St. Louis-based pressmaker Mark Andy, Inc. was honored with the Flexographic Technical Association's 2006 Technical Innovation Award for its inline converting concept to manufacture and place radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on labels for packaged goods. The award was presented April 30 during the Foundation of FTA's Annual Forum in Louisville. A complete inline system, Mark Andy's technology uses one machine and one integrated workflow to achieve in-line print production and converting. See "RFID label converting in one pass" (June 2005).

The process includes insertion of inlays, verification of qualified labels and removal of defective pieces. A single Mark Andy RFID solution consists of an RFID-inlay insertion unit; an RFID in-press reader; static elimination equipment; and/or offline readers and inspection equipment. Outfitting a press with the complete RFID-label system costs between $250,000 and $500,000, depending on the level of sophistication, Mark Andy says.

"We feel proud and humble" to have won the FTA award, remarks Mark Andy president Paul Brauss. "One of the hardest aspects of the work with RFID is taking what is known technically and presenting it in a solution format whereby a converter can yield a profit."

To date, Mark Andy has supplied more than a dozen presses for producing passive RFID-enabled labels to printers all over the world. One early adopter is Donnick Label Systems (Jacksonville, FL), which has upgraded its Mark Andy 2200 press with RFID technology.