RFID Journal Staff asked 10 years ago Is this possible?
—Name withheld
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The answer depends on several factors, such as the rack's size, the material from which that rack (and the products stored on it) is made, the reader's distance from the rack and perhaps other factors. It takes time and energy for a reader to encode tags, so if the reader cannot be situated close enough to a rack, it might be difficult to bulk-encode tags. Additionally, if the parts and the rack are made of metal, the RF energy's reflection could make bulk-encoding a challenge.
Keep in mind that all parts on the rack must be identical if bulk-encoding is taking place, since the only thing that changes with such encoding is each item's serial number. The product identifier remains constant. That means you can bulk-encode 30 Widget One parts, but not 10 Widget Ones, 10 Widget Twos and 10 Widget Threes. If the parts and racks are made of metal, I would recommend testing the bulk-encoding process prior to rolling out a solution.
—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal
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