The use of RFID tags is growing by leaps and bounds in the business world, and an upgraded printing device from Lexmark may just hurry the process.

What is RFID? The letters stand for Radio Frequency Identification; it’s a way of tagging an item with a miniature radio transmitter that emits a unique signal that can be read by a specialized reader. This signal contains a digital description of the item tagged.

In some ways, it’s like traditional bar codes. But scanning bar codes requires passing a reader close to the item, such as at a supermarket checkout. RFID tags can be read from several yards away, even if the item is not in the line of sight, and can be done automatically, with minimal human effort.

RFID tags have a wide variety of current uses. They are used for automatically collecting tolls on turnpikes, inventory management, animal identification, asset tracking, passports, shoplifting protection and, increasingly, for locating office documents.

Normally, programming an RFID tag requires a specialized imprinter that writes onto a range of specialty RFID-ready stock.

What Lexmark has done is developed a way to program RFID tags using an affordable add-on to a standard office laser printer, one that can still perform regular office printing when not needed for RFID use. The $2,499 device, which attaches to Lexmark’s T654 workgroup monochrome laser printer, can be integrated into RFID solutions by third-party companies. You can send a wide variety of RFID-embedded media, and you can use standard software tools for merging data forms from a database or spreadsheet to create unique tags. The use of an off-the-shelf office printer offers flexibility and affordability for small-to-midsize businesses that see a growing need for the technology.

Lexmark documents one typical midsize business, Metal Finishing Co. of Wichita, Kansas, which makes specialty parts for aircraft manufacturers. The company processes hundreds of orders and many thousands of parts daily. The problem was keeping track of the many parts and their stage of completion as they went through many steps including cleaning, plating, brushing and testing.

The company set up a system using the Lexmark RFID add-on to tag all jobs as they came in. Then, at each station in the process, an RFID reader captures that information and sends it to a centralized program. Metal Finishing implemented a Web interface to the data, so that not only can management check the status of any job at any time, but clients can also see where their jobs are in the cycle. The system has helped the company make tremendous improvements to efficiency and accuracy, along with customer service and satisfaction.

Companies are just starting to apply this technology to document workflow as well, allowing for the same kind of hands-free tracking of paperwork processes and locations that save lots of time in trying to track down each file folder. Lexmark, and the RFID integrators who help implement these comprehensive solutions, are making that an affordable concept for a growing number of companies.

Tags: Lexmark, RFID, T654