Want to encode and print color access badges on demand? You can with this new RFID label and tag printer

by Brianna Crandall — May 1, 2019 — Primera Technology, a Plymouth, Minnesota-based global designer and manufacturer of specialized digital printers, recently announced that its RX500 Color RFID Label and Tag Printer for visitor or trade show access badges, photo wristbands, medical file folder labels and more is now shipping.

Primera RFID Label and Tag Printer for access badges, folder labels and more

The RFID Label and Tag Printer offers encoding, verifying and printing on demand, with full color adding security for visitor and trade show access badges, medical file folder labels, photo wristbands and more. Image courtesy Primera

RX500 is touted as the only full-color, on-demand RFID (“radio-frequency identification,” or wireless) built-in label and tag printer. Labels are printed, encoded, verified and printed in a single pass. Finished labels are then cut with the internal guillotine-style cutter and dispensed one at a time.

On-demand printing makes the printer particularly suited for applications such as visitor or trade show badges where just a single label at a time with unique information is required, although batches of many labels or tags at a time can also be encoded and printed.

The built-in UHF RFID reader/encoder module is supplied by Honeywell. It is compliant with EPC Global Gen 2 Class 1 and ISO 18000 –b and –c specifications for the widest range of deployments in real-world applications.

Print resolution is at the high level of up to 4800 dpi. Print speeds of up to 2.5” (63.5 mm) per second make label and tag production fast and convenient.

Mark D. Strobel, Primera’s vice president of sales and marketing, stated:

Printing full-color RFID labels and tags adds a new, value-added feature to the technology. With RX500, you can add color coding, graphics and high-resolution photos to RFID labels and tags. With color, you’re essentially adding an extra layer of accuracy and safety in applications such as medical file folder labels, visitor badges, photo wristbands and specimen tracking labels.

Supported substrates include matte and gloss inkjet papers, vinyl, polypropylene and polyester. A high degree of water, smudge and smear-resistance is achieved through advanced dye-based inks and the print surfaces of inkjet labels such as Primera’s TuffCoat microporous labels. Most popular UHF inlays from major RFID companies can be encoded.

Pricing and availability

RX500 Color RFID Printers are now available from Primera’s online web store as well as through its Authorized Resellers and distributors worldwide in more than 200 countries and territories. Sample printed and encoded labels are available upon request for evaluation and pilot programs.