[China Packaging Network] Recently, more than a dozen companies in the United States and Europe began trials of a special paper product that integrates Near Field Communication (NFC) RFID tags. The product named PowerCoat Alive was provided by Arjowiggins. PowerCoat Alive provides users with an integrated NFC-tagged paper that users can use for
Paper Products such as packaging, labels, business cards, and other automated tracking functions.
Arjowiggins is one of the world's largest paper manufacturers and employs 5,000 people. The company has 3 departments, of which the Creative Papers department is responsible for the development of special-purpose papers such as labels, book covers and brochures.
About two years ago, the company launched the PowerCoat series of paper products for printed electronics applications. The company hopes that by printing electronic circuits on paper, paper can also be marked or stored. The company does not have its own embedded electronic circuit. In contrast, Arjowiggins provided the paper to printed electronics companies and allowed them to print electronic circuits on paper. The company found that NFC RFID inlays are one of the most common requirements for electronic circuit applications. Therefore, the company subsequently increased the development of RFID products.
Michael Carlisle, business development manager for Arjowiggins North America, said that PowerCoat is the result of five years of research and development at the company. He said that, traditionally, printed electronics is coated with conductive silver ink on a substrate of PET (polyester) or other type of plastic and heated; it is then sintered to enhance the printed antenna's electrical conductivity. Since plastic substrates can only withstand heating at 160 degrees Celsius, higher temperatures will lead to higher product conductivity. As a result, Arjowiggins Creative Papers has developed a paper substrate that can withstand temperatures of 220 degrees Celsius, so that each label can use 25% less silver ink, while also increasing the biodegradability of the product.
Some potential users such as brand owners, retailers and product manufacturers are beginning to explore the usage of this product. Carlisle claims that most users use it for commodity security or loyalty cards. For counterfeiting products, some companies use PowerCoat paper to make labels. The paper's built-in NFC tag has a unique ID number that can be used for authentication security. In this way, consumers can read the tag using an NFC phone to confirm the authenticity of the product. The merchandise loyalty card is another application of the product. Consumers can not only use NFC mobile phones to read the labels to confirm the authenticity of products, but also can use this to learn more about the products or to obtain price discounts.
Businesses can purchase this RFID-enabled paper from Arjowiggins. Next, print the text or font on top and cut it as needed.
Arjowiggins uses several vendors' NFC RFID chips and European electronics printing companies IC integration and antenna printing services. Carlisle said that the company is negotiating with several potential US partners to better promote this product.
The PowerCoat Alive measures 46 cm*36 cm (18.1 inches*14.17 inches) and integrates 2 or 25 NFC tags on an order basis. A box of PowerCoat Alive paper (4 sheets with 25 NFC tags, 30 sheets with 2 NFC tags) costs 90 euros.
Carlisle said that the product is currently being tested by several potential customers and is expected to be officially listed next month.
