Using LiveCycle Designer ES to create and print RFID labels
LiveCycle Designer ES lets you create and print RFID labels to capture data. RFID (radio-frequency identification) is an automatic identification technology whereby digital data that is encoded in an RFID tag or smart label is captured by a reader by using radio waves. It is similar to barcode technology but uses radio waves to capture data from tags, rather than optically scanning the bar codes on a label. Using RFID does not require the tag or label to be seen in order to read its stored data. [obtained from zebra.com.]
For example, airports use RFID labels for labeling luggage. RFID readers can accurately capture the information and flight details for each item that passes through a baggage handling system, regardless of its orientation or the speed of the conveyor. Some tags can even be immersed in water and continue to function with the same accuracy!
What you'll need
- Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES 8.1 or later
- LiveCycle Output ES
- A Zebra printer that is capable of generating RFID output, such as a Zebra 110 XiIII plus printer
- Documentation for the Zebra printer
- RFID labels available from the printer manufacturer
- Adobe XDC Editor (installed with LiveCycle Workbench ES)
How to do it
Here are the steps to creating and printing RFID labels.
=>Add the RFID object the form design
1. In the Object Library palette, click the Barcodes category and then click the RFID object.You can place only one RFID object on a form because the output can only be to a single RFID chip on the label.
2. Click in the area of the form where you want to place the RFID object.
=>Set the data length of the RFID object
To set the data length of the RFID object, click the Field tab and, in the Data Length box, type the length of the data.
The data length of the RFID object depends on the type of RFID tag type you are rendering. For example, if you are using RFID tag type 4, which corresponds to EPC Class 1 96 bit, you need to generate 96 bits of data. 96 bits of data corresponds to 12 bytes, which is represented by 24 hex values. Therefore, the value of the data length you enter is 24. The following table lists the RFID tab types and their values.
Tag Type...............................Value
0 ....................................... None
1 ....................................... EPC Class 0
2 ....................................... EPC Class 0 Plus
3 ....................................... EPC Class 1 64-bit
4........................................ EPC Class 1 96-bit
5 ....................................... ISO 18000-06B
=>Bind the RFID object to the XML data
Bind the RFID object to the XML data. (See To create a data connection to an XML data file in LiveCycle Designer ES Help.) The data length in the XML data must match the length that you set for the RFID object.
=>Configure the XDC file
Using the XDC Editor, modify the following RFID options options:
rfidBlockRetries
Controls the number of times the printer attempts to write to a particular block of a single RFID tag. The accepted values for this option is between 0 to 10. If you do not specify a value for this setting, the printer uses the default value of 0.
rfidLabelRetries
The number of labels that are attempted in case of an encode or write failure. This number is different from the rfidBlockRetries setting. The accepted values for this option are between 0 to 10. If you do not specify a value for this setting, the printer uses the default value of 3.
rfidTagType
Controls the encoding type of the data in the RFID label. The RFID readers should have the same tag type as the RFID printer. The accepted values for this option vary from printer to printer. (See your printer documentation for this information.) Generally, this option uses values between 0 to 5.
rfidTransponderPosition
Represents the distance of the microchip on the label from the top. Specify this value in dots. The accepted values are between 0 to length of the label. If the microchip is located at the beginning of the label, set this option to 0.
=>Map the XDC file to the printer
This XDC file should be mapped to the printer output device, which corresponds to your Zebra printer.
=>Verify the printed RFID label
After you print the RFID label, verify that the original data appears on the RFID label. The only supported output format for RFID is ZPL, which is for Zebra printers. RFID output cannot be rendered in PDF, PostScript, or PCL.