Zebra ID Printers Feature New UHF RFID

Zebra Technologies Corporation is now offering ultra-high frequency encoding for RFID access devices. This allows mid to high volume end users to perform on-site UHF card creation for the first time. In the past, this type of job had to be done by professional ID printing companies as part of a custom order. Now, the technology is available on both the P330i (R3i) and P430i (R4i) color printers as an option. The cost for both of these models is still in the mid-range, even with the advanced UHF module and Ethernet connection included.

This new card programming process is advertised as fast, easy, and reliable. Both single and double-sided cards can be printed and encoded at a rate of over 100 units per hour. The UHF module is designed to function in concert with the Zebra Gen2 RFID card. However, it is also compatible with card stock available from other ID printer companies. This is not surprising since a third party is the actual manufacturer of these RFID cards. However, Zebra does have a patent pending for some features of the inlay antenna. These design aspects focus on performance and security maximization.

There are quite a few low frequency and high frequency RFID options already on the market. What makes ultra-high frequency different? The tags used have an average readable range of 10-12 feet. This is significantly further than either LF or UF generally reach. Such a capability opens up a broad range of applications which standard proximity cards are not equipped to handle. Zebra selected the ThingMagic Mercury4e read/write module because of its dual antenna design and compatibility with a wide variety of tag protocols.

Technology Applications

Zebra issued a press release in September, 2008 regarding one existing customer who recently upgraded to this new technology. The Vail Resorts company is now using the P330i (R3i) UHF printer for its Colorado, California, and Nevada locations. These ski resorts will now be able to provide easily authenticated lift passes for all their customers. Such devices can be read through the heavily insulated clothing worn for popular winter sports. Clients won't be required to fumble around trying to swipe a lift pass with cold-numbed hands anymore. Instead, Vail's "easy scan" hand-held scanner system will do all the work. The encoded passes are highly tamper resistant and each one has a unique serial ID#. Cloning, forging and other security risks are very low.

The benefits of UHF enabled devices for advanced access control applications are readily apparent. High volume traffic can be authenticated at a rate of over 60 RFID tags per second. Such ID cards can be read passively without being directly presented to a card reader. A person carrying a low level access card might attempt to enter a restricted area by slipping in behind an authorized individual while the door is still open. However, any card that does not contain the appropriate permissions will trigger the interrogator as it passes by. The card reader can then send an automatic notification to the central monitoring station. Of course, the use of video surveillance or security staff is still the only way to catch someone this way if they are not carrying any card at all.