Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. has successfully developed a low-cost UHF band RFID formed by antenna printed directly on the surface of a piece of paper, via a unique processing technology which makes use of the type of stamping technology used with packaging and publications.

As the newly developed RFID can be directly attached to target printed materials, including publications and delivery chits, in the manufacturing stage, it is possible to avoid film-based materials and simplify label processing, along with the attachment of patches, to achieve cost reductions of approximately 30% compared with existing processes. The company plans to commence shipment of assessment samples from the end of May.
 
In recent years, RFIDs have been under the spotlight and are being directly used in a variety of areas, including product management and traceability tasks, as an automatic verification technology to replace bar codes. Further cost reductions are required, however, if RFIDs are to permeate further into the business world in the future. With existing RFIDs antenna are formed by laminating aluminum foil onto the surface of materials, such as PET film, and completing the process with etching. Connecting the antenna and the RFID, and sealing this with PET film produces something known as an inlet, but there is still the need to attach inlets which have undergone secondary processing, such as labeling, to individual target products.

Measures designed to lower the cost of RFIDs include the thinning out of the PET film material or the aluminum foil which forms the antenna, or forming the antenna with electro-conductive ink printing, but it is difficult to maintain adequate strength or functionality with either of these methods. It was in answer to those challenges that DNP developed a UHF band RFID which successfully achieves reductions in processing costs, while maintaining adequate functionality even with paper as the base material, via a unique processing technology which makes use of the stamping technology used to produce brightness and the advanced design features seen in packaging and publications.
 
Using a unique DNP processing technology, which exploits stamping technology, it becomes possible to directly attach the RFID to the target paper during the manufacturing process designed to produce printed materials. As this means it is possible to simplify such processing tasks as those involving PET film, labeling or attaching patches, it is possible to reduce costs by approximately 30%.  It is also worth noting that the IC chip and antenna are not attached using standard adhesive materials, but via a unique DNP crafting technique with strong bonding strength.

A major characteristic of RFIDs is that their functionality allows multiple RFIDs to be read-off at the same time. In the case of bar codes and shipping chits printed with control numbers, it is necessary to manage loading and unloading using separate chits, but with RFIDs, it is possible to achieve shorter read offs and the simplification of the task itself. Libraries, which have progressively introduced RFIDs in recent years, can also look forward to smoother inventory and lending and return controls as well as increased crime prevention with a lower investment, than if they merely attached label based RFIDs to books.