Part 5

Auxiliary Equipment

Key Points: An RFID printer is a device capable of both printing and encoding information on embedded RFID tags. RFID printers are mainly divided into three types: industrial, desktop, and mobile. Printing methods include direct thermal printing and thermal transfer printing. Direct thermal printing is the standard in many industries that require continuous printing of text or images, while thermal transfer is commonly used for RFID tag printing to achieve more durable images. Understanding the specific features of a printer is the best guide for selecting the ideal RFID printer.

Key Points: RFID printers are mainly divided into three types—industrial, desktop, and mobile—with varying daily label printing capacities. Industrial printers can print approximately 10,000 labels per day, desktop printers around 500 labels per day, and mobile printers roughly 200 labels per day. The smaller size of desktop and mobile printers often limits their available throughput. RFID printers can print on paper—including coated and uncoated paper—as well as on plastic or synthetic label surfaces. As for metal-mount labels, they can only be printed on printers specifically optimized for metal-mount labels.

Key Points: GPIO devices perform actions based on triggers sent by the RFID reader, providing additional functions such as audio or visual signals. A GPIO box offers convenient access and power to the reader’s GPIO ports and connects to General Purpose Output (GPO) devices. RFID systems that use GPO devices may require a GPIO box. GPI devices (General Purpose Input devices) may not need a GPIO box because these devices act before the reader intervenes and therefore must be powered independently of the reader or GPIO box. Through GPIO ports, a variety of devices can be added to an RFID system, including stack lights, motion detectors, buzzers, and indicators.