So says Steven Makepeace of Barcape, which is a gold partner agent in the Cape for Zebra Technologies Inc.

Zebra’s new Alchemy printer enables a single print station to produce RFID smart labels and conventional bar code labels on demand without having to stop operations to change label material.

Traditional smart label printers use speciality media that have RFID inlays layered into the label stock during the conversion process. Every label on the roll includes a RFID transponder, which is encoded as the label is being printed.

The process required to convert smart label inlays to printer stock adds significant costs to the total cost of each smart label - often more than the chip itself.

Makepeace says that with the new Zebra Alchemy, companies can use almost any label material to create smart labels.

The new Zebra Alchemy, encodes a separate RFID inlay and bonds it to the label material while the label is printed.

This two-step process makes converted smart label material unnecessary, so one has the same full choice of cost-effective label material you have always enjoyed.

Makepeace says the retailing arena is the first sector which will likely take to RFID in a big way and points to the US retail giant Wal-Mart, which is compelling its suppliers to comply with its RFID solution for better inventory management.

Wal-Mart has issued its suppliers with a deadline of 1 January 2005 to ensure they are compliant with its RFID system - if they don’t, their products may disappear from the shelves of it’s retail outlets.

"RFID will have a massive impact on many companies in the fast-moving consumer goods industries."

"It will change the way goods move through the supply chain and, because it will introduce compelling new efficiencies, it cannot be ignored," says Makepeace.