Custom RFID Tags (Non-Standard)

What counts as a custom RFID tag

A custom (non-standard) RFID tag is built around the object, surface and environment rather than taken from a standard label or card. The chip is a standard part from a maker such as NXP, Impinj, Alien or EM Microelectronic; the antenna, housing, fixing and encoding are made to order. Proud Tek designs and produces these tags in its Shenzhen factory, to your drawing or from a description of the use case.

On-metal and anti-metal tag mean the same thing: a tag built to read while mounted on metal. Hard tag on this page means a rigid, encapsulated tag, not a retail security tag.

Constructions we design and produce

Proud Tek produces six custom constructions: on-metal, encapsulated, cable-tie and hanging, embeddable, PCB-based and tamper-evident.

Several already exist as standard products: the PPS and silicone laundry tags, the on-metal MIFARE sticker, the LED UHF tag in on-metal and PCB versions, ABS, FR4 and epoxy-coated DESFire tags, and the tamper-evident windshield tag. Start from one of those if it is close; if a printed label or a bare inlay is enough, see UHF RFID labels and UHF RFID inlays.

Why metal and liquids change the design

The material behind a tag changes how its antenna behaves. A standard UHF label stuck directly on steel is detuned and may not read at all, and liquid behind a UHF tag reduces its range. Impinj describes metal as reflecting RF signals and liquids as absorbing RF energy (Impinj on hard-to-tag items).

On-metal UHF tags use a spacer layer or an antenna designed for a metal surface; HF on-metal tags add a ferrite layer behind the antenna. Both are thicker than a plain label. A drum, keg or gas cylinder usually needs a flexible on-metal tag, a housing shaped to the curve, or a rigid tag on a flat mounting point; send the diameter and the mounting position. A read distance only means something when it is measured on the actual object with the actual reader.

LF, HF or UHF: choose by the reading task

Choose the frequency from how the tag will be read, not from the housing: passive UHF RFID (also marketed as RAIN RFID) reads many tags at a distance, HF suits close, deliberate reads including NFC phones, and LF suits existing 125 kHz systems.

UHF tags are tuned for a regional band: 865–868 MHz in Europe under ETSI EN 302 208 and 902–928 MHz in the United States under FCC 47 CFR 15.247, so tell us every country of use. The air interface is GS1's EPC Gen2 standard: a Gen2 reader in the matching band can inventory the tag whatever Gen2 chip it carries.

Chip options

The chip sets memory, sensitivity and security; the construction sets where the tag reads. Figures are the chip makers' published data, not ratings of a finished Proud Tek tag; the chip and its availability are confirmed in the quotation.

Choose user memory when data must travel with the object, such as a tool's service date; otherwise an EPC-only chip, with the record held in your software, is simpler.

Identifiers and encoding

A custom tag can be supplied encoded to your numbering scheme. GS1's EPC Tag Data Standard gives EPC encodings for two asset keys: the GRAI (Global Returnable Asset Identifier) for items shipped and returned for reuse, such as crates, pallets and beer kegs (GS1 GRAI summary), and the GIAI (Global Individual Asset Identifier) for a single asset you keep, such as a computer, a vehicle or a piece of transport equipment (GS1 GIAI summary).

Encoding, locking, passwords and an export file matching each tag's TID or UID to its encoded number are agreed in the quotation through the RFID encoding service. Printed or laser-marked numbers, barcodes and logos can be added where the housing allows.

From requirement to order

Every custom tag goes through five steps; the production order follows only after the sample has passed your test.

1. Requirement. You describe the object, surface, environment, reader and data. A drawing or a photo of the mounting position helps.
2. Feasibility. We propose a construction, chip and size, and say plainly what cannot be met, such as a read distance the size cannot give or a rating the material cannot reach.
3. Drawing and sample. We confirm a drawing with dimensions, materials and fixing, then make samples. If no existing housing fits, a new mould (tooling) is needed; the quotation states whether tooling applies and its terms. A setup fee applies to customised samples.
4. Test in your environment. You test the samples on the real object, with your readers, in the conditions the tag will meet: washing, outdoor exposure, heat, chemicals or impact. Agree the pass and fail criteria first.
5. Order. The approved sample, drawing and encoding record become the order specification. Production lead time is confirmed at order, after sample approval.

Ratings are confirmed per design

This page gives no IP, temperature, chemical or wash rating: a rating belongs to a specific construction and test, not to a family of tags. Tell us the conditions; the rating is confirmed for the proposed design, then verified in a sample test agreed with you.

• Water and dust: IP codes are defined in IEC 60529. Ask which test a rating is based on, not only for the code.
• Temperature: the working range and any peaks, such as paint curing, autoclaving or a hot wash, with duration and cycles. A chip's datasheet range is not the finished tag's rating.
• Chemicals and washing: name the chemicals, concentrations, temperatures and cycle count. The PPS laundry tag page lists what a wash specification should contain.
• Mechanical: impact, abrasion, vibration and pressure. Say how the tag is fixed; the fixing is part of the test.

Common requests and how they are built

For asset tagging, the choice is mostly between an on-metal, an encapsulated and an embedded UHF tag; the surface, fixing and handling decide which. The GS1 key column uses the identifiers above: GRAI for assets shipped and returned, GIAI for assets you keep.

System context: RFID tool tracking, RFID inventory tracking and supply chain identification.

What is an RFID seal tag?

An RFID seal tag is a one-time seal, or the tag inside one, whose number can be read by radio as well as by eye. A tamper-evident tag or label shows an opening to the reader: it stops reading, or its chip records an opening. In a bolt or cable seal, the seal body shows tampering and the tag carries the number. Proud Tek makes the RFID part: tamper-evident tags and labels, and tag inserts for seal bodies, each confirmed per drawing and sample.

RFID seals for shipping containers

An RFID container seal is a one-time bolt or cable seal with a passive RFID tag inside, so your UHF handheld or gate reader can log the seal number with the shipment. Proud Tek makes the tag insert; the seal body and its ISO 17712 certificate come from the seal maker. ISO 17712 classes mechanical freight-container seals as indicative, security or high-security (I, S or H), and a class mark requires accredited laboratory testing. For CTPAT importers, CBP's minimum security criteria require a high-security seal meeting the current ISO 17712 standard on shipments that can be sealed; qualifying cable and bolt seals both count. Battery-powered electronic seals (ISO 18185) are a separate device we do not supply.

For a seal tag, add to your enquiry: the seal body (drawing or sample), what opening must do, and whether the encoded EPC must match the printed seal number or the chip's UID or TID is printed or exported as the number; intact and opened samples are then tested.

RFID tags for hydraulic hoses and cables

An RFID hose tag is a rugged tag fixed to a hydraulic hose assembly with a cable tie, strap or clamp, or on the hose fitting. Its ID links the assembly to your maintenance record (part number, installation date, inspections) and is read with your handheld reader or, for HF tags, an NFC phone. Proud Tek makes the tag, not the hose, fittings, UHF readers or software; the same constructions suit cables and pipes.

What to send for a quotation

• Existing tag: if you are replacing a tag you use now, send a sample or its datasheet.
• Object and surface: steel, aluminium, plastic, wood or glass; flat or curved; a photo of the mounting position.
• Space: maximum length, width and thickness, or a drawing.
• Fixing: adhesive, screws, rivets, cable tie, embedding or moulding-in.
• Environment: indoor or outdoor, temperature range and peaks, water, chemicals, washing, impact.
• Reading: reader make and model, countries of use, required read distance and direction, and how many tags are read together.
• Chip and data: chip if your system specifies one, memory needs, numbering scheme, locking and any export file.
• Marking and tamper behaviour: print, laser marking, barcode or QR code; what removal must do.
• Commercial: sample quantity, order quantity, annual volume, destination and target date.

If something is unknown, say so; the feasibility step settles it. Send the details through the inquiry form; we reply with a quotation within one business day of a workable enquiry.

What we confirm per order

The 2–3 week standard lead time does not apply to a new custom design.

What Proud Tek does not supply

We make the tags. We do not supply UHF fixed or handheld readers, reader antennas, label printers or encoders, race-timing systems, software or WMS integration, or BLE beacons. Our RFID readers are desktop NFC readers and a handheld 134 kHz reader for FDX-B animal tags. Your integrator or reader vendor supplies the rest; we send samples for their tests.