TAG MARKETS
At Partitalia, we supply RFID tags specifically designed for different types of markets. In the area of personal identification, our RFID wristbands and key fobs are used for access control at hotels, campsites, companies and gyms. They are also used as electronic wallets to store credit that can be spent at vending and self-service machines, as well as for charging electric cars at charging posts.
Hard tags and RFID labels are, instead, suitable for identifying objects. They are widely used in industry to identify objects throughout the production chain, in logistics for inventory management and picking, and in retail for point-of-sale management and optimisation. Going further, they are used in waste collection to collect deliveries in municipalities that apply door-to-door pay-as-you-throw waste collection, and in the medical sector to monitor surgical equipment and manage the hospital pharmacy and laundry.
Contact us to learn more about our RFID tags and to find the one that’s right for your needs. We will provide you with a totally free quote.
MERCATI
HOTELS
At hotels and in the hospitality industry (resorts, B&Bs, cruise liners, ferries), RFID key fobs and wristbands are used for access control as an alternative to smart cards. They can be used to open room doors and to access floors, car parking and special areas such as spas or swimming pools, tennis courts and private beaches. They can also serve as electronic wallets, containing credit to be spent on activating sun lamps, for payments at cafés, restaurants and hotel boutiques, and for purchasing snacks and drinks from vending machines.
RFID WRISTBANDS
Available in different frequencies (LF, HF, UHF), RFID wristbands for hotels can be worn on the wrist for the entire duration of the stay. Made of various colours and materials (silicone, PVC, nylon), they can be coded and customised with prints and logos using different techniques (customisation using silkscreen printing, pad printing, offset or epoxy printing, with serial numbering using laser or inkjet printing).
Single day wristbands made of Tyvek, a special waterproof paper, are ideal for identifying guests at hotels and holiday resorts during short stays. Very light and inexpensive, they can be customised using offset printing and numbered serially using inkjet printing.
RFID KEY FOB
RFID key fobs for hotels are available in different frequencies (LF, HF, UHF) and can be conveniently kept in a pocket or handbag along with one’s keys or attached to the luggage. Made of ABS or PVC, they can be encoded on request and customised during printing using different techniques (silkscreen printing, offset or pad printing for customisation, and laser or inkjet printing for serial numbering).
GYMS
RFID key fobs and wristbands are a widely used alternative to cards for access control in the leisure sector — gyms, swimming pools, sports facilities and spas, water parks. Convenient and versatile, they allow users to be recognised at the entrance and to access the car park, sports machines — to set training parameters and record activities — and restricted areas such as spas. They can also be used as a virtual wallet to activate sunlamps and hairdryers, for payments at cafés, restaurants and vending machines that dispense snacks.
RFID WRISTBANDS
At Partitalia, we produce various types of uniquely designed RFID wristbands specifically for gyms and swimming pools. Wristbands differ according to the material used: silicone and nylon, which are waterproof and durable, or Tyvek, a special waterproof paper used for single-day wristbands that are popular at water parks. Extremely useful at the swimming pool, where you almost forget you are wearing it, they are available in different colours and frequencies. RFID wristbands for gyms and swimming pools can be encoded and customised with prints and logos using silkscreen, pad, offset or epoxy printing. Serial numbering can be applied using laser or inkjet printing.
RFID KEY FOBS
Smaller than cards, RFID key fobs for gyms and swimming pools have the same reading and operating features. Made of PVC or ABS, they are available in various frequencies (LF, HF, UHF), and can be conveniently strapped to a gym bag and carried with you at all times. The key fob surface can be printed using pad, silkscreen or offset printing, while serial numbering can be applied using laser or inkjet printing.
VENDING
RFID key fobs and wristbands are used as electronic wallets for vending machines: coffee, soft drink and snack vending machines. They are widely used throughout the self-service sector, which features automatic vending machines for products and services, extending to laundromats, self-service car washes, golf ball vending machines and water refilling stations for the distribution of public water. Credit for payments at automatic dispensers and vending machines is stored on the key fob or wristband.
RFID WRISTBANDS
Partitalia produces various types of RFID wristbands in casual and trendy designs. RFID wristbands for vending machines are made of various materials that are completely hypoallergenic — silicone, PVC, nylon — and are comfortable to wear. They can be encoded and customised with prints and logos using silkscreen, pad, offset or resin printing; serial numbering can be applied using laser or inkjet technology.
RFID KEY FOBS
Made of strong, durable materials such as PVC, ABS and PA6, RFID vending machine key fobs can be conveniently strapped to a handbag or keys and carried at all times, avoiding the use of banknotes and coins. Available in different frequencies (LF, HF, UHF), they have the same reading and operating features as contactless cards and can be used for several applications, that is, services from different vendors can be stored on the RFID chip memory (e.g. access control and attendance badges, credit for vending machines or canteens).
RFID key fobs can be encoded on demand and customised during printing using pad, silkscreen or offset printing, while serial numbering can be applied using laser or inkjet technology.
COMPANIES
RFID key fobs are used as an alternative to ID badges for access control and to detect the number of people present at a company. Conveniently secured to a handbag or key ring, or worn around the neck like a pendant, they are used to recognise employees and outsiders (visitors, consultants, freelancers) at the entrance to the company, to access to the car park, laboratories and other specific areas, to record movements within the facilities, and to protect specific areas from unwanted entry, thus ensuring greater security. What’s more, RFID key fobs can store multiple applications in their memory, acting as a digital signature medium or a virtual wallet containing credit to spend at the canteen or vending machines.
Made of durable, long-lasting materials such as PVC, ABS and PA6, RFID key fobs for companies have the same reading and operating features as RFID cards, and are available in several frequencies (LF, HF, UHF).
They can be encoded on request and customised during the printing stage using different techniques (i.e. pad printing, silkscreen printing, offset) depending on the material used. Serial numbering can also be applied using laser or inkjet printing.
CAMPSITES
Key fobs and wristbands are useful for access control at campsites and resorts as they allow guests to be identified when entering and leaving the facility, besides enabling them to access their accommodations (room, bungalow or flat). They also allow access to parking and restricted areas, such as private beaches, sports facilities or spas, protecting these areas from outsiders. As well, they can be used as an electronic wallet to pay for showers and hairdryers, café and restaurant services, and snacks and drinks taken from vending machines.
RFID WRISTBANDS
Available in different frequencies (LF, HF, UHF) and the latest fashionable colours, RFID wristbands for campsites are waterproof and comfortable to wear on the wrist for the entire stay without the risk of being forgotten. Made of various materials — silicone, PVC, nylon and Tyvek, a special waterproof paper — they can be coded and customised with prints and logos using different techniques depending on the material (customisation using silkscreen printing, pad printing, offset or epoxy printing, with serial numbering using laser or inkjet printing).
RFID KEY FOBS
RFID key fobs for campsites are available in different frequencies (LF, HF, UHF) and can be conveniently kept in a pocket or handbag along with one’s keys for the duration of the holiday. Made of ABS or PVC, they are water-resistant and durable. They can be coded on request and customised during printing using different techniques (silkscreen printing, offset or pad printing for customisation, and laser or inkjet printing for serial numbering).
ELECTRIC CARS
RFID key fobs are an alternative to contactless cards for charging electric cars at dedicated charging posts. In Italy, there are currently 12,623 charging stations (or charging posts) for electric cars according to the latest quarterly survey by the Motus-e association, which brings together players in the field of electric mobility. Eighty percent of these are installed along the road, while the remaining 20% are found at supermarkets and shopping arcades (Source: Cobat.it, 7 October 2021).
Unlike apps, which allow cars to be charged via smartphone, RFID key fobs for charging electric cars require neither a mobile data connection nor GPS to function, so they are more reliable for drivers. Key fobs are a sort of virtual wallet that store credit to pay for charging. Enabling the electricity supply is very simple. Indeed, with radio-frequency technology, the user only need bring the key fob close to the charging symbol on the charging station, which is equipped with an RFID reader, and charging begins.
RFID key fobs are made of durable materials — PVC, ABS, PA6 — and can be attached to a handbag or directly to the car keys. Available in different frequencies (LF, HF, UHF), they can be encoded on request and customised during printing, using pad printing, silkscreen printing or offset printing. Serial numbering can also be applied using laser or inkjet printing.
INDUSTRY
In industry, RFID tags are designed to uniquely identify objects along the entire production chain, from the start of the production process until the product enters the warehouse (logistics). RFID hard tags and labels for industry are either applied to or embedded directly in the product, on metal or non-metal objects, or on product transport and handling containers, such as materials handling baskets, trolleys and pallets. Their use allows processes to be automated and ensures greater efficiency, significantly reducing the risk of human error.
The use of radio-frequency identification technology in industrial settings meets specific needs within factories:
- Monitoring the progress of work. With hard tags and RFID labels, the processing status of the product is always known, along with if and when it has passed through the machine — thus tracking all processing steps — and providing the machines with a list of activities. Moreover, thanks to RFID technology, it is possible to study work queues, monitoring the tasks assigned to workers and calculating average production times, with enormous savings in time.
- Product authenticity verification. All information about product processing steps and the history of the product is written in the tag, which is equipped with a memory unit. This guarantees traceability, authenticity and originality.
Maintenance. RFID hard tags are also used for corrective and preventive maintenance of industrial plants. The tags are read at the beginning and end of maintenance activities, calculating the average time required for the operation and enabling better work planning.
RFID HARD TAGS AND LABELS
RFID hard tags and labels are used in many areas of industrial production:
Energy
Outdoor maintenance of high-voltage power lines, with cables and pylons or gas pipes, are affected by problems such as the deterioration of materials related to maintenance. Also within the energy industry, server rooms or telephone lines encounter the same maintenance problems. RFID tags are an excellent ally for tracking and monitoring the affected areas.
Automotive industry
In the motor vehicle sector, hard tags are essential for reducing errors during job preparation, continuously monitoring warehouses — making sure they are always replenished to prevent specific parts from running out — and reducing data collection times in the production chain following assembly.
Engineering industry
With hard tags specifically designed for application on metal, the entire production process can be monitored, and production machines can be set. Specific processing steps can be tracked by reading the tag on the machine. At the same time, the machine can be reset and a new process started. RFID also facilitates warehouse management of tools at machining centres, preventing loss and misplacement.
Pharmaceutial industry
RFID technology improves the traceability of drugs from the production plant to the point of sale. A feature of great importance in ensuring product integrity is cold chain monitoring, with temperature control of the drugs throughout the supply chain.
Food industry
RFID labels allow the entire food production chain to be tracked, ensuring the food is produced under elevated hygienic conditions, that it does not come into contact with harmful substances, and that it is packaged and transported under suitable conditions. RFID technology therefore ensures a high level of security concerning the origin of different foodstuffs. RFID tags for the food industry must comply with specific certifications: Regulation (EC) 1935/2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food, and Regulation (EU) 10/2011 which specifically covers plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.
LOGISTICS
In logistics, radio-frequency identification technology is now widely used in all areas of warehouse management. RFID hard tags and labels (smart labels) are applied to products, pallets and containers to identify and track them, automate inventory management and prepare goods for dispatch to the customer (picking), significantly reducing the time needed for these operations and the risk of errors.
RFID HARD TAGS AND LABELS
Some specific applications of RFID tags in the logistics sector are given below:
Identification and storage of goods in the warehouse
At automated warehouses, hard tags and smart labels are embedded in or attached to goods, products, pallets and automated vertical warehouse drawers for identification and storage. The use of radio-frequency technology speeds up the process, allowing goods to be located immediately and eliminating errors. Hard tags, in particular, are made of materials such as ABS, nylon or polycarbonate, which are designed to withstand wear and extreme working conditions — chemicals, high temperatures, jets of water — ensuring high performance and a very long service life.
Warehouse inventory management
With RFID technology, warehouse inventory management — counting products and goods, managing shortages and surpluses, planning replenishment — can be handled fully automatically, saving considerable time and significantly reducing the risk of human error.
Recording the exit/return of pallets and roll containers
RFID hard tags are used to track warehouse entry and exit of pallets and, especially, roll containers, wheeled containers used to transport goods from central warehouses to points of sale. They are expensive and therefore often stolen. Affixing tags to the trolleys allows the containers to be recorded as they leave the warehouse for the supermarket and return, thereby also preventing the risk of loss.
Access control for vehicle fleets
With regard to access control of vehicle fleets in the logistics sector — trucks, commercial vehicles — RFID technology is useful for recording vehicles as they enter and exit for effective loading area management.
Picking for goods preparation
In automated warehouses, RFID technology both facilitates and speeds up picking, collection and preparation of stored goods for delivery to customers. RFID hard tags and labels allow for complete tracking of products, from picking at the shelf to packaging and preparation for dispatch at the distribution warehouse. RFID tags are also useful for picking when assembling goods. They allow each part to be tracked, thus ensuring that the operation is performed quickly and correctly.
RFID technology and smart glasses
In automated warehouses, RFID technology both facilitates and speeds up picking, collection and preparation of stored goods for delivery to customers. RFID hard tags and labels allow for complete tracking of products, from picking at the shelf to packaging and preparation for dispatch at the distribution warehouse. RFID tags are also useful for picking when assembling goods. They allow each part to be tracked, thus ensuring that the operation is performed quickly and correctly
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Municipalities and local authorities need to record waste deliveries when applying door-to-door pay-as-you-throw waste collection and calculating the variable part based on the amount of unsorted waste produced and delivered by users. This is essential for precise fee calculations. The waste collector uses an RFID reader to read a passive RFID tag — hard tag or wet inlay — applied to waste-collection bins or bags. Hence, deliveries are recorded and the data are stored and transmitted in real time to a portal on the cloud. Each tag is uniquely linked to a user. When read with the reader, the date and time of detection and transmission to the server on the cloud are recorded, together with the tag ID. The amount of residual municipal waste delivered is measured to calculate the cost by determining the volume of waste based on the ‘size of the bin set out by the user or the capacity of the bag delivered or collected from the user’, as specified in Art. 4 of Ministerial Decree of 20 April 2017 on door-to-door pay-as-you-throw waste collection. In particular, bags or bins distributed to users by the local authorities have a predefined capacity — e.g. 20, 15, 10 litres — corresponding to a fixed quantity of unsorted waste — 5, 10, 15 kg of waste, etc.
WASTE-COLLECTION HARD TAGS
Hard tags, RFID tags made of durable materials such as ABS, PVC, polyphthalamide, PA6 (nylon) and high impact plastics, are affixed to recycling bins and wheelie bins. Waterproof, impact-resistant and weatherproof, they ensure high reading performance even in dirty environments, bad weather conditions, at high or low temperatures, and can be built into a wide range of surfaces, both metallic and non-metallic.
Bin tags, cylindrical tags designed to be affixed to plastic or metal waste-collection bins are widely used. Easy to integrate and install as a result of their shape and small size — 30-mm diameter — their screw-shaped structure makes them easy to insert.
Hard tags and RFID bin tags for waste collection are available in various frequencies. UHF tags are the most popular, allowing the tags to be read over long distances.
WET INLAYS FOR WASTE COLLECTION
RFID wet inlays are adhesive RFID labels that can be affixed to waste-collection bags. They are usually made of PET, a flexible thermoplastic material which adapts well to the bag surface, and is resistant to both cuts and bad weather conditions. Like bin tags, wet inlays are read by RFID readers for volumetric waste detection. They are considered the best tags for bags. Indeed:
• they are inexpensive; they are the least expensive tags, partially reducing the costs of door-to-door pay-as-you-throw waste collection for small numbers of users;
• they operate in UHF, ensuring the best reading distance (up to 8–10 metres);
• with their flexibility, they adapt even to full bags;
• they are easy to apply to bags during production.
Furthermore, wet inlays can be applied to small bins. They can also be incorporated during production, thus turning bins into smart bins.
RETAIL
Radio-frequency identification technology has made a strong impact on retail in recent years, contributing a number of important benefits in terms of organisation, time savings and profitability. Widely used in various sectors, from food to fashion and mass-market retail, RFID labels for retail are involved in all the main aspects of shop management, from inventories to anti-theft systems and shelf optimisation with merchandise that is more profitable.
RFID tags, or smart labels, are affixed to uniform goods — belonging to the same merchandise category — from clothing to shoes, accessories, sports items, personal-care products, cosmetics, food and beverages. They are available in flexible materials, such as adhesive paper, PET, polyester and nylon taffeta — two fabrics used for labels in the fashion industry — in various shapes and sizes. They adapt perfectly to the most diverse products. What’s more, their low price means they can be applied to large quantities of products at favourable costs.
RFID LABELS
The main applications of RFID labels in the retail sector are the following:
Real-time product tracking
In the retail sector, RFID labels allow products to be tracked in the shop in real time. Each smart label is associated with a unique, fixed code for clear, instant identification of merchandise.
Point-of-sale inventory management
Radio-frequency identification technology simplifies every phase of inventory management at the point of sale. Smart labels record all changes in a product’s lifecycle, as well as enabling automatic merchandise counting and stock optimisation. In addition, automatic detection of large numbers of items, even within containers, improves inventory accuracy and replenishment planning, reducing the risk of out-of-stock products.
Anti-theft systems
The use of RFID labels has long been popular for reducing and preventing theft in supermarkets and shops. In the food & beverage, health & wellness, cosmetics, and sporting goods sectors, RFID labels are usually applied to products using an adhesive, while in the fashion industry they are often sewn directly into the garment.
Shorter check-in and check-out times
RFID tags enable the retail sector to keep track of products entering and leaving the shop. In particular, some mass-market retail chains and the retail sector in general use RFID technology to both facilitate and speed up payments. The merchandise is placed directly on self-checkout machines that enable instant scanning of the item — and even several items simultaneously — through radio-frequency technology, stating the final amount to be paid and avoiding long queues at checkout.
Simpler work for sales assistants
Instant identification of products on the shelf provides sales assistants with an overview of the layout and makes repositioning easier. By speeding up the most repetitive and tedious tasks, this technology gives sales assistants more time to devote to customers and their needs.
Point-of-sale optimisation
RFID tracking of every product sold leads to detailed data collection on customer purchases and sales of individual products. This reveals customers’ preferred products, optimising the point of sale and its shelves with the most profitable merchandise.
Hybrid experience of online and offline sales
RFID technology allows for a hybrid experience of the physical (offline) shop and the e-commerce shop (online). Both sales staff and customers making online purchases can instantly check the availability of a product in the warehouse.
MEDICAL
Radio-frequency technology is being applied across the board in the healthcare sector. At healthcare facilities, RFID hard tags and labels are used to monitor surgical and hospital equipment and effectively manage inventory, the pharmacy and the hospital laundry, saving both time and money. RFID wristbands are instead used to identify patients in hospital. Hard tags are also popular in the veterinary sector for tracking pets and farm animals.
RFID WRISTBANDS
RFID wristbands are useful for patient identification: capable of storing personal information and medical histories or drug dosage details, they ensure quick data retrieval by medical personnel at any time. Furthermore, compared to barcodes, RFID tags offer greater security and can be read at a greater distance without the need for specific orientation.
RFID HARD TAGS AND LABELS
Details of some applications of RFID tags in the medical sector are given below:
IN HOSPITAL SETTINGS
Operating room
Small hard tags are applied to forceps, scalpels, needle holders and scissors, while RFID labels are affixed on gauze. Their purpose is to track surgical instruments following surgery to ensure they are thoroughly sterilised and to automate inventory management. Made of materials such as nylon or epoxy resin, which can withstand high temperatures and chemicals, these tags ensure high reading performance even after sterilisation.
As well, tags are affixed to stretchers to avoid automatic door opening, and to mobile equipment to speed up inventory management. They are also used to manage medical equipment and surgical instrument maintenanc
Wards
The use of RFID technology in hospitals enables better management of pharmaceutical warehouse logistics, from stock planning to distribution in the wards and the disposal of expired medicines. Medical record archive management is a particularly important application for data security. The use of RFID tags and electronic medical records speeds up the filing process, and enables unique patient identification, eliminating the risk of errors as when two people have the same name. On the wards, hard tags are used for indoor localisation. In fact, when placed on the floor, they allow the position of AGVs (automatic trolleys) to be tracked for transporting drugs and meals.
Hospital loundry
Hospital laundries make use of labels (smart labels) or laundry tags, small nylon RFID tags the size of a button which can be either glued or sewed onto the item of clothing to be identified. RFID technology ensures that scrubs worn by doctors and nurses are returned to their rightful owners, preventing the garments from being lost.
Vehicular access
For vehicle access control at hospitals and healthcare facilities, RFID tags are affixed to the back of cars to regulate their transit through car parks or specific staff areas.
THE VETERINARY SECTOR
The veterinary sector
Glass tags are used to identify domestic and farm animals. Veterinarians insert these biocompatible glass hard tags in animals via ingestion, subcutaneous insertion or injection into the ear lobe. The RFID tags store data (i.e. owner, identification code, prevention measures for specific diseases, vaccinations) that are essential for guaranteeing the origin and traceability of livestock in the cattle-breeding sector. In domestic settings, chips are mandatory for identifying animals if they go missing so they can be returned to their rightful owners.