Zebra Technologies Corp. and Gemplus S.A. have jointly announced an agreement to develop products supporting Gemplus GemWave(tm) radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to expand the market for “smart labels” and other RFID applications. Zebra becomes a Gemplus technology partner and will develop printer/encoders for use with GemWave smart labels, readers and antennae. These products will be targeted for use primarily in manufacturing and logistics. “We look forward to developing a line of printer/encoders incorporating Gemplus’ excellent RFID technology,” says Clive Hohberger, vice president, Technology Department, for Zebra.
“We believe that RFID will be a strong complement to barcoding in future item tracking applications, and that a partnership with Gemplus will give us both a leadership position in this emerging market.” Smart labels incorporate small, flexible RFID transponders into traditional thermal barcode labels. Applications range from retail store product security to industrial use. Gemplus is a worldwide provider of plastic- and smart card-based solutions. Zebra Technologies is a global provider of on-demand barcode label printers, secure ID printing systems and plastic card printers used in automatic identification and plastic card personalization applications.
