Government agencies, utility companies and trade shows are among the firms that employ RFID-enabled badges so that they can closely monitor the movements of visitors or personnel for safety and security purposes. However, most badges must be made in advance, or else they lack visual data about an individual, his or her credentials or what that person looks like.
For this use case, printer and accessories company Primera Technology has released the RX500 Color RFID Label & Tag Printer, which enables the printing and encoding of a disposable employee or visitor badge. The device can print text about an individual’s ID and credentials, as well as take a color picture and print that photo on the front. In that way, companies can enable visitors or employees to have a badge printed, and also stored in back-end software, along with the badge’s unique ID number, within minutes.
Primera’s printed and encoded badges can work with RFID readers and antennas from companies such as Brady Corp., which provides the RFID readers some companies are installing at their facilities, to then track the movements of individuals minutes after they first arrive and check in. Brady Corp. makes identification products, including bar-code scanners and RFID readers.
Primera Technology, based in Minnesota, designs and manufactures specialized digital printers. The company announced its new color RFID-enabled printer at RFID Journal LIVE! 2018, held last month in Orlando, Fla. The RX500 is the only fully integrated, full-color, on-demand RFID label and tag printer, according to Mark D. Strobel, Primera’s VP of sales and marketing. When used in conjunction with a fixed or handheld reader solution, the device enables companies to manage where individuals go, based on tag reads of their badges.
Traditionally, Primera has offered RFID encoder and printer technologies for use during marathons; its larger RX9 device could print and encode tags built into bibs worn by athletes. It also provides printers that could create RFID badges for those visiting state agencies and other locations, such as nuclear power plants. In most cases, however, the company’s printers lacked the ability to print a color picture taken onsite, as each badge was created.
With the RX500, when an individual arrives at a user’s facility, that person provides his or her name, company or other credentials, or shows identification. An employee can input that individual’s information into the software, or simply into the printer itself, then use a camera external to the printer to take that person’s picture.
That digital image is linked to the individual’s other identifying data in the software, and the employee selects the prompt to print a card. As the badge is being printed, Strobel says, “It’s encoded first and then verifies the ID by reading the tag.” If the tag cannot be properly read, the label is printed with a red “X” over the top of it. Finished cards are cut with an internal guillotine-style cutter, and are then dispensed one at a time.
The printed badges can be programmed in the software so that they automatically expire. This can be accomplished either via disabling the RFID data that was encoded after a certain amount of time since issuance, Strobel says, or using a special badge material. The badge itself can read “VOID” or “EXPIRED” after a period of time. “Companies such as Brady sell these special, self-expiring badges that are inkjet-printable by the RX500,” he states.
If a company has fixed RFID readers installed throughout its facility, those devices can capture tag IDs as each visitor walks around the facility. This data can enable a business to know where visitors are located, and to receive an alert if someone enters an unauthorized area—for instance, an assembly floor or an area in which vehicles are used. The information can also be collected to provide a firm with historic data regarding where visitors were at any given time, when they were there, how long they stayed and how often they visited.
The system is designed not only for visitor badges at a company’s premises, but also for locations such as trade shows. Attendees can use the badges for access control, while data could be collected such as how long a guest spent at a given booth, as well as what traffic patterns are created. The printer can also produce labels that could be used to tag assets, such as laptop printers or other devices. In that way, a business could know where its assets are located, when they leave the building and (if badges are being used) who is removing those items. If an individual is not permitted to do so, an alert could then be issued to management.
The device comes with a built-in Honeywell UHF RFID reader-encoder module. The print resolution is up to 4,800 dpi, while print speeds are about 2.5 inches (63.5 millimeters) per second for mass printing and encoding. The printer is designed to be mobile and lightweight, at about 7 pounds. It comes with a Microsoft Windows-based driver and a software developers kit with which solution providers can create a full solution.
Users can buy the printers at Primera Technology’s online webstore for $2,495. The printer is also available via resellers and systems integrators. According to Primera, several agencies and companies will soon be piloting the printer. In the future, the firm may opt to release a passive HF- or NFC-based 13.56 MHz card or tag as well.