Although there is no standard route to take, there are several paths that converters can travel on the RFID road.

By Susan Busch

Attention RFID converters: clear your schedules now, because it looks like you’re going to be a bit busy for the next 10 years. Independent consultant IDTechEx predicts RFID technology will eventually become as ubiquitous as the barcode, and converters have the potential to play a more pivotal role in production. A report by the organization projects as early as 2016 that RFID “will mostly be printed directly onto packaging and products, possibly in the hundreds of billions, and [will use] special electronic inks.”

Back here in the present, with the technology still in its early stages, there is no standard route to involvement for the converter. The most common starting point, inlay-level integration, entails inserting functioning RFID inlays between a label’s facestock and liner. Dr. Peter Harrop, chairman of IDTechEx, sees many converters making these “inserts” off-line, and then incorporating them into the press line. Going a step further, strap-level integration enables the converter to manufacture the inlay by printing its antenna onto the label’s face stock and attaching a strap (a chip on a carrier substrate) to the antenna.

According to IDTechEx’s report, there are several other RFID production avenues available to converters. Installing a chip placement machine, for instance, could enable converters to attach chips to printed or pre-purchased antennas. Additionally, integrating printed battery technologies could gain converters entry into specialized RFID applications, such as labels with increased range, or RFID coupled with sensing or position-finding capabilities. Looking longer-term, chipless technology that incorporates fully printed RFID labels is also said to offer opportunities. According to Dr. Harrop, the biggest learning curve for the industry lies in “how to get rid of the expensive, brittle chip by printing the whole circuit.”

Snapshots of RFID in the field

While converters can be tight-lipped about their specific RFID production methods, suppliers offer a window into the latest developments in off-line and in-line RFID converting equipment.

A B Graphic International offers the Omega RFID off-line converting platforms, designed for such functions as wet inlay integration; verification and removal of defective inlays with automated inlay replacement; and large-format, multiple-lane insertion with re-lamination, re-register, diecutting, flexo printing station, and other modules.

Al Spendlow, A B Graphic’s VP of operations, says typical converter customers are larger label printers “with ties to leading [RFID] advocates such as Wal-Mart.” He also sees a trend in smaller label printers using economical equipment to supply lower volumes to niche markets. In that vein, A B Graphics’ Omega Ti 150 is designed for what Spendlow calls “the entrance to this business”‑integration of wet inlays into rolls of finished labels.

Nashville, Tenn.-based label converter Mid South Graphics added an Omega Ti 150 to its RFID production process in 2004. According to President Mark Davenport, Mid South pursued the installation after seeing several in the field throughout Europe. After beginning its RFID involvement with a painstaking hand-production process, Mid South acquired an Omega Ti 150 to achieve high-speed RFID insertion and produce large orders on a daily basis.

The converter works primarily with 2-mil to 4-mil polyester RFID inlays supplied on rolls, which are converted through a proprietary process into pressure-sensitive, diecut inlays that can be inserted into various grades of film and paper label stock.

Since the installation, Davenport reports continual growth in Mid South’s RFID business, driven more recently by the release of the EPCglobal’s Class 1, Generation 2 standard for UHF products, which has brought prices down and volumes up. “So the automation that we have here has become very important in terms of us being able to turn around large orders in a quick period of time,” he sums up. “We are seeing several new applications that we have been able to use our equipment for every month.”

He further predicts the company’s current level of involvement in RFID, which includes serving the CPG, airlines, airports, asset tracking, and government markets, “will most certainly require additional equipment.”

Mark Andy was singled out this past spring as the winner of the FTA Technical Innovation Award 2006 for its in-line RFID manufacturing, insertion, and verification solutions. A typical solution consists of an RFID inlay insertion unit, an RFID in-press reader, static elimination equipment, and/or off-line readers/inspection equipment.

With the learning curves of the technology’s initial development behind it, Mark Andy is focusing on refinement. “We continue to perfect the inlay insertion process and have sold several of these units–for both wet and dry inlays,” reports Ken Daming, director of product management. “Now we are working on a way to actually verify the inlay before it gets inserted–and then reject it if necessary–instead of having to rely on the inlay manufacturer’s mark. We have also developed a simple pen marking system to mark bad labels at the end of the press.”

The RFID inlay insertion module is now a standard option on all Mark Andy and Comco press lines, allowing converters to use the same application-based criteria to choose a press, regardless of RFID involvement. “By placing the inlay in-line, we can do all the usual steps we can do on all our in-line presses–lay down adhesive, laminate, diecut, foil stamp, run multiple webs, and of course, print,” Daming says.

Though Daming acknowledges the majority of converters active in RFID currently produce RFID-enabled labels with inlay insertion, “I still believe that as the legal issues get worked out, the long-term direction will be to strap placement onto printed antennas,” he comments. “This method still has a lot of advantages, including production costs and the ability to customize the application.”

Setting performance barometers

With converters opting for varying levels of RFID integration and proprietary processes, users may be hard-pressed to find points of comparison. One approach to lending performance perspective is Avery Dennison RFID’s “Qualified Converter” designation. To earn it, converters work with the company’s technical staff to evaluate manufacturing and test capabilities, along with Avery Dennison’s inlays, to ensure finished RFID labels possess the desired quality and yield.

To date, more than 25 converters have met Avery Dennison’s standards for this designation, including CCL Label, Nashua, Mid South Graphics, Intermec Technologies Corp., Nosco, Inc., and Repacorp Label Products. “Our total list . . . includes most converters who are currently seriously engaged in RFID,” says DJ Lee, technical marketing manager at Avery Dennison RFID. “However, there are a couple of important players who have not been through our qualification process,” he notes.

According to Gene Korzeniewski, Avery Dennison’s director of technical marketing, a good RFID converter should exhibit the same key proficiencies needed for variable information (VI) label manufacturing: process consistency and repeatability, attention to quality, and the ability to manage multi-ply web constructions. However, he emphasizes that working with inlay requires a higher degree of sophistication in standard converting proficiencies, such as ESD management; process rigor, consistency and documentation; and overall quality management. Entirely new proficiencies are also required, such as testing each label for mechanical and electronic integrity, he explains.

For Avery Dennison’s inlays, the qualification process is designed to improve “converter-friendliness.” Durability tests verify they can withstand the physical and electrical stresses of the converting process, while quality and packaging testing confirms that finished RFID labels will work in the intended end-user application.

Qualification usually takes a month or less for converters who have invested in RFID research and assets, and have RFID label manufacturing experience, says Korzeniewski. For converters with less RFID background and involvement, the process can take up to three months, he adds.

Graphic

Independent consultants IDTechEx predict that by 2016 printed RFID technology will have taken a sizeable share of the total RFID market. It predicts the market will likely breakdown as follows:

• 10% fully printed tags for items

• 33% partly printed tags for other uses

• 17% tags without printing for other uses

• 40% partly printed tags for items

IDTechEx sponsors the Active RFID Summit, to be held November 14-15, 2006, in Atlanta.