Specification at a glance |
| Protocol |
EPCglobal Class 1 Gen 2 · ISO/IEC 18000-6C (now numbered 18000-63)
|
Frequency |
860–960 MHz — band fixed per market |
| Type |
Passive, read / write |
Formats |
Dry inlay · wet inlay · paper label · PET / PP label |
| Chips |
Alien H3 / H4 /H10Monza 6/R6P
Impinj M700/M800 seriesNXP U8/U9
|
Read range |
Up to 6 m (stated maximum) |
| Printing |
Silk screen · offset · digital · laser |
Customisation |
Size, adhesive, printing, EPC encoding, samples free |
Start here
Which format do you actually need?
The chip and antenna are the same across all four. What changes is whether you receive a bare inlay to convert yourself, or a finished label you can print and apply.
01
Dry inlay
Chip and antenna only, on a PET carrier, no adhesive and no face stock.
For label converters with their own lamination line
02
Wet inlay
Inlay plus pressure-sensitive adhesive and a release liner, unprinted.
For converters and factories applying in-line
03
Paper label
Coated paper face stock over the inlay, with adhesive and liner — printable with barcode and text.
Warehouse, logistics and asset labelling
04
PET / PP label
Water-resistant synthetic face stock over the inlay, with adhesive and liner.
Damp, oily or long-life environments
Construction
What sits inside a UHF RFID label
Five layers, in this order. The antenna you can see through the face stock is etched metal on a PET carrier, and the chip is bonded to it before the adhesive and liner go on.
How UHF works
Passive, and powered by the reader
There is no battery in the tag. Everything it does is powered by the energy arriving from the reader antenna.
1
The reader radiates
The reader and antenna direct radio waves at the tags in range. The tag antenna captures part of that energy and turns it into a current.
2
The chip wakes and answers
The current energises the integrated circuit. It powers up, modulates the incoming energy with data from its memory banks, and re-radiates it.
3
Backscatter returns
That modulated reflection is the backscatter signal. The reader decodes it, and the anti-collision protocol lets it separate dozens of tags answering at once.
Chip memory
Four memory banks, four jobs
Every Gen 2 chip organises data the same way, but the number of bits in each bank is chip-specific — which is why we quote memory per chip rather than as one figure.
Reserved
Holds the kill and access passwords. The most protected bank on the chip.
EPC
Carries the business identifier — for example an SGTIN-96. This is what a reader returns by default.
TID
Factory-written chip and vendor identifier. Read-only, and the basis of uniqueness and anti-counterfeit checks.
User
Free space for your own data. Capacity ranges from 512 bits on some chips down to none at all on others.
Bit counts differ per chip. The figures we quote are for the chip on your order and are confirmed on the datasheet before production — ask us for the memory map of the specific chip you are specifying.
Performance
What "up to 6 m" actually depends on
Six metres is the maximum for a suitable chip and reader configuration. It is not a number you get on every surface, at every angle, with every reader.
6 m
Stated maximum read distance
0 m3 m6 m
- Typical working range on a carton face is lower than the maximum
- Read and write ranges are not the same — writing is shorter
- Test with your own reader before fixing a layout
Chip sensitivityRead and write sensitivity differ by several dB between chips.
Reader power and antennaOutput power and antenna gain set the ceiling.
OrientationPolarisation mismatch between tag and antenna costs range.
The surfaceMetal and liquid detune the antenna — these need a dedicated version.
Tag densityDensely stacked tags interfere; read rate falls before range does.
Regional rulesEU and US allow different power and bandwidth, so range is not global.
Where it is used
Three deployments, three different label choices
Warehouse
Inventory and asset labelling
Paper labels printed with barcode and human-readable number on the same face as the inlay, so one scan serves both a barcode system and a UHF count.
Apparel & retail
Item-level tagging
Small-footprint labels for folded and hanging garments, where the label has to sit flat and stay readable through a full stock count.
Logistics
Conveyor and gate reads
Cartons labelled on one face, read by a fixed antenna as they pass — no line-of-sight needed, and several cartons can be read in the same pass.
Made to order
Four things we change per order
Send the surface, the reader model and the data format, and the quotation comes back against that specification rather than a generic SKU.
Size and die-cut
Standard rectangles or a custom outline. Antenna size is matched to the label footprint — you cannot shrink a label without changing its read performance.
Custom lengthCustom widthDie-cut shape
Printing
Silk screen, offset, digital or laser, including variable data such as a barcode, serial number or customer logo on the same face as the inlay.
Silk screenOffsetDigitalLaser
Encoding
EPC written to your data list, locked where required, and verified before packing. Send the encoding scheme — for example SGTIN-96 — with the order.
EPC writeLockVerifyTID check
Adhesive
The glue is chosen for the surface, not the label. Cardboard, plastic, glass, frozen goods and metal each need a different grade — metal needs an on-metal antenna as well.
PermanentRemovableFreezer gradeOn-metal
Technical parameters
Full specification
Material: |
PVC/PET/paper |
Size: |
Customized |
Type: |
Passive, read / write |
Protocol: |
ISO18000-6c&EPC global Class C1G2 |
Frequency: |
860~960MHz |
Chip |
Impinj M700 M800 series /NXP U8 U9 /Alien H3 H4 H10 chip |
Antenna |
customized antena |
Read Distance: |
1-10M |
Printing: |
Silk printing, offset printing, digital printing, laser printing |
IC store area |
1. EPC: 128bits |
2. TID: 16/21 bits |
3. User area: 512 bits |
IC life: |
100,000 Programming cycles
10years data retention |
Sample Availability: |
Free samples are available upon request |
Applications: |
1.Logistics
2. Warehouse Inventory
3. Pallet Management
4. Cloth/Garment Tracking
5. Asset Management
6. Vehicle Management
7. Jewelry label Management
8. Alcohol Management
9. Hospital asset management
And etc.
|
Questions buyers ask
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an inlay and a label?
An inlay is the chip and antenna only, on a PET carrier. A wet inlay adds pressure-sensitive adhesive and a release liner. A label adds a printable face stock on top of that — coated paper, PET or PP.
Which frequency should I order?
860–960 MHz is the global UHF range, but each market regulates a slice of it — the EU around 865–868 MHz, the US 902–928 MHz, China 920–925 MHz. Order for the market where the tags will actually be read, and confirm the reader's band matches.
What read distance can I expect?
Up to 6 m as a stated maximum for a suitable chip and reader configuration. Real distance depends on chip sensitivity, reader power and antenna, tag orientation, the surface the label is applied to, and how densely tags are stacked.
Which chips are available?
Monza 4 / 5 / 6, Alien H3 / H4 and the Impinj M700 series, subject to availability. Memory sizes differ per chip and are confirmed on the datasheet — we do not quote one memory figure for all of them.
Can the tag be printed with a barcode and a serial number?
Yes — silk screen, offset, digital and laser printing, with variable data such as a barcode, serial number or logo printed on the same face as the inlay.
Do you encode the EPC before shipping?
Yes. Send the data list and the EPC scheme (for example SGTIN-96) and we encode, lock where required, and verify before packing.
Will it work on metal or on liquid containers?
A standard label will not — metal and liquid detune the antenna. Those surfaces need a dedicated on-metal or thick-substrate version. Tell us the surface at the quotation stage rather than after delivery.
Are samples available?
Free samples on request. Send the format, chip, size and target reader model so the sample matches your system rather than a generic stock item
