Worlds first direct print-on-tag solution slashes RFID costs

Toshiba TEC SPRINT set to break critical RFID tag cost barrier

TOSHIBA TEC, a global manufacturer of retail and industrial information systems, claims that its new Print-on-Tag RFID solution - SRINT (Short Pitch RFID Encoding Technology) will slash the cost of RFID tagging by up to 50 percent.

The TOSHIBA TEC SX-series of barcode label printers are the first printers in the world that are able to successfully print label information straight onto RFID tags. Until now, RFID tags have had to be inserted behind self-adhesive labels to meet the traceability requirements set by government organisations, retail chains and logistics-related enterprises.

While the cost of RFID tags is dependent on volume, the amount of memory and packaging, a 96-bit EPC (Electronic Product Code) tag embedded in a thermal transfer label on which companies can print a bar code, typically costs US 40 cents (22p) or more. (RFID Journal*).  But with TOSHIBA TECs new SPRINT technology customers can expect a cost reduction of around 50% on this level of RFID label prices.

The RFID Journal has projected that the RFID tag price would come down to 16 cents by 2008 but this new technological breakthrough from TOSHIBA TEC makes this target a reality now, said Mike Keane, IPD Manager at TOSHIBA TEC. The high costs of tags has been blamed for holding back the use of RFID but Sprint makes it possible for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) to implement RFID solutions and buy low quantities of RFID tags at realistic prices.