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Jan 08 2025 By

Quick History of RFID Labels and Barcode Systems and The Growth of RFID

These days, there are a lot of discussions around the “novelty” of “magic” RFID technologies. Not to burst any bubbles, but RFID is nothing new. For 23 years, I have sold RFID labels to companies looking for solutions on quickly checking inventory, rather than the inventory standard of barcoding systems. So, if RFID has been around, why are we just now buzzing about RFID?   

History on RFID Labels

With roots tracing back to WWII (the Germans used a crude method of RFID to help them see which airplanes were theirs) and origins all the way back to 1935 (physicist Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt), Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) has been rapidly adapted as a valuable tracking tool for many industries. Like most technology, the early stages of RFID (1940’s and 1950’s) were mainly utilized for military and aerospace efforts. In the 1960’s, companies started utilizing RFID for merchandise tracking solutions or theft prevention. The 1970’s was the first big explosion of RFID technology. With companies like RCA expanding research efforts and multiple other avenues like rewriteable (Mario W, Cardulla) and passive (Charles Walton) RFID tags, the sky seemed to be the limit. However, RFID didn’t initially takeoff in the mainstream market…

What About Barcodes?

Figure 1: Wrigley’s Chewing Gum at Marsh

Barcodes were initially invented in 1949 (by Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver) as a “Classifying Apparatus Method,” for faster checkout times and fewer pricing errors from manual input. Barcoding was first commercially utilized in the 1960’s with recognized industry standards coming into play in the 1970’s. The Uniform Product Code (UPC for short) was introduced in 1973 and in 1974 was officially adopted and installed in the supermarket Marsh for Wrigley’s Gum (in Troy, Ohio). This is the universally familiar series of bars and spaces we know today.

However, there are limitations to barcode systems. To name a few: barcodes require the barcode reader (or scanner) to physically “see” the code it is scanning, there is still human error in scanning the wrong barcode, and the extraordinarily time consuming and repetitive process of scanning individual barcodes one-by-one-by-one.

Why did Barcodes Takeoff and RFID Stay Stagnant?

If barcodes and RFID were both born and bred around the same time, why did barcodes leave RFID in the dust? I can’t go back in time and give an exact play-by-play, but I can tell you the most

Figure 2: Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt with the first RFID reader.

likely reasons based on my 35+ years of label and packaging experience. One of the largest drawbacks for RFID were the hardware and software limitations prior to the 2000’s. Since RFID utilizes radio frequencies, there were more issues with High Frequency readings, and with reading frequencies through liquids or metals. As with most new technology, the hardware required to create the RFID labels (chips and antenna) were not in a price range that many companies were willing to invest in. Additionally, the software systems required to maintain the RFID’s data were expensive, massive, and rudimentary.

So, why is RFID just now seeming to takeoff?

A mix of technological, economic, and social changes over the last 5-10 years have made RFID a much more attractive and beneficial option. Massive software advances have made it easier to utilize and maintain RFID readers and systems. Computers went from the size of warehouses to the size of the ones we keep in our pocket every day (cell phones). From an economic standpoint, the raw materials needed to create the RFID chips and antennas are now less expensive and more accessible; more companies are willing and eager to invest. We also had the COVID era that ushered in a “touchless technology” ideology. While this is less pertinent, the touchless tech age is expanding advances in RFID and similar technologies (NFC, BLE, UWB, QR Codes, Etc.), increasing desire and accessibility even further. Another way to look at it are all the analogies between land-line phones (barcodes) and cellular/mobile phones (RFID).

Fast-forward to today, barcodes can be supplemented and/or complemented with an RFID label.

Let us know how our team at Packaging Validators can help your company with RFID label compliance, sourcing factory-direct domestic RFID labels, procuring RFID label application equipment, or procuring RFID label reading equipment and software.

Give us a call at 317-740-0123 or schedule a quick 15-minute meeting with us using the Calendly Link: https://calendly.com/chris-validatorsllc/15min

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