A UHF RFID carton label is a passive EPC Gen2 (RAIN RFID, ISO/IEC 18000-63) label fixed to the outer case, so the box is identified at receiving, despatch and the dock door without line of sight. This page compares the case-level RFID labels Identium supplies: the ID-3050 on Alien Higgs 10, Impinj Monza and Qstar chips, the ID-1993-Quanray printable shipping label and the ID-9503 print-and-apply logistics label, with the item-level ID-3050-M700 for comparison.
Carton and case labels compared
All six are passive EPC Gen2 labels, and the listings that name a mounting surface say non-metal; none is listed as an on-metal tag. Read ranges are the store listings’ own figures; on a packed carton they will differ.
| Model | Chip (as listed) | Format and packaging | Read range (as listed) | Listed use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ID-3050 (Alien Higgs 10) | Alien Higgs 10 (H10) | Bare inlay, label or printable sticker | Up to 7 m (antenna and environment dependent) | Tags high on racks or far from the reader |
| ID-3050-IMPINJ | Impinj Monza | Inlay, self-adhesive label or sticker | Up to 6 m (antenna and environment dependent) | Cartons, plastic bins, paperboard, documents |
| ID-3050 (Qstar) | Qstar | Large inlay, for automatic application | Up to 7 m (antenna and environment dependent) | Deep-in-pallet cartons at dock portals and forklift readers |
| ID-1993-Quanray | Quanray | Printable shipping label | Up to 6 m (antenna and environment dependent) | Cartons and parcels leaving a warehouse or courier hub |
| ID-9503 | Alien Higgs EC (128-bit EPC) | Printable PET face; print-and-apply rolls | Up to 7 m in free air | Print-and-apply logistics labelling |
| ID-3050-M700 | Impinj M700 | Hang tag, swing ticket or polybag label | Up to 7 m (antenna and environment dependent) | Source-tagging apparel, footwear and home goods |
Five listings give 860–960 MHz, the chip’s global tuning span covering India’s band, not a licence; the ID-9503 listing gives 865–868 MHz (India). Only the ID-9503 listing states memory or dimensions, so ask for the label drawing and EPC bank size of the exact part, and for its material-compliance declaration in writing.
Case, despatch carton or item: what the box is decides the label
A standard case, packed the same way every time, takes the general-purpose ID-3050-IMPINJ, or the ID-3050 (Alien Higgs 10) for cases high on racks.
A mixed despatch or courier carton, made up per order, needs a printable label for its consignment details: the ID-1993-Quanray. The ID-9503 comes on print-and-apply rolls and is listed as narrow, so check its drawing for whether the face can take your consignment details.
Cartons deep in a pallet call for the large ID-3050 (Qstar) inlay. Where the pallet itself needs a tag, use a rugged RFID pallet tag.
Items are not cartons. The ID-3050-M700 is the item-level counterpart, for hang tags, swing tickets and polybags on goods source-tagged for retailer programmes such as Walmart’s. Whether a programme also wants carton tags, and how cartons are checked at receiving, is set in your own supplier portal and vendor agreement; see our retailer RFID mandate guide for suppliers.
Encoding a carton: SGTIN-96 or SSCC-96
The GS1 EPC Tag Data Standard gives a carton two routes:
- A fixed case with its own GTIN can carry SGTIN-96 with filter value 2, “Full Case for Transport”: several point-of-sale items whose make-up is fixed in master data and re-orderable under one GTIN. Layout: an 8-bit header (hex 30), a 3-bit filter, a 3-bit partition, the company prefix with item reference, and a 38-bit serial, numeric with no leading zeros, from 0 to 274,877,906,943.
- A logistics unit, such as a mixed despatch carton or a pallet load, takes the SSCC (AI 00, 18 digits), encoded as SSCC-96: an 8-bit header (hex 31), a 3-bit filter, a 3-bit partition, the company prefix with serial reference, and 24 reserved bits set to zero. SSCC filter values are 0 “All Others”, 2 “Full Case for Transport” and 6 “Unit Load”; match the filter to the object the tag is on, and use “All Others” only when nothing fits.
Both use exactly 96 bits, so check the EPC bank on the part you buy. The GS1 Company Prefix is assigned by a GS1 Member Organisation, and the company holding it creates the GTINs and SSCCs built on it. Check the current release of the standard before freezing a specification. Variable-length ”++” schemes such as sscc++ cannot fit a 96-bit EPC bank; see EPC Tag Data Standard 2.3 and SGTIN++.
Printable, print-and-apply or pre-encoded
Beyond the ID-1993-Quanray and ID-9503 above, the ID-3050 (Qstar) suits automatic label application. To print in-house, Identium supplies RFID printers from Zebra, TSC and Honeywell that typically print the artwork and encode the inlay in one pass; the store’s RFID printer price guide covers cost.
For pre-encoded labels, state the scheme, the serial range and who issues it in the RFQ. The dock workflow is on the RFID supply chain management page; for failed writes, see void labels and encoding failures.
Corrugate, shrink-wrap and what is inside the box
Cardboard is a friendly surface; the surroundings decide the read:
- Label the outward face of the carton and of the pallet load, away from foil linings, metallic inks and foil print, which can detune the antenna.
- Plain shrink- or stretch-wrap film on dry cartons has little effect on UHF; metallised film is a different case. Liquid contents absorb UHF energy, and metal cages and drums reflect or shield it; on liquid-filled stock, placement matters more than chip choice.
- Watch for soaked corrugate from wash-down and for condensation after cold storage.
- If a label reads in free air but fails on the box, look first at label placement, the packaging and the contents, then at antenna placement and reader settings, before suspecting the label batch.
Test on your own packed carton, stacked and wrapped as it ships; see RFID tags that will not read.
Reading cartons at the dock door: HLR200 or IHZ4
The HLR200 walk-through gate has built-in two-way sensors that separate In from Out, and is built as a portal for doorways, corridors and despatch doors. The IHZ4 four-port fixed reader suits dock doors, gates and conveyor lines; sequencing its antennas lets software infer direction. Adjacent dock doors can cross-read, so use narrow-beam antennas aimed downward and lower power; see stray reads at adjacent dock doors and RFID warehouse management.
Identium is a BIS and WPC approved RFID manufacturer. Passive labels have no transmitter, so they need no WPC or BIS approval of their own.
What to send for a quote
- Carton board and contents, including liquid, foil lining or metallic print
- How cartons are stacked, palletised and wrapped
- Standard case or mixed despatch carton
- Encoding scheme (SGTIN-96 or SSCC-96) and who issues serials
- Print in-house or pre-encoded
- Label size limits and annual quantity
Labels are quoted against specification, and custom tag orders typically turn around in 5–10 days. See all UHF RFID inlays and labels, or send your specification.