BSN, a Chinese technology company for brands and retail businesses, announced the launch of its Eprint electronic printing solution at this week’s RFID Journal LIVE! Retail 2019 conference and exhibition, held in Chicago in conjunction with RetailX. Based on printed electronic circuits developed and produced by PragmatIC, Eprint’s flexible RFID tags are designed to offer a low-cost alternative to counterfeit applications, as well as improve the customer experience (see BSN Intros RFID-Based Anticounterfeiting System, Implements Pragmatic Flexible ICs).
With the Eprint ICs, labels with Near Field Communication (NFC) capability will be produced, but without the need for silicon. These tags will be priced well below silicon-based NFC tags, the company reports, which can cost around 16 to 22 cents apiece in the United States. BSN’s tags, triggered by a smartphone’s signal, will initially be priced at 6 cents each, with that cost expected to be reduced by half within the next several months.
RFID Journal Brazil’s editor, Edson Perin, interviewed Philip Calderbank, BSN’s RFID consultant, during the event:
All RFID inlays will be approved by standards and technology bodies, according to BSN, which will serve on the boards of Auburn University’s RFID Lab, GS1 and the American Apparel & Footwear Association. “Our company has been well-known in Asia as an important supplier of labels and materials since 1988,” says Kevin Chen, the president and founder of the Baoshen Group, which owns BSN.
“After many years of planning and development, we are excited to enter the RFID market with innovations and new products,” Chen states. “Our company has built a reputation for trust and honor, and we want our new customers to know that all BSN products will be supported by the highest quality controls.”
Here’s an aerial view of the RetailX exhibit area (recorded in Portuguese):