Stage 1
Dry inlay
Chip, antenna and PET carrier only. No adhesive, no liner, no face stock.
You add adhesive and face stock yourself
Direct answer
What are RFID wet inlays?
RFID wet inlays are UHF transponder inlays supplied with a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer and a release liner. The word "wet" refers only to the adhesive: peel the liner off and the inlay bonds to a surface as it is, with no lamination step.
A dry inlay is the same chip-and-antenna construction on a PET carrier, without adhesive and without a liner. It is sold to converters who laminate their own face stock and adhesive before the inlay can be applied.
| Specification at a glance | Full parameter table below |
| Construction | Inlay + pressure-sensitive adhesive + release liner |
| Protocol | EPCglobal Class 1 Gen 2 · ISO/IEC 18000-6C (now numbered 18000-63) |
| Frequency | 860–960 MHz — band fixed per market |
| Liner | Glassine release liner, white |
| Adhesive | Permanent · removable · freezer grade |
| Supply form | Roll, multi-up (core size agreed at order) |
| Next step | Apply directly, or convert into printed labels |
| Samples | Free on request |
Where this sits
Three stages between a chip and a label
The same transponder is sold at three levels of finishing. Buyers lose money by ordering one level and then paying someone else to reach the next.
This page
Stage 2
Wet inlay
Stage 1 plus pressure-sensitive adhesive and a release liner. Ready to apply the moment it is peeled.
Either apply direct, or move to stage 3
Stage 3
Finished label
Stage 2 plus a printable face stock — coated paper, PET or PP. Carries a barcode, text and the inlay on one face.
Print and apply with a standard label printer
The usual question
Wet inlay or dry inlay?
Five things actually change the answer — and cost is only one of them.
| Decision factor | Wet inlay | Dry inlay |
| Structure | Inlay + pressure-sensitive adhesive + release liner | Inlay only, on a PET carrier |
| Integration | Peel and apply by hand or by applicator. No laminating line needed. | Requires a converting or laminating process before use |
| Labour | Low — one step at the point of application | High — an extra production stage to plan and staff |
| Cost structure | Higher unit price (adhesive and liner included), lower labour cost | Lower unit price, higher labour and tooling cost |
| Best fit | Fast rollouts, large tagging volumes, finished labels, contractors who apply on site | Own converting line, embedding inside a material, very high volumes |
| Environment | Stable on damp or fluctuating surfaces once the adhesive grade is matched | Depends entirely on the face stock and adhesive added later |
!
Converting to labels changes the tuning — re-test after lamination
The adhesive and liner are peeled away, so they are not in the RF path and do not cost you range. The face stock added during conversion is a different matter: it changes the dielectric environment around the antenna, and thick PET or a foam spacer can shift the resonant frequency enough to lose read distance. Paper face stock moves it least. Always re-measure with your own reader after conversion instead of carrying the bare inlay figure straight onto the datasheet.
Where they are used
Three ways wet inlays get deployed
Applied direct
Cartons and packaging
Peeled and pressed onto a carton face at packing. No printer, no applicator, no converting step — which is what makes a wet inlay useful for a rollout that has to start this week.
Converted
Conveyor and gate reads
Converted into a printed label with a barcode on the same face, then read by a fixed antenna as cartons pass. Several cartons can be read in one pass, with no line of sight required.
Item level
Apparel and retail
Small inlays on folded or hanging garments, where the tag has to sit flat against fabric and stay readable through a full stock count.
Working with us
Three things we do before the container ships
01
Samples against your reader
Free samples cut to the inlay you are specifying, so you can measure them on your own reader and surface before committing to a volume.
02
Encoding and verification
EPC written to your data list, locked where required, and verified before packing. Send the scheme — SGTIN-96 or your own — with the order.
03
Inlay or finished label
We can ship the wet inlay alone or convert it into a printed label in the same order, so you are not moving material between two suppliers.
Technical parameters
Full specification
Construction and protocol are fixed for the wet inlay format. Inlay size, chip and read performance are set by the specific inlay you order, and are confirmed on the datasheet before production.
| CONSTRUCTION | |
| Build-up | Inlay (PET carrier + etched aluminium antenna + chip) + pressure-sensitive adhesive + release liner |
| Liner | Glassine release liner, white Grammage confirmed per order |
| Adhesive | Permanent acrylic as standard; removable and freezer grade on request |
| Supply form | Roll, multi-up Core diameter and repeat agreed at order |
| RADIO AND PROTOCOL | |
| Protocol | EPCglobal Class 1 Gen 2 / ISO IEC 18000-6C (ISO IEC 18000-63) |
| Frequency | 860–960 MHz — operating band fixed for the destination market |
| Type | Passive, read / write |
| Read range | Set by the inlay design Measured with your reader and surface, not assumed |
| CHIP AND SERVICES | |
| Chip | Per order — confirmed on the datasheet Send the memory and sensitivity you need and we match the silicon |
| Encoding | EPC write, lock and verify available |
| Conversion | Can be supplied as finished labels with paper, PET or PP face stock |
| Samples | Free samples on request |
Questions buyers ask
Frequently asked questions
What does "wet" actually mean?
Only that pressure-sensitive adhesive and a release liner are already applied. The chip and antenna are identical to the dry version of the same inlay — nothing about the RF design changes.
Can I print on a wet inlay?
Not directly. A wet inlay has no printable face stock, so there is nothing for a printer to lay ink onto. Convert it into a label first, or order the finished label from us.
Which protocol and frequency?
EPCglobal Class 1 Gen 2 / ISO IEC 18000-6C (now numbered ISO IEC 18000-63), in the UHF band 860–960 MHz. The operating slice is fixed for the market where the tags will be read.
Does the adhesive reduce read range?
No. The adhesive and liner are peeled away, so neither sits in the RF path. What can cost you range is the face stock added during conversion — re-measure after lamination rather than reusing the bare inlay figure.
Will it stick to metal or to liquid containers?
A standard wet inlay will not — metal and liquid detune the antenna. Those surfaces need an on-metal or thick-substrate inlay. State the surface at the quotation stage rather than after delivery.
Can it survive cold storage?
Yes, with a freezer-grade adhesive. Tell us the service temperature and the dwell time on the surface, and we match the adhesive grade rather than shipping the standard acrylic.
Do you supply in roll form?
Yes. Rolls with the core size and multi-up layout agreed at order. Sheet supply is possible on request for pilot runs.
Can you encode the EPC before shipping?
Yes. Send the data list and the EPC scheme (SGTIN-96 or your own), and we encode, lock where required, and verify before packing.