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What was wrong with barcodes that Wal*Mart has placed the burden of new expense and complication into the midst of regular production woes? The answer to this can be found by looking into the past and the future. First, the past and how cellular came to be more than just a luxury item for the wealthy. The first cellular radios had one channel to communicate, and if someone was already using the “line”, one would have to wait until it was free. As the technology evolved, several channels were created, but still there was a limit. Using cell towers that could cover several miles in all directions, a system of frequency re-use was established. If channel 868 was in use in one part of the city, channel 868 wasn’t used by another cell tower for 20 or more miles. A hexagonal pattern was created to help determine what frequencies could be used where, and further division of the frequencies could be accomplished if the channels radiated at 60 degree angles (thus creating 6 directions of signal beams), versus the omni-directional (circular beams) patterns of the past. As the cellular industry boomed and nearly everyone had a phone, city areas could not service most subscribers, resulting in “No Service”. How did they resolve this issue? Smaller, less powerful cell towers, call microcells where implemented in a dense pattern throughout the city, reusing the frequency channels over and over, but in a “micro” fashion. This meant less expensive tower construction, less power consumption, better reception, and most importantly, more customers talking whenever they wished. In this new age, the phone booth had become a small history museum.
There is no doubt that RFID will one day replace the barcode. The barcode will still exist, just like the phone booth, for the occasional need. The need for RFID today is not easy to understand, since today’s version is much like the first cell phones, bulky and cumbersome, and “who is really going to use this?”. Go several years into the future, where the RFID tag is a fraction of a cent (yes, just like every memory technology, the cost will 1/2 itself each year for the same memory size), and nearly every product that would make sense to include it has one attached or embedded. Take the cellular analogy and go RFID microreaders, where dock door portals and hand scanners are antiques. Picture every cubic inch of the superstore covered in the RFID read sweep. Aisles are embedded with inexpensive microreaders, and any product (tagged) can be inventoried real-time. Warehouses, supply trucks, freezers, storage areas, and checkout counters are all inventoried and instantaneous decisions are made. Would you run a tighter and more efficient business if you knew exactly how much product you needed to create, down to the single item level? Would you re-route a supply truck to a store with a higher out-of-stock level than an alternate store? If your product was placed on the wrong shelf, would it sell as well as it could have on the appropriate shelf? If this product was a featured sales item in a marketing campaign, but the item was not yet in some stores, would you advertise differently
As the technology blankets the product at all stages of its supply chain, decisions can be made real-time, saving millions, if not billions of dollars in lost perishables, incorrect sequencing of batch runs, overstocks, stock shortages, and stock shrinkages. Barcodes simply cannot provide this level of information due to the physical nature of the technology. Line of sight readings, corruption of the barcode markings, and environmental conditions limit the ability to perform mass reads to a population. As the RFID technology matures, and cost of implementation is reduced, the number of products tagged will increase. As the collected data becomes available and it is interpreted, new thoughts and ideas on how to optimize the supply chain structure will become apparent. By removing the lag in response time to changes in the supply flow, the corrections can be applied sooner, and reduce waste in the process. There are many who believe that the barcode can provide many of the same pieces of information today, but the same level of collection is not performed today for barcodes. This is true of singulated events, such as barcoding performed in production batch runs. Once the product is cased, bundled, or containerized for shipment, the tracking capabilities have become significantly reduced.
Looking into the past, and then back in the future, it seems apparent that RFID has capabilities beyond the present-day implementations, and the electronic format of the data allows yet another layer of separation from the barcode. Even with the miniscule size of memory being 96 bits, the entire product id can be assembled completed with a fairly large serialization field number. Further technological features can be implemented as dictated by the product, such as temperature, shock, and expiration period. RFID today is a new technology to the supply chain, even if RFID is not a new technology. Implementing the technology is a several phase undertaking, including the foundation level of properly encoding a tag, the infrastructure of selecting the correct data to encode, management of the database, interfacing systems to share data, and the physics of RF communication environments. Knowing where the technology is ultimately headed helps prepare for the journey, and justifies the trip expense.
RFID Solutions High Speed RFID Applicators PA/5000LT RFID Label Printer/Applicator RFID Videos
Diagraph RFID solutions providers Diagraph U RFID Training Center Dual Technology Industrial Labeling Products
Download A Printable copy of the story above
There is no doubt that RFID will one day replace the barcode. The barcode will still exist, just like the phone booth, for the occasional need. The need for RFID today is not easy to understand, since today’s version is much like the first cell phones, bulky and cumbersome, and “who is really going to use this?”. Go several years into the future, where the RFID tag is a fraction of a cent (yes, just like every memory technology, the cost will 1/2 itself each year for the same memory size), and nearly every product that would make sense to include it has one attached or embedded. Take the cellular analogy and go RFID microreaders, where dock door portals and hand scanners are antiques. Picture every cubic inch of the superstore covered in the RFID read sweep. Aisles are embedded with inexpensive microreaders, and any product (tagged) can be inventoried real-time. Warehouses, supply trucks, freezers, storage areas, and checkout counters are all inventoried and instantaneous decisions are made. Would you run a tighter and more efficient business if you knew exactly how much product you needed to create, down to the single item level? Would you re-route a supply truck to a store with a higher out-of-stock level than an alternate store? If your product was placed on the wrong shelf, would it sell as well as it could have on the appropriate shelf? If this product was a featured sales item in a marketing campaign, but the item was not yet in some stores, would you advertise differently.
As the technology blankets the product at all stages of its supply chain, decisions can be made real-time, saving millions, if not billions of dollars in lost perishables, incorrect sequencing of batch runs, overstocks, stock shortages, and stock shrinkages. Barcodes simply cannot provide this level of information due to the physical nature of the technology. Line of sight readings, corruption of the barcode markings, and environmental conditions limit the ability to perform mass reads to a population.
As the RFID technology matures, and cost of implementation is reduced, the number of products tagged will increase. As the collected data becomes available and it is interpreted, new thoughts and ideas on how to optimize the supply chain structure will become apparent. By removing the lag in response time to changes in the supply flow, the corrections can be applied sooner, and reduce waste in the process.
There are many who believe that the barcode can provide many of the same pieces of information today, but the same level of collection is not performed today for barcodes. This is true of singulated events, such as barcoding performed in production batch runs. Once the product is cased, bundled, or containerized for shipment, the tracking capabilities have become significantly reduced.
Looking into the past, and then back in the future, it seems apparent that RFID has capabilities beyond the present-day implementations, and the electronic format of the data allows yet another layer of separation from the barcode. Even with the miniscule size of memory being 96 bits, the entire product id can be assembled completed with a fairly large serialization field number. Further technological features can be implemented as dictated by the product, such as temperature, shock, and expiration period.
RFID today is a new technology to the supply chain, even if RFID is not a new technology. Implementing the technology is a several phase undertaking, including the foundation level of properly encoding a tag, the infrastructure of selecting the correct data to encode, management of the database, interfacing systems to share data, and the physics of RF communication environments. Knowing where the technology is ultimately headed helps prepare for the journey, and justifies the trip expense.
RFID: Diagraph University
1/28/05 WELCOME TO DIAGRAPH® UNIVERSITY:
RFID TRAINING CENTER AND APPLICATION TEST LAB- LEARN HOW RFID CAN CHANGE BUSINESS PROCESSES FOR YORU COMPANY
Diagraph, An ITW Company, announces the introduction of DIAGRAPH UNIVERSITY: RFID Training Center and Application Test Lab.
Finding new ways to help customers—that’s the idea behind “Diagraph U.” Diagraph University: RFID Training Center and Application Test Lab is a workshop that offers informative, educational seminars for beginner to advanced, plus the ability to test YOUR product and application in our RFID Testing Lab. Whatever your current level of RFID knowledge, Diagraph is ready to conduct a 1-2 day workshop, just for your company, at our St. Louis Training Center and Application Test Lab.
The Curriculum includes the following:
• History & Benefits of RFID
• How RFID Can Change Business Processes
• Theory of Operation
• RFID Label Options
• Specifications & Compliance Standards
• Hardware & Software Availability
• Component Technical Capabilities
• Implementation Solutions
• Equipment for Your Application
• Lab Testing for Your Application
There is no pre-determined class schedule at Diagraph University. Instead, workshops are scheduled to accommodate each company that wants to participate. Our preference is for each workshop to be focused on just one company. This way, we can personalize the course content and make certain that it is always 100% relevant to every student.
The workshops are intended to take 1-2 days, but will vary slightly in length, depending on the entry level knowledge the participants bring to the seminar. From beginner to advanced, all interested parties in learning more about RFID and how to implement an RFID solution are encouraged to attend. At Diagraph we are much More then just another radio frequency identification tag company, we trully are onf of the nations top rfid solutions providers. Come to our class and see for your self.
To help offset the costs of meals and lodging, Diagraph charges a reasonable tuition for each RFID workshop participant.
For more information about Diagraph University, to request a Curriculum, or to schedule a workshop for your company, please use the contact method that is most convenient for you:
• Phone 800-722-1125
Diagraph, an innovator in product identification technology for over 100 years, manufactures and distributes marking, coding and labeling systems and supplies. Diagraph offers a complete line of RFID and bar code printing systems; small character ink jet, large character ink jet and high-resolution ink jet systems; label printer-applicators and label applicators; thermal transfer label printers; stock and custom labels; labeling consumables; and traditional marking and stenciling equipment and supplies. Diagraph is a global supplier, with sales and service offices located across the United States and throughout the world.
DIAGRAPH is a registered trademark of Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Diagraph RFID Quick Links: Diagraph RFID Solutions Diagraph Partner Company RFID Solutions Providers RFID versus Barcode
NEW From Diagraph, An ITW Company:
St. Louis, MO. . . Diagraph has recently announced the release of a mid-range automated RFID printer/applicator capable of performing encoding rates of 32 products per minute with reject capability. This system incorporates the patented TampTenna™, which allows RFID encoding to be performed outside of printer, on the tamp pad itself. With this field-proven technology, only Diagraph can offer RFID with the reliable SATO Lt408 printer. The full system is delivered with the PA/4600 unit, RFID TampTenna™, Reject Module, Warning Tower, and Stand. If higher application rates are required, a PA/6000 RFID system is available which handles rates in excess of 100 printed, encoded, and verified tags per minute.
The PA4600 RFID Label Printer/Applicator is one of the Platinum Series Label Print/Apply Systems from Diagraph. The Platinum Series is Diagraph’s 4th generation automated labeling systems. These printer/applicators are quality engineered and built for performance, reliability and ease of use. They deliver everything you need, exactly what you want, and more than you expect.
The PA/4600 is engineered for medium-speed applications. Some key features of the PA/4600 include:
For more information, call 800-722-1125, visit the print/apply labeling systems section of our website. or send e-mails to info@diagraph.com.
Diagraph, a division of Illinois Tool Works Inc., manufactures and distributes automated marking, coding, labeling and RFID systems and supplies. Primary product lines include: small character ink jet systems, large character ink jet systems, and automated labeling systems. With sales and service offices located across the United States and throughout the world, Diagraph is a leading supplier of industrial product identification systems.
NEW DIAGRAPH IJ4000 INKJET SYSTEM COMBINES INDUSTRY-LEADING BARCODE DECODE-ABILITY AND INDUSTRY-LEADING RELIABILITY
(March 1, 2016) – Diagraph (www.diagraph.com) announces the launch of the IJ4000 high-resolution large character impulse inkjet system for printing alphanumerics, barcodes and graphics onto porous substrates. The cost-competitive printer combines industry-leading barcode decode-ability, industry-leading system durability and industry-leading print throw distance with the lowest maintenance requirements on the market.
Industry-Leading Barcode Decode-ability & Print Throw Distance
Three unique features combine to allow the IJ4000 to provide best-in-the-market print consistency on challenging packaging lines where boxes are rarely perfectly uniform.
First, precision print placement is ensured by a unique roller retractor and a digital level sensor accelerometer. The roller retractor provides a consistent gap between the print surface and print engine. A green LED light on the digital level accelerometer indicates when the print engines are perfectly aligned and perpendicular with the packaging material to be printed- regardless of floor variations. This ensures high-quality print and optimal readability for bar codes.
Secondly, the print engines of the IJ4000 provide throw distance of ½ inch for alphanumerics and an industry-leading ¼ inch for barcodes. This is double the 1/8 inch throw distance currently provided in the market for readable barcodes. In addition to ensuring high-quality print, the increased throw distance also reduces the impact of corrugate dust, glue and contaminants resulting in reduced maintenance needs.
Finally the unique design of the print engine ensures print is up to 15% darker than the last generation offering.
Combined these features allow the IJ4000 to offer a 35% improvement on barcode decode-ability compared to competing systems available in the market.
Industry-Leading Flexibility & Ease of Use The IJ4000 was carefully designed based on customer feedback for optimal ease of use. The system features a unique HMI (Human Machine Interface) wherein the print engine, encoder and photocell connections run directly and cleanly to the connection hub. This allows the HMI to be moved to a remote location for greater ease of use. The HMI can be as far away as 100 meters when connected via Ethernet and an unlimited distance when connected through a Network.
The system offers a great deal of flexibility with both on-floor and in-office editing capabilities. The intuitive interface provides the option of use with a personal PC, eliminating the need for a separate controller and reducing cost by as much as 15%.
The integrated 10.2 inch touch screen controller interface eliminates the need for a separate keyboard, thereby reducing the system footprint. The system print head is also smaller in all three dimensions and further flexibility is provided by a dovetail track on both side of the print engines for ease of mounting on either side of the conveyer.
While many printing technologies advertise that they are ‘Unicode-ready’ they often mean that language characters are used as locked images. This is not the same as true real-time, variable print Unicode capabilities. Diagraph’s IJ4000 printers were specially designed to provide real-time printing in 11 languages.
Lowest Maintenance Requirements in the Market
The IJ4000 was carefully designed to provide the lowest maintenance requirements of any similar system in the market today.
The printer features a unique single point ink supply that can feed as many as four different print engines. This greatly reduces downtime and simplifies the fluid refill process as it is not necessary to monitor and maintain individual ink supplies.
The system´s unique digital level accelerometer has a sensor which indicates if the print engine has tilted plus or minus 1.5 degrees both for ease of installation and to assure the print gap between print head and carton is consistent along the entire print image.
A new auto-channel purge allows all 256 printhead channels to be quickly checked by a simple push of a button on the print head right on the packaging line. Maintenance is further simplified by hard-mounted, easily accessible filters and a centralized connection point that simplifies and reduces cabling requirements.
Taken together, these features allow the IJ4000 to provide as much as 30% less downtime than alternative technologies.
Industry-Leading Print Engine Durability
Featuring unique-in-the-industry stainless steel construction, and patented repairable (rather than disposable) design, shock resistance capability and automatic maintenance modules, the Trident print engines in the IJ4000 provide industry-leading durability. Whereas traditional print engines might need to be replaced as often as every few months, Trident technology can last as long as 10 years or 300 billion firings. This allows the IJ4000 to provide industry-leading durability with projected lifespan being as much as 5 times longer than competitive technologies.
“The IJ4000 is the result of over 5 years of intensive research into user needs,” said Steve Liker, LCIJ Product Manager at Diagraph. “It was thoughtfully designed with a number of unique-in-the-market features to provide customers with significant new performance benefits at the same price point as our last generation technology. We are proud to offer significantly more value at the same competitive price.”
The new print engines are reverse compatible to older IJ3000 systems for existing customers and are available with two inch print height. Technology featuring market-leading four inch print height is anticipated to launch in 2016 and will be forward compatible with the IJ4000 system.
About Diagraph, An ITW Company
Diagraph, An ITW Company is a leading manufacturer and distributor of marking, coding and labeling systems and supplies, and has been in the product identification industry for over 120 years. Diagraph’s products include all-electric printer applicator labeling systems, LINX continuous ink jet and laser coders, large character ink jet printing systems and thermal transfer overprinting systems.
Contact
For more information, call 800-722-1125, send emails to info@diagraph.com or visit diagraph.com.
Every year the biggest show in packaging and processing raises the bar for innovation and consumer trends. Whether you're looking for a solution to production challenges or you're attending to absorb new industry information, experts from across the industry exhibit at PACK EXPO to share their latest and greatest products and services. This fall, PACK EXPO kicks off in Las Vegas on September 23rd through the 25th.
If marking, coding and labeling solutions are on your list for the show, visit Diagraph at booth C-4000. Our product specialists are ready to help answer your questions about product identification - from product coding to case coding - and material handling. We're here to help pair you with the solution that best matches your product coding application needs whether that is best accomplished with small character inkjet, high-resolution inkjet, labeling, thermal transfer or laser coding.
This year we are offering PACK EXPO attendees that have their badges scanned in Diagraph's booth C-4000 exclusive access to great promotional offers across all of our product lines. We're making it easy for you to upgrade your systems to the latest technology with major savings. If you are attending the show, be sure to stop by the booth to ensure that you qualify for these show specials.
To be eligible for any of these exclusive show specials, you must have your badge scanned at C-4000. These offers are valid for US customers only and redeemable through the end of 2019.
We're also offering free registration to Pack Expo to customers who use our comp code 35N95 when you register here.
Common GS1 Barcodes Pictured Above. The following can be printed by Print and Apply Labeling and most High-Resolution Inkjet Technologies: Barcodes: UPC-A, EAN-13, UPC-E, EAN-8, GS1 DataMatrix, GS1 QR Code, GS1-128, ITF-14 GTIN Types: GTIN-8, GTIN-12, GTIN-13, GTIN-14
Many major retailers and distribution centers require manufacturers to display important information on all four sides of cartons and cases that are intended for backroom storage purposes. This offers retailers ultimate flexibility for their inventory management programs.
The following information is important to effectively manage inventory:
Having this information visible on your box is usually not enough. Manufacturers need to ensure that this important information is large enough and clear enough to read from a distance.
4-Side Print Solutions
Unfortunately, there are not any one-size-fits-all solutions to accomplish four-sided printing on cartons. Flexographic and lithographic pre-printed boxes are not practical for the important variable information needed with every shipment (i.e., best by date and lot/batch code). Manufacturers can turn to a combination of pre-printed information and print-on-demand information if flexographic elements are required. However, complete print-on-demand solutions offer manufacturers the greatest flexibility in terms of cost and supplies.
Print and Apply Labeling 4-Side Print Solutions
Because manufacturers have more options when choosing to use a labeling solution for their four-sided print requirements, the best solution for your particular operation depends largely on the speed of your line and your product throughput. The most efficient option in terms of the equipment required would be to opt for two opposing E-FASA (swing arm) print and apply labeling machines. One machine would apply the label to the front and the side of the box while the other would apply to the opposite side and the rear panel. This solution does not require a bump turn material handling mechanism.
The Diagraph PA/6000 with E-FASA tamp applicator module offers the greatest flexibility for manufacturers. The all-electric design frees the labeler from shop air, allowing it to be placed anywhere on the packaging line. Additionally, the servo motor and smart sensing technology unique to the PA/6000 system ensure that labels are precisely placed on time, every time.
If retailers and distribution centers require flexographic and lithographic printed barcodes, you can more easily manage pre-printed label stock than a large pre-printed box inventory. Utilize flexographic printed labels for all information that will remain the same and utilize the labeler’s printing capability to print the important variable information on demand. With that being stated, it is important to point out that printing barcodes using a wax-resin ribbon and a thermal print head onto consistent label stock is a highly reliable print method. The recommendation to get pre-printed label stock depends entirely on retailer requirements, but is not necessary if you want the print and apply labeler to handle your entire print message – including the barcodes.
Large Character Inkjet 4-Side Print Solutions
Many manufacturers can get away with only displaying information on one or two sides of a case. To accomplish print on two opposing sides, manufacturers need inkjet printers installed on opposite sides of the packaging line. At Diagraph, our high resolution large character inkjet system – Diagraph IJ4000 – can drive printheads on opposing sides of a single line from a single system. The unique centralized ink delivery system in the Diagraph IJ4000 allows floor operators to monitor and change fluids from a single location rather than having to monitor each individual print head.
Additional material handling is required when setting up your packaging line for four-sided printing. A “bump turn” material handling method is required to rotate the box 90° to present the remaining two panels for printing. Two additional opposing printheads need to be installed further down the line, positioned after the bump turn mechanism, to print on the remaining panels. Four-sided box printing can easily be accomplished using the Diagraph IJ4000 once the bump turn mechanism is in place on the packaging line. A single IJ4000 system can drive all four required printheads from a single system, allowing up to a 2” print height for the printed information.
Printing variable information using a Diagraph IJ384e printhead offering a maximum of 2” characters satisfies size requirements for most retailers. If larger characters or a larger print area is desired, manufacturers can opt for the Diagraph IJ768e printhead, which offers up to 4” of print height. A single Diagraph IJ4000 system can drive two IJ768e printheads, which means two systems would be required for a four-sided printing application. Many of our customers opt for the IJ768e 4” printhead to take advantage of the larger print area and future-proof for expanding retailer requirements.
The Diagraph IJ4000 system prints high resolution text, graphics and machine readable barcodes, including GTIN, ITF and GS1 varieties.
Additional Quality Assurance Measures
Both high resolution inkjet and print and apply labeling technologies can print machine readable barcodes with high quality resolution. Many of our customers install a fixed mount barcode imager to test the barcode quality. This information is sent to a PLC which reads the good or bad output from the barcode imager and stops the conveyor when a barcode gives a bad result. This extra quality measure ensures that only readable barcodes reach retailers.
Material Handling Solutions Provided by Diagraph
At Diagraph, we have customers large and small who have varying degrees of internal resources and packaging line expertise. We offer project management services for manufacturers who choose a Diagraph solution and need to outsource the material handling changes to their lines. Our dedicated engineers work closely with manufacturers to design a material handling solution that will meet their unique application need.
Still have questions about printing variable information on all four sides of a box? Contact us today to learn more about your options: Call 1-800-722-1125 or email info@diagraph.com.