Smartac unveils technologically advanced UHF RFID tag

The SMARTRAC Website inlay represents a technological advance in both size and performance. With an antenna size of only 46 x 15 mm (1.8" x 0.6"), it is especially suited for item-level tagging and identification where RFID tag space is limited and performance is of critical importance.

Due to its compact form and special design, which takes into account RF requirements for close coupling and high population RFID scanning, the SMARTRAC Website perfectly meets the needs of retail apparel applications. Close coupling occurs when RFID-tagged items are stacked in close proximity to each other.

SMARTRAC has been working with its partners, renowned independent test facilities, major retail end users, and RFID hardware providers, to test, qualify, and approve the Website tags and inlays for immediate deployment in major item-level tagging applications.

“The new SMARTRAC Website is an important next step for item level identification in retail. As EPC tagging expands to a wider range of consumer products, reduced tag size without compromise in performance has become very important”, says Michael Teitelbaum, CEO of r-Pac International Corporation. “We are pleased that we are able to deliver the new EPC tagging solutions to retailers and their brand suppliers based on our close cooperation with SMARTRAC. The industry has been demanding a small format tag, such as the Website, that meets the most challenging tagging situations.

The Website meets the technology needs of the industry by performing on a wide range of products from denim to kitchen electrics – while maintaining a small form factor.”

“Our new Website inlay is the result of our close collaboration with and commitment to our partners as well as our goal of understanding the needs of end users, retailers, and brand owners in their quest for significantly improved merchandise visibility enabled by RFID technology. Working with r-pac has allowed us to take application requirements from end users, turn them into a product concept, and, in a very short period of time, validate and approve this concept in the form of a new product, the SMARTRAC Website,” said Wolfgang Schneider, Member of the Management Board and Head of SMARTRAC’s Business Unit electronic Product Identification (ePI).

The SMARTRAC Website is currently available. High-volume production started at the end of November. The Website has gone through stringent performance testing by major U.S. retailers with RFID programs and has passed these tests for a multitude of product categories. The Website is available in converted, fully printed, and encoded form through r-pac and the r-pac worldwide service bureaus.