The EPC Generation 2 standard continues to pick up pace with more announcements of Gen 2 compliant systems from major RFID industry players. One such announcement comes from Paxar, and another from Printronix and Impinj.

Paxar''s system
     The apparel and retail supply chain RFID supplier Paxar has announced its use of EPCglobal''s UHF EPC Class 1 Generation 2 RFID protocol, and is demonstrating its latest solution for fully EPC-compliant smart label printing and encoding, including associated tickets, tags and labels. Paxar''s system includes the Monarch 9855 RFID printer/encoder, Monarch Gen2 smart labels, and Monarch Q-Service for RFID. 116.30.151.81 This article is copyright 2005 UsingRFID.com.

     According to Rick Bauer, senior director of RFID technical research for Paxar, "We are converting the new Gen2 smart labels from a variety of inlay manufacturers, and adding the variable data with in-plant RFID printer/encoders. Paxar will be ready to move its customers to the Gen2 standard as soon as production volumes of the new chips become available later this year."

     Existing Paxar RFID clients who are already using Monarch RFID printers (and who are covered by the Company''s Technology Investment Protection programme) will also receive Gen 2 upgrades to their printer/encoders free of charge. The Gen 2 protocol promises global interoperability, faster read rates, more dense reading capabilities, improved anti-collision algorithms and improved security.

Printronix and Impinj
     Printronix and Impinj have jointly demonstrated their EPCglobal Generation 2 interoperability. During the demonstration, Printronix encoded, read and printed labels containing Impinj Monza Gen 2 RFID tag silicon inlays, using the Printronix SL5000r MP printer. Impinj validated the encoding results with successful reads from fixed reader positions. The successful demonstration enables Printronix and Impinj to bring forward the time-to-market for their Gen 2 offerings.

     According to Impinj, RFID users can now use Impinj''s Propeller antenna (designed for Zuma Rewritable Class 0) within their own RFID testing labs and supply-chain implementations, using Printronix''s SL5000r MP printer. They can also migrate to Gen 2 Propeller tags once printer firmware and tags are readily available for Monza Gen 2 silicon.

 

 

 

                                                                                                                 Extract From Using RFID