Paxar is claiming a major breakthrough with the development of an RFID pallet and case label “immune” to the interference from metals and liquids which has made some RFID label products undreadable to date.
Paxar’s SpaceTag system sees a 3-8mm layer of water-free “special foam” sandwiched between the RFID adhesive label and shipping unit to provide distance between RFID components and interference-causing materials. The air-padded SpaceTag can be applied before or after shrinkwrapping.
SpaceTags are affixed to pallets in two steps: a Paxar 9855 RFID printer first produces a standard RFID adhesive label with barcode in a single process. The label is then attached to the foam layer manually or by a labeller, and then to the shipping unit.
German machinery manufacturer SRD Maschinenebau has developed a patent-pending automatic labeller which can accommodate Space Tags, conventional RFID labels and barcode labels.
Paxar press spokesman Wolfgang Streitbörger adds: “Our tests, including collaboration with Metro, which is already using the SpaceTag, indicate the foam insert provides sufficient distance between tag and liquid or metal to prevent RFID reading problems very effectively. The SRD applicator, which attaches the label to the foam layer and then applies it to pallet or case, can easily be incorporated into high speed lines.”