More than 70 participants from Poland, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovenia, representing various market segments, attended the recent “Smart Labels: RFID Technology Workshop.” The event was organized by Mark Andy, in cooperation with Talkin’ Things, and held at the company’s European Technology Center in Warsaw.  It brought together label and packaging manufacturers, label converters, brand owners, and those responsible for logistics and supply chain management.  

Participants explored the latest trends in RFID technology and saw its practical implementation first-hand. The program included a visit to the Talkin’ Things manufacturing facility, where RFID tags are produced, accompanied by a live demonstration of a Mark Andy Evolution Series E5 flexo press applying RFID tags as part of a single label printing workflow.

Technology that shapes the market

The workshop focused on the practical development of RFID technology and its growing role in the label and packaging industry. The opening presentation by Lukasz Chruslinski, sales manager at Mark Andy, highlighted key market trends, including the increasing importance of product identification, automation of logistics processes, and regulatory developments such as the Digital Product Passport (DPP) initiative.

RFID technology is already being used across a wide range of applications – from inventory management and supply chain tracking to anti-counterfeiting and logistics automation. At the same time, new regulations related to product traceability are accelerating the adoption of smart labels as a core component of modern supply chain infrastructure. In this context, integrating RFID technology into label production processes, including those on Mark Andy presses, is becoming increasingly important.

Designing and manufacturing RFID tags

The workshop also included a presentation by Jacek Terski, sales and business development director at Talkin’ Things, focusing on the design and manufacture of RFID tags. Founded in 2014, the company serves customers in more than 40 countries and develops solutions used in retail, logistics, and industrial applications. Its portfolio includes more than 80 RFID antenna designs, as well as numerous solutions developed for specific applications.

During the presentation, Terski explained the basis of RFID technology and its growing importance in modern supply chains. He described the structure of an RFID tag – consisting of an antenna, an integrated circuit, and a substrate – and explained how tags communicate with consumers using radio waves to transmit and receive data. RFID technology is increasingly used as a data carrier integrated directly into product labels, enabling fast and contactless access to information throughout the supply chain.

To illustrate the process, participants were invited to visit the Talkin’ Things manufacturing facility in Warsaw, where they explored the full RFID tag production process – from design and prototyping to manufacturing and testing carried out in the company’s laboratory and quality control department. The facility produces hundreds of millions of RFID and NFC tags annually for customers across multiple industries. Integrating R&D and production in one location allows Talkin’ Things to rapidly develop new solutions and respond to evolving market needs.

Integrating RFID into ‘smart label’ production

Live machine demonstrations at the Mark Andy European Technology Center formed another key element of the workshop. During these sessions, flexo-printed labels were produced on an Evolution Series E5 press, with an RFID tag application integrated.

This showed how RFID technology can be integrated into label production without affecting print efficiency or quality. Many years of R&D by Mark Andy has allowed the company to offer solutions for applying RFID tags in a single production workflow. This means that converters and manufacturers can gradually introduce smart labels into their portfolios in response to growing market demand.

The press demonstrations concluded with a Q&A session, during which representatives of Mark Andy and Talkin’ Things answered questions covering topics such as RFID applications across different market sectors, future development potential of the technology, and its implementation in global retail networks such as Decathlon and Walmart.

A shared perspective

Tom Cavalco, vice president, International Sales, Mark Andy, commented, “We are extremely pleased that our international workshop created a platform for exchanging experiences between representatives of different countries and different market segments – from label and packaging manufacturers to brand owners and supply chain professionals. One of the key conclusions from the discussions was the growing role of RFID technology as a tool supporting product traceability, process automation, and new models of consumer interaction. The event also demonstrated that development of ‘smart labeling’ requires cooperation across the value chain – from RFID tag manufacturers and printing technology providers to companies implementing labels in real business applications. We would like to thank our partner Talkin’ Things for presenting this type of cooperation in practice, as well as all participants from across Europe for taking part in this important and highly engaging event.”