Novel Applications for Print Technologies Provide High Growth Opportunities
The study finds that tag applicators will dominate the printed RFID sector until 2012, when online printing on presses will be common as costs fall. Applicator unit or additional print units by 2012 will be common. Cost reduction will be necessary for take-up.
Adoption of printed RFID has been slower than many predicted. RFID uses tags to receive and transmit radio signals to readers or interrogators. Active tags have a power source, typically a battery, and are expensive. Passive tags receive power from the radio waves, they are much cheaper and offer the greatest opportunities for printed RFID in the near future. RFID offers great improvements in logistics and only cost is holding it back. The readers are expensive but the tags are the crucial cost. Barcodes are effectively free and trillions of products are barcoded. A cost of $0.01 per tag will add billions of dollars to the logistics process. Printed RFID reduces tag costs. Printed RFID tags introduced in highvalue sectors will help take-up in more mainstream sectors.