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RAIN RFID Is Evolving – An Industry Pioneer Looks Years Ahead

May 02, 2025

The global use of RAIN RFID is skyrocketing. Application areas are diversifying, and quality requirements are becoming more stringent. At the same time, tags are increasingly integrated directly into products rather than applied as separate labels. Industry pioneer Voyantic believes the next major step in the RFID sector is a shift toward networked, intelligent, and transparent quality management. The company’s latest product release, version 4.0 of Tagsurance® 3, is designed to support this direction.

Key Updates Propel RFID Technology Forward

The new version combines two major advancements: network connectivity and encoding functionality. According to Voyantic General Manager Jukka Voutilainen, these features make it possible to examine the entire RFID production process from a new perspective.

“The combination allows testing and encoding to take place at different stages of production, and the collected data can be integrated into a comprehensive quality management dataset”, Voutilainen explains.

Voyantic’s systems now enable precise measurement of the electrical performance of tags. The encoding feature adds a completely new dimension: verification and management of the data content. At the same time, the system has been designed to scale and connect securely to the internet, enhancing usability in large, cross-company production chains.

Three Trends Shaping the Industry

Voyantic’s development work is guided by a clear long-term vision: RAIN RFID technology has to be reliable and care-free for the end users. Voutilainen identifies three major trends that are steering the industry in the coming years.

The first trend is the integration of tags directly into products. When an RFID tag is embedded directly into the product, such as a tire or a medical syringe, it can no longer be easily replaced or tested outside the product. This means testing must occur not only before integration but possibly afterward as well. In such cases, the cost of failure can be high: a faulty tag may compromise the entire product. Quality assurance must therefore adapt more precisely to different production workflows. The modularity of Tagsurance 3 supports flexible implementation across various processes.

The second trend involves the expansion of quality expectations throughout the supply chain. Traditionally, tag quality has been enforced at chip bonding, the process step where the tag IC is attached to the antenna. It still remains the single most critical production phase. However, the end users see the quality of the tag after it has passed through various process steps, where the tag’s performance may be impacted. In addition, the supply chain often consists of multiple different parties, such as converters and service bureaus. Tagsurance 3 is designed with this in mind: it can collect and combine quality data from multiple production phases, enabling a broad and transparent view of the process.

The third trend is combining multiple data sources to ensure tag quality. Electrical performance alone is no longer sufficient— a tag may seem to work seemingly well but ends up failing prematurely in the end application. Failures like this can be identified and corrected by combining other process data with electrical performance in quality verification. Secondly, the tag also needs to contain correct and reliable information. When encoding is integrated with product data in backend systems, it becomes possible to verify tag authenticity or link it precisely to a specific item or batch. This opens new opportunities in sectors where traceability and data security are essential.

“Tagsurance 3 is built to support these industry shifts. It’s not just a testing device—it is a system that integrates quality, data, and production management in a new way”,  Voutilainen says.

The Need for Testing Will Not Decrease—Quite the Opposite

While RAIN RFID tags are already widely used in retail, emerging applications such as logistics, pharmaceuticals, and food products are imposing new requirements on the technology. In these areas, the tolerance for quality issues is minimal, and the importance of quality assurance continues to grow.

“The need for testing will certainly not decrease in the future”, Voutilainen affirms.

According to him, technological development will increasingly be shaped by customer needs and the specific requirements of different industries. The company continues to develop its products in close collaboration with customers and actively contributes to the creation of new industry standards.

“Testing systems must evolve in step with applications and demands. Our role is to be at the forefront of that progress”, Voutilainen concludes.

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Tagsurance® 3 Online Connectivity Improves Usability and Maintenance

Mar 20, 2025

Voyantic recently launched a new version of the Tagsurance 3 system, an inline quality testing system for RFID tag production. With this update, we recommend that customers using the latest version (4.x) keep their systems always connected online. On the other hand, older versions (3.x) should still stay offline. But why the switch? And what benefits come with this new online connectivity?

Let’s dive in!

A screenshot of Tagsurance 3 Version 4.0 user interface.
A screenshot of Tagsurance 3 Version 4.x software user interface.

Cloud-based architecture enables future-proof quality management

With the new version, the Tagsurance 3 system’s architecture has been completely revamped under the hood. The Voyantic team has carefully designed this upgrade with the future and information security in mind. This release marks an important milestone, enabling safe network connectivity for the test system. Voyantic designs its systems using secure development best practices, and regular third-party audits ensure any identified issues are promptly addressed. 

The Tagsurance 3 Version 4.x with online connectivity paves the way for future possibilities, including encoding operations through the same setup. Enabling encoding will only require purchasing a software license, with no need for additional hardware upgrades.

Simpler, faster, and more efficient—whether it’s for daily use or maintenance tasks

Connecting the system to the internet is safe and recommended for unlocking a range of new features. Today, the concrete updates are most noticeable in the new browser-based user interface, which administrators and operators can access from any computer. Let’s examine the latest features designed to ease the system’s use.

1. Update software directly in the user interface

Gone are the days of downloading software update packages separately from voyantic.com and manually performing updates. With this new feature, admins can download and install the latest software versions directly from the user interface via the admin panel—as long as the system is connected to the internet. This ensures your system stays effortlessly updated with the latest features and improvements.

A screenshot from Tagsurance 3 4.x software showing what the releases page looks like.
Updating your Tagsurance 3 Version 4.x software has been made easy.

2. Simplified licensing

When your Tagsurance 3 version 4.x system is connected to the internet, it automatically connects to Voyantic’s license server and fetches the license information. Admin users can see all the essential details in the browser-based admin panel, including how long the license is valid, the number of lanes, and Tagsurance stations. It’s all there in one place, making it easy to manage your licensing.

3. Enhanced support

While we hope you don’t need to use this feature, we’ve significantly improved support for the new version. Suppose the system is connected to the internet, and you run into an issue. In that case, it’s now possible to download and send diagnostic files directly to the Voyantic support team through the admin panel. This helps speed up troubleshooting and resolution by providing our team with more accurate data with which to work. Ultimately, this reduces system downtime and takes the headache out of maintenance.

In summary

In the future, online connectivity of the new Tagsurance 3 version will open new business opportunities with the comprehensive management of quality data. Today, online connectivity improves usability and maintenance. It simplifies tasks, adds more features to the user interface, and provides a more efficient way to share information directly with Voyantic.

That said, online connectivity is still optional. Version 4.x systems can also operate offline like the 3.x systems. If you prefer to stay offline, you can still upload software releases and license files from a local computer through the admin panel.

Watch the recording below, where our Senior Product Manager Anirudh Wali demonstrates how the updated user interface and new features work in practice.

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Presenting the New Snoop Pro 2.0

Mar 05, 2025

We continuously seek to improve our products to answer your needs, like making your job easier with user-friendly test systems or improving testing quality. This time, we made some nice improvements to Snoop Pro, one of the components used in the Tagsurance 3 system. The Snoop Pro 2.0 has:

  • Improved unit-to-unit RF performance variance
  • Integrated strobe feature
  • Smaller size and better usability

The improvements were made with backward compatibility in mind to make Snoop Pro 2.0 almost a drop-in replacement for Snoop Pro 1.x, which means:

  • RF backward compatibility: when testing tags/inlays, the test results with Snoop Pro 2.0 are within the test results variance of Snoop Pro 1.x
  • Mechanical backward compatibility: Snoop Pro 2.0 has the machine integration attachment holes at the same positions as Snoop Pro 1.x, and also the same shielding plates can be used

Let’s check it out.

Improved RF performance variation with RF backward compatibility

I’m starting with the RF performance because I just love RF. A nice new feature for the Snoop Pro 2.0 is the improved variance, making the produced units more uniform in RF performance. This means that if you test one tag with multiple different Snoop Pro 2.0, the results are very similar.

A line graph with green and black text

Description automatically generated
Illustrated example of the RF backwards performance.

Why is this so nice? I’m so glad I asked. It’s nice because if you want to use identical recipes for different production lines or even factories, the Snoop variance does not prevent doing that. So, better testing quality for your products. However, keep in mind that Snoop is only one of the components in the system; other things, such as the environment near the Snoop or cabling, might still have too much effect.

One of the most important requirements was the RF backwards compatibility so one can replace a Snoop Pro 1.x with the Snoop Pro 2.0 and be done with it. Our definition of RF backwards compatibility is as follows:

  • With the Snoop Pro 2.0, measured results are within the variance of Snoop Pro 1.x results OR within ±1.0 dB from the center of the Snoop Pro 1.x result envelope average

The difficult part is that the Snoop is always used with a tag/inlay on top of it and together they form a complex structure where every part plays a role. Since all tags/inlays are different and are affecting the Snoop differently, an excessive amount of measurements was performed to make sure we have covered most of the imaginable situations. Especially large tag models couple with the Snoop strongly and have an effect on the performance. Bah, physics and its precious laws.

Voyantic offers different kind of extensions for Snoops and those are compatible with the Snoop Pro 2.0. However, for the extensions there is no backwards compatibility in RF performance even though the results are close.

Integrated strobe feature

The Snoop Pro 2.0 has a built-in strobe functionality that can be turned on/off with a switch. White LEDs illuminate the trigger position (the moment when the testing/encoding starts), and red LEDs show tags/inlays that are failing the tests.

With the strobe light coming from below the material under test, the strobe is more effective than when the light comes from above. In a Tagsurance 3 system, the Snoop strobe shares a station connector with a TSU, so there’s no need to configure a new station to get it working. The Snoop Pro 2.0 can also be used without connecting the strobe cable; it does not affect the RF performance. The new RJ45 connector was added for the strobe functionality (don’t be fooled by the connector; no ethernet traffic there).

New size, looks, and usability

The Snoop Pro 2.0 no longer wears green; it now has a black-and-white appearance and a slightly reduced size. The new color was picked because of the integrated strobe functionality; white reflects the most light, which is essential for the strobe.

Snoop Pro 2.0 appearance.

With a careful redesign, we could replace the large external RF splitter and the two blue RF cables, making the size of the Snoop more compact. This helps a bit when trying to fit many Snoops in a multilane system where the space is limited.

The magnets were also renewed so less force is needed to change the shielding plate and you don’t not accidentally rip off the copper gaskets during the changing. Less hassle is always nice.

Conclusion

With the backwards compatibility, you can easily integrate the new Snoop Pro 2.0 to your testing systems. With the strobe integrated into the Snoop it is easy to use and doesn’t require additional configuration in the Tagsurance 3 recipe. The improved unit-to-unit variance allows you to more easily use identical recipes between lanes. All with the new Snoop Pro 2.0.

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Voyantic Launches a New Version of Tagsurance® 3 System With Cloud-Based Features

Feb 28, 2025

Voyantic announces the launch of a new version of Tagsurance 3 system, an inline quality testing system for RFID tag production. The launch of Tagsurance 3 Version 4.x marks a significant upgrade to the previous version 3.x systems with exciting new capabilities and enhanced usability. This release introduces cloud-based features and lays the groundwork for future functionalities, including encoding operations using the same setup. 

The new Tagsurance 3 Version 4.x architecture is designed with the future in mind, unlocking powerful cloud-enabled features. The online connectivity streamlines maintenance work by enabling effortless software updates, simplified license renewals, and enhanced support: diagnostic data can be shared directly with the Voyantic support team for faster troubleshooting and minimized downtime. With this version, Voyantic recommends keeping Tagsurance 3 systems always online to fully leverage the benefits and ensure maximum system efficiency. 

Tagsurance 3 Version 4.x also introduces a new browser-based user interface, allowing operators to access the system conveniently from any computer. This eliminates the need for certain peripherals and allows users to connect to the system via a web browser for an intuitive and modernized user experience.

The update also provides a more compact hardware setup, reducing the footprint of controller racks. The new version uses the upgraded Lane Controller 2.0 and the new Server Panel.

Tagsurance 3 Version 4.0 offers backward-compatible APIs that ensure seamless integration with existing systems, safeguarding previous investments and reducing implementation time. Recipes created in previous Tagsurance 3 Version 3.x systems will also continue to work seamlessly, enabling a smooth transition without disrupting existing workflows.

Contact sales@voyantic.com for more information about upgrading your existing Tagsurance 3 system or starting your journey with Voyantic towards improved tag quality.

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Analysis of the Cost of RFID Quality – And How (Not) to Lose a Customer

May 03, 2021

We hosted a webinar on managing quality in RAIN RFID and NFC manufacturing. During the session, industry experts shared their views on setting quality goals, on the relevant standards, and on best practices for quality testing through case examples and practical tips. While veterans in RFID quality testing recognize the need for it to achieve excellent and consistent quality, for many less experienced in the field, it can be puzzling to justify the investment for the required RFID test equipment.

With this in mind, it is worthwhile to explore whether the cost of good quality in the context of RFID is justifiable. In an earlier blog post, we discussed optimizing the cost of quality. In this post, we give an example analysis of RFID quality costs.

Analysis of the Cost of RFID Quality

Typically, the three main process steps in smart label manufacturing are chip attach, converting, and personalization. While the process details are specific to the manufacturer and machine, the analysis methods are universal:

  • Failure analysis: What is the impact of possible machine failures?
  • Process analysis: How do quality defects impact the process?
  • Cost analysis: What is the cost of quality defects?
Three main processes in smart label manufacturing

To remain in scope, our example analysis focuses on the cost impact of non-performing RFID tags in production. The case analysis is inspired by the case study presented by our customer Lab ID in our previous webinar session. In our modified case example, we are tasked with the delivery of 1 million labels to a customer. Let us assume that our manufacturing process has a yield of 98%. Out of the 1 million produced tags, 2% would be non-performing, meaning that these tags are bad quality or out of specification. Confronted with this reality, there are three possible actions to address non-performing tags which are described in the picture below.

Different scenarios that can play out based on the action taken to address quality testing and deal with bad tags

The first one is the baseline scenario for the case. We assume that cost and sell price per tag are 0.08 and 0.1, respectively. This leaves us with a margin of 20% for this production lot. In this scenario, we do not take into account any potential cost impact of 2% non-performing tags.

Base scenario – 2% of tags are non-performing

In the next scenario, we ride our luck and deliver all tags without addressing the bad ones. Thankfully, the customer does not notice any defects this time. While the 2% of non-performing tags did not have any repercussions on our margins, the last two scenarios showcase how repeating the action might bite us back the next time. We also do not consider the implications of how the bad tags will inevitably affect our customer’s business.

We get lucky – customer does not notice delivered bad tags

We can also do something about the bad tags. In the third scenario, we decide to test our tags and mark the bad ones during production. This would incur costs in the form of initial tester investment (a capital expenditure that is omitted from the costs of this single production lot) and marker ink (a largely negligible running cost). Marking the tags does not introduce extra production processes or require an operator to supervise the machine. With the help of the tester, we are able to mark the non-performing tags out of the 1 million. This sees our margins decrease slightly (20% to 18%) as we do not charge the customer for the bad tags.

Alternatively, we can also decide to test and then remove bad tags during production. Aside from the initial equipment investment as with the previous scenario, this also requires additional steps in the production, e.g. by handling non-performing tags with a splicing table and changing them to a normal one. This process also requires an operator overseeing the production process which induces additional costs. For our analysis, we assume this removal of a bad tag is ten times the normal cost of producing a tag. This would add a somewhat significant cost to us but our margins remain positive at 2%. Worth considering in this scenario is customers’ willingness to pay more for rolls with 100% working tags. This could help offset the extra costs associated with tag removal.

Testing tags – in both scenarios we can achieve a positive margin

Next, we deliver all tags, 98% good and 2% bad. This time neglecting quality has consequences: the customer notices defects in our delivery, returns the lot, and demands we rework them to reach the promised quality. This requires us to find the non-performing tags from the lot and replace them with good-quality ones. For our analysis, we assume all that tag replacement hassle along with the changes to production planning costs us 25 times the normal cost of producing a tag. Not only have our margins turned negative, but we also need to deal with an annoyed customer whose plans have been disrupted.

Final two scenarios – not testing tags can have grave financial and reputational consequences

In the final “doomsday” scenario, after delivering the production lot, the customer detects the defects, simply returns the lot, and stops doing business with us. Revenue for this production lot has been lost, our customer relationship is severely damaged and our reputation as a tag manufacturer is also at risk. Not addressing quality issues and providing no quantifying proof of quality can have severe consequences. As shown, a single batch of tags mixed some with inferior quality can do much more harm than expected.

Loss of customer relationships is difficult to measure in costs

Being able to quantify quality puts tag producers in a superior position to win and establish trust with customers. Getting there requires effort but as shown in our example it is a worthwhile pursuit in the long run. We are happy to help with your needs in getting there. A good resource to start with is our webinar on managing quality in RAIN RFID and NFC manufacturing.

On-Demand Webinar

Quality Management Approaches in RAIN RFID and NFC Manufacturing

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Smart Labels – Great Opportunity for Traditional Label Companies

Apr 26, 2018

中文版 Chinese version

Smart labels are one of the most common RFID tag types, especially in retail business, but also in numerous applications in other industries. Increasing acceptance of RFID and the double-digit growth rate of inlay/tag volumes in the past years have made smart labels an attractive business segment not only for the established RFID companies, but also for the traditional label manufacturers.

The barrier for a label company to enter the RFID/smart label business is very low as their core business comprises of printing and converting anyways – adding “inlay insertion” or “inlay lamination” to the converting process will increase the label manufacturer’s value-add and enables meeting the customers’ RFID and IoT requirements.

The Smart Label Opportunity

Label market is a big business, but expected to grow only a few percent a year, which is roughly double compared to print market in general though. The big opportunity lies in smart labels where CAGR of 15 to 20 percent is expected in the coming years, thanks to continuous tag cost reduction and huge amount of new application areas utilizing RFID technology.

Retail industry has been working long and very hard to utilize RFID technology and counts for the biggest tag volumes as of today. If one of the initial drivers justifying RFID in the early days was efficiency improvement in logistics, today there is an increasing number of drivers and quantified value-add right next to the consumers:

  • Integrated customer experience in omni-channel environment
  • Customer engagement and consumer interaction
  • Unmanned stores
  • Freshness and cold-chain tracking
  • Labeling obligations by authorities
  • Anti-counterfeiting measures.

RFID is the dominating technology today in smart labels, and RFID labels are successfully used to address all the requirements mentioned above. The big volumes of smart labels are typically produced by key players in RFID industry, i.e. either inlay/tag manufacturers or converters, however there are also several smart label producers focusing on specialized tags and applications. Integrated part of the smart label business are also the value-add services like tag performance testing and encoding of product and supplier specific information in each tag.

The current suppliers will certainly increase their capacity as the demand grows, but at the same time there is an opportunity window open for new entrants to take their share of the smart label market and related services.

How to Make Your Labels Smart?

Smart labels based on RFID technology (RAIN and/or NFC) are produced with a dedicated converting machine laminating the RFID inlays between the top material and the liner as shown in image below.

The selection of suitable RFID inlay type and supplier would be based on the RFID application and customer specification or alternatively smart label manufacturer’s own specification. Below image by permission from BW Papersystems, from their Speedliner RFID Converting machine brochure, illustrates RFID converting principle:

It is not only about manufacturing though, as smart label production brings also new requirements for the process:

  • Functional and/or performance testing to manage the RFID tag quality
  • Encoding capability to store customer-specific data in each tag.

The good news is that these capabilities can be integrated into converting machines and they create a value-add service opportunity. Smart labels can be an entry point to the RFID value chain for a traditional label company with increased turnover and profits.

Testing and Encoding Added-value

With the increasing tag volumes and adoption of RFID, the demand for RFID testing has grown even faster. This is caused by the fact that many RFID applications are fully integrated into various business processes where the basic requirement is that each tag can be read reliably every single time in the field – otherwise the efficiency of the process would collapse.

Accordingly, the RFID end-users are setting more requirements for quality assurance in RFID production and demanding actual performance measurement instead of simple pass/fail testing by RFID readers.

RFID Performance Testing

Ensuring high smart label quality (= successful read in the field) requires more than simple pass/fail testing with an RFID reader. More reliable performance testing can be done by measuring the tag sensitivity in the production line with variable power levels and several frequencies using an RFID production testing system.

Voyantic Tagsurance inline production testers can be used in single and multi-lane configurations integrated with various third-party RFID machines, like Mühlbauer CL Light RFID Converting Line pictured here.

The same Tagsurance solutions are also available for Voyantic Reelsurance and several 3rd party offline test machines for sample testing of finished labels or incoming inspection of the outsourced RFID inlays.

Encoding and Personalization

New requirements are set also for encoding functionalities as new RFID applications and users are emerging. There is a growing need for managing deliveries of special tags with customer specific memory content, often with short delivery time and rather small batches. Encoding functionality can be integrated either in converting machines or alternatively done in dedicated offline personalization machines.

How To Learn More?

If you are considering making your labels smart, please contact us to schedule an online meeting to discuss your needs. You can also learn more about our production testing solutions and reach out to us to learn more about Voyantic solutions with our machine vendor partners.

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RAIN RFID Maturing, BLE on the Rise – Report from RFID Journal Live! 2018

Apr 14, 2018

I have been going to the biggest RFID shows for 12 years now. In 2007, it was RFID World in Grapevine, TX. And for the last ten years, it has been RFID Journal Live!. Once again, I flew to Orlando to find out what is new and exciting in RFID. And I have to conclude that not much. Which is pretty much what I also said last year.

RAIN RFID Industry Maturity

But while nothing new might be bad for RFID Journal Live!, it is not necessarily bad for the RFID industry. It may be just a sign of maturing. The development of an industry is often described with the industry maturity S-curve, which could look something like the one below for RAIN RFID. All the market data suggests that the RAIN RFID market is growing fast, so I would assume that we are currently in the growth stage.

RAIN RFID industry maturity curve

What is typical of the growth stage, compared to the earlier embryonic stage, is that the industry is more focused on process innovation than on product innovation. As a result, we are not really seeing new game-changing products. Rather the technology companies are working hard in producing the existing ones more efficiently, which should eventually lead to lower costs which further supports market growth. And there were some signs of that at the show. First of all, many technology providers were talking about growing volumes, and investing in manufacturing equipment. And on the supply side, BW Papersystems launched a new chip bonding machine that could improve manufacturing capacity.

We are seeing the same trend at Voyantic as well. While at the beginning of the decade, technology providers were in the need of tools for designing tags, the focus has shifted into production testing equipment. And Voyantic’s latest launch of the Reelsurance Pro for RAIN RFID and NFC testing and encoding follows the same trend, improving the efficiency of the manufacturing process.

But There Was Something New After All

Even if we are further along the maturity curve with most RFID technologies, new S-curves will continue to arise. Secure RAIN RFID according Gen2V2 is evolving, and EM Microelectronic has launched new ICs that present a significant advancement in that field. I feel this market is still in the embryonic stage, and there is a lot to do in building up the market.

But above all, what surprised me was that Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has made its way into the product portfolios of many traditional RFID tag manufacturers. And to top it off, HID Global even won the Best New Product Award with its Bluetooth sensor beacon. I guess it is a matter of opinion, whether you want to call BLE RFID. But it is definitely a related technology. Maybe we need to stop positioning the different technologies against each other and accepting that we need different technologies for different applications – all providing a gateway to the Internet of Things.

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Managing RAIN RFID Production Quality

Nov 03, 2017

中文版 Chinese version

RAIN RFID use has grown rapidly and implementations are expanding. Nowadays RFID is business as usual and quality management is an essential part of normal business operations. In past few years the RFID industry has learned a lot about quality management methods and processes. In my opinion there is still room for improvement. Quality really matters in RAIN tag manufacturing as high readability of tags is expected practically in all applications. In this text I describe how some quality management principles relate to tag manufacturing.

Continual Improvement in RFID Tag Manufacturing


One of the key principles in ISO 9000 quality standard series is continual improvement and accordingly

  • quality must be measured;
  • results need to be analyzed; and
  • operations will be improved.

There are two ways to look at the quality:

1 – Quality of design is measured against the properties (e.g. features, functionalities, performance) the supplier intends to deliver to the customer. Improvements can be driven for example by new kind of customer requirements, changes in competing products and availability of new components.

Typical performance measures for RAIN tags are sensitivity/read range and orientation pattern, performance on different materials (tagged items) and in proximity of other tags. Additionally, for example memory options, command support, mechanical design and dimensions and durability are ingredients of design quality.

Improving Quality of design is responsibility of the R&D and usually requires new product development, e.g. modifying the antenna geometry. Improvement cycles are relatively long.

2 – Quality of manufacturing describes how much variation there is in performance of the key properties compared to the defined design quality.

In RAIN tags the typical measure of quality is sensitivity. For example: Sensitivity of the tag attached to PVC plastic, with 915MHz frequency is -20dBm +/- 0.5dB. In this example the -20dBm is design quality and +/-0.5dB is variation describing manufacturing quality.

In managing Quality of manufacturing the performance is measured by the quality organization and corrective actions can be implemented very quickly.

The basic methods for controlling quality in tag manufacturing are sample testing and continuous in-line testing.

RAIN Tag Manufacturing Quality Control

One single solution doesn’t fit all RAIN tag manufacturing processes, but the principles of applying either sample testing using an off-line tester or implementing the tester into the production machines to enable 100% in-line testing are universal.

Sample Based Testing

For example, with 100,000 tags daily production, 99% confidence level with 2% margin of error requires about 4,000 tags to be tested. In practice, 1-2 tested tag rolls per day per manufacturing line would be the statistically valid sample size. Voyantic Reelsurance handles the testing automatically after the testing is initialized. Several rolls per day can be tested with one machine, and the system produces full quality logs. Reelsurance is an example of an off-line reel-to-reel tester capable of testing RAIN tags either in inlay or label form. The testing capability is based on integrated Tagsurance tester.

100% Testing and Quality Log

Voyantic Tagsurance tester can also be integrated with various manufacturers’ chip attach, converting or personalization machines enabling 100% testing.

The testing creates a log file that can include TID and EPC codes of the tested tags, as well as test results. This is a handy tool for communicating 100% test results. The data can be used for finding out statistical information from the manufacturing quality: variation, standard deviation, percentiles, mean values.

Real-time Visibility to Production Quality

When information is available for the production line operator real time, it is easy to see when quality starts to deviate, and corrective actions can be taken immediately, without sacrificing production yield.

RFID Tag Manufacturing and Six Sigma

A typical output from a tag manufacturing process used to be skewed normal distribution with additional second peak as shown in the picture across wide frequency band: the “stray” tags made it impossible to implement Six Sigma to the letter. Instead, deviating tags can be sorted out, and Six Sigma limits may be used for the remaining part.

Developments in new RFID chips have changed the situation. Some tag models can be manufactured with normal distributed sensitivity variation. It is possible to implement Six Sigma quality control, maybe with 4-sigma limits to start with.

Contact us to arrange an online demo and to discuss more about quality control in RAIN RFID tag manufacturing!

A picture of Tagsurance 3 software in action.

Quality Testing Solution for RFID Label Production

Tagsurance 3 is the next-generation quality control solution for high-speed RFID inlay and label production lines.

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When Buying Tags – Ask the Right Questions

Jun 16, 2017

中文版 Chinese version

I frequently lecture in RFID training events, and now and then, a question comes up from RFID users and system integrators: “When buying RAIN RFID tags, what should we ask from suppliers, and what should we tell the potential supplier?”. I asked the same question from some RFID tag manufacturers and spiced the answers up with my own experiences and collected the following summary from the answers.

How to Get a Good Quotation for RFID Tags

Plenty of information is related to the tag selection. The more information that can be given to the tag supplier, the easier it is for them to propose a good tag. And the better questions you ask, the better answers you get, and the easier it is to make an educated decision. At the same time, it is essential to keep the focus – what is important for the project at hand and what can be left out.

The issues to consider and communicate are in the following areas:

  • Use case – what can I tell about the tag use
  • Tag functionality
  • Tag format, shape and size
  • Durability requirements
  • Performance requirements
  • Delivery format and quantities
  • Printing and encoding needs
  • Quality data
  • Delivery terms and pricing
  • Change management
  • Additional services from the supplier

There are plenty of questions under each of these areas. Download our free RAIN RFID tag buyer’s guide to get a more comprehensive understanding and an example request for a quotation!

Download the RFID Tag Buyer’s Guide

Learn what to ask when buying RFID tags.
Get our example request for quotation to help you get relevant quotes.

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Testing Requirements of NFC/RAIN RFID Dual Frequency Labels in Production

Jan 09, 2017

中文版 Chinese version

There are applications, where fast data collection and high read distances of RAIN RFID (UHF) tags fulfill the overall application requirements only partially. Especially the missing capability of a consumer to easily access the tag contents limits the usability for marketing, product information and authentication purposes. A NFC tag would remove that limitation but also induce additional costs and complexity to the label finishing stages: double encoding and possible data compliance verification between these two tags. Interestingly the first IC chip with both high frequency (HF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF) communication interface was launched in 2015 by EM Microelectronics. In this text I will take a closer look at the quality aspects of dual interface tags: How do you verify that each tag produced meets its specification?

Is It Sufficient to Test the Performance of Either Interface to Guarantee the Performance of the Tag?

Let’s dig into the tag structure a bit to understand more detailed where the performance comes from. The chip itself is one complete entity with two interfaces for each frequency. This allows conveniently accessing the memory locations of the chip through either HF/NFC interface using for example your mobile phone, or through UHF interface by for example the retail in-store inventory system. On the inlay level there are still two separate antennas; one that is used for HF coupling and the other for UHF field communication. Both of these antenna structures are connected to the IC through separate chip I/Os. Below we can see an example of such a tag design from Lab ID:

There is certainly some coherence in the process quality for both interfaces, as the antennas are both processed simultaneously, and a single chip is assembled to work with both, but is it enough to guarantee the good performance for both if only one interface is tested? Based on some further analysis on possible failure mechanisms, the answer to the question is

No, it is not!

NFC and RAIN Performance on a Dual Interface Label Needs to be Separately Tested

We ran some tests using both Tagsurance UHF and Tagsurance HF testers to identify less sensitive tags from a roll of dual frequency tag samples. The test setup for testing dual frequency tags consists of two separate Snoop Pro coupling elements – one for UHF testing and one for HF testing – and a Tagsurance unit connected to each of them.

One graphical user interface handles both testing units and gathers the test results and read data from each tag in a combined log file. Based on this information we were able to identify tags with lower performance either on UHF communication or in HF communication. In many failed samples the performance had decreased in both interfaces. In the graphs below we can see the UHF performance on upper graph and the HF performance on lower graph for a normal tag (white curve) and for a tag with decreased performance (red).

This is not always the case though, as we could also identify tags where one interface was performing good, but the other one was either not functional at all, or the performance was just significantly lower compared to normal level of variation in the sample set. In the graphs below there’s the UHF performance and the HF performance of four tags; one normal (white curve), one with decreased UHF performance and normal HF performance (blue) and one with decreased HF performance and normal UHF performance (green). There you can also find one tag with decreased UHF performance and HF performance slightly better than the typical tag (orange).

NFC/RAIN RFID Combo Test Solution Is Available

As always with disruptive new technology, it takes some time for the components and new manufacturing technologies to fully mature. As this brief study shows, the performance of either interface can vary independently of each other, even if they are integrated on the same IC. Therefore both interfaces should be tested in production.

Voyantic provides turn-key solutions for testing of all your RFID production. With our equipment you can test your RAIN RFD tag; HF/NFC tags with ISO 15693, ISO 14443A, ISO 14443B, Felica and ISO 18000 3M3 protocol; and dual frequency tags. We would be happy to tell you more and tailor the best suited solution for your exact requirements!

Download our new Application Note about testing of UHF, HF/NFC and dual frequency tags, giving a detailed understanding on the equipment and test setup used in production. Contact us to learn more!

Learn How to Test Dual Frequency Tags

Download our application note to learn how to get things right the first time when testing UHF RFID, HF/NFC and dual frequency tags!

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