📐 Standards & Encoding

6 guides — Authoritative explainers for the air-interface standards and encoding schemes that govern interoperable RFID and NFC: EPC Gen2 v3, ISO/IEC 14443 + 18000-63, RAIN RFID Alliance, NFC NDEF, and the GS1 EPC Tag Data Standard.

EPC Gen2 UHF RFID protocol diagram showing memory banks air interface and anti-collision mechanics EPC Gen2 / RAIN RFID Protocol EPC Gen2 UHF RFID Protocol — Technical Guide

EPC Gen2 is the air-interface protocol behind every RAIN RFID deployment, standardized as ISO/IEC 18000-63 across the 860-960 MHz UHF band. Three versions exist: Gen2v1 (2004), Gen2v2 (2013, crypto-suite and untraceable mode) and Gen2v3 (January 2025), all backward compatible. This guide covers the four memory banks, Q-algorithm anti-collision that reads 1,000-1,500+ tags per second, sessions S0-S3 and Gen2v2 AES-128 authentication.

Read guide → Fan of five white MIFARE DESFire EV3 4K cards on a gray surface ISO/IEC 14443 Deep Dive ISO/IEC 14443 Explained — HF Proximity Protocol

ISO/IEC 14443 is the four-part international standard for 13.56 MHz proximity-coupling contactless smart cards and NFC tags. Part 1 defines physical characteristics, Part 2 the RF interface, Part 3 initialization and anti-collision, Part 4 the T=CL transmission protocol. Type A carries roughly 85-90% of deployments (MIFARE, NTAG); Type B serves government ID and French banking legacy. Proud Tek manufactures compliant cards spanning MIFARE Classic, MIFARE DESFire EV3, NTAG 21x and NTAG 424 DNA.

Read guide → ISO 18000-6C compliant UHF RFID tag performance class comparison showing read sensitivity and form factor selection ISO 18000-6C / 18000-63 Buyer's Guide ISO 18000-6C / ISO 18000-63 UHF RFID Buyer's Guide

ISO 18000-6C — now ISO/IEC 18000-63:2021 — is the UHF RFID air-interface standard behind EPC Gen2, covering the 860-960 MHz band. The two names refer to the same Gen2 protocol; ISO restructured part 6C into standalone 18000-63 in 2013. Since every modern UHF tag conforms, buying decisions turn on performance class: read-sensitivity bins from -18 dBm to -27 dBm, memory tier, form factor, and substrate.

Read guide → RAIN RFID ecosystem diagram showing tags readers middleware and cloud platforms across multiple vendors RAIN RFID Guide RAIN RFID Explained — The Brand Behind UHF RFID

RAIN RFID is the industry brand for UHF RFID built on the GS1 EPC Gen2 standard (ISO/IEC 18000-63) across the 860-960 MHz band. The RAIN Alliance's 180+ members certify cross-vendor interoperability, the way Wi-Fi brands IEEE 802.11. Member surveys logged a record 52.8 billion tag chips shipped in 2024 and 42.7 billion in 2025, an inventory-cycle dip. This guide covers certification, Gen2v3 (January 2025), vertical use cases and RAIN-enabled smartphones.

Read guide → NFC NDEF data format diagram showing message records URI prefix compression and tag memory layout NDEF Implementation Guide NFC NDEF Format Explained — Records and Encoding

NDEF (NFC Data Exchange Format) is the NFC Forum standard for on-tag data, formally adopted as IEC 63652-2:2026. Every modern smartphone — iPhone 7 and later on iOS 13+, Android 4.0+ — reads NDEF records with a single tap, no app installed. This guide covers record structure, URI prefix compression, memory planning from 144-byte tags upward, encoding workflows, locking and iPhone-versus-Android behaviour.

Read guide → RFID asset label with GS1 EPC encoded data — SGTIN/SSCC reference GS1 EPC Encoding Handbook GS1 EPC Encoding Guide — SGTIN-96 and SSCC-96

GS1 EPC encoding maps GS1 keys (GTIN, SSCC, GRAI, GIAI, SGLN) into the 96-bit EPC memory bank per Tag Data Standard 2.3 (October 2025). SGTIN-96 splits its 96 bits into an 8-bit header, 3-bit filter, 3-bit partition, Company Prefix, Item Reference and a 38-bit serial; the partition (0-6) matches Company Prefix length. Proud Tek pre-encoding ships 25-100 tag samples in 5-7 business days, then read-verified production runs with a per-tag TID-to-EPC mapping file.

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