, NTAG215 and NTAG216 for NDEF applications to ISO 14443A, ICODE SLIX and SLIX2 for library and logistics processes to ISO 15693, MIFARE Classic for existing access infrastructures. Example from the portfolio: HID IQ Labels Non-Metal with ICODE SLIX2 or NTAG213.
- UHF | RAIN (860–960 MHz): Impinj M700 series and M730, NXP UCODE 9 and Alien Higgs, all to EPC Class 1 Gen2 / ISO 18000-63. Example: HID IQ Labels Non-Metal UHF with read ranges up to 18 metres.
- Dual frequency: The EM4425 combines NFC tap and UHF bulk reading in a single label – implemented in the CT Dual Label.
- Sensor variants: Labels with temperature, humidity or shock sensors, such as the CT Temp Label, a semi-passive temperature logger with paper battery for the cold chain. For locating assets in the warehouse there are also RFID labels with an integrated LED indicator.
Materials, construction and delivery formats
Face stock and adhesive decide whether an RFID label reaches its service life. We supply paper for standard applications, PET film for increased durability, PP film for flexible substrates and polyimide for high-temperature processes; adhesives range from permanent through removable to special adhesives for rough surfaces. Available as roll stock for automated applicators, as sheeted labels or as a semi-finished product in dry inlay and wet inlay versions. Where sustainability matters, the CT ECO Label uses a printed antenna that cuts the plastic content by around 90 percent.
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