LINCOLNSHIRE, ILL., Nov. 12, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zebra Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq:ZBRA), a global leader in products and solutions that provide real-time visibility into organizations' assets, people and transactions, today announced the availability of the ZD500R™, the company's first desktop Ultra High Frequency (UHF) RFID printer. This latest innovation from Zebra provides a compact, full-featured RFID printer designed for ease-of-use in applications where technical support may be limited or users are not RFID-knowledgeable. Relevant for a range of industries and applications, the ZD500R is particularly well-suited to meet the retail industry's demand for simple item-level RFID tagging for inventory management.
"Fast and effective item-level RFID tagging allows organizations to more efficiently track valuable assets. The ZD500R takes the complex process of producing a highly advanced tag and makes it simpler for a non-technical user," said Keith LeFebvre, vice president of product marketing and management, Zebra Technologies. "We created the ZD500R to address the growing demand for UHF encoded tags. This innovative addition to our leading line of RFID printers allows both Zebra and our customers to be more competitive."
The ZD500R features UHF RFID encoding capabilities that are ideal for applications such as in-store retail item tagging in addition to asset tracking in manufacturing, government, healthcare and hospitality. The printer also has built in chip-based serialization functionality, which enables a simple yet highly accurate and reliable method of printing and encoding a serialized electronic product code (EPC) tag. Through chip-based serialization, manufacturers can reduce costs by eliminating the infrastructure and services previously required to manage item-level serial numbers, and retailers can increase the accuracy of their inventory. Other highlighted differentiators for the ZD500R include:
- Sized Right - Perfect for applications where space is at a premium
- Easy to Use - Intuitive user interface requires little operator training
- Media Flexibility - Variety of media options including labels, tags; print, peel, and cut
- Cost Effective - Minimum inlay pitch of 16 mm, enables lower media cost, less media waste and fewer roll changes
The ZD500R is also enabled with Zebra's Link-OS™ environment, an operating system that pairs a software development kit and software applications with smart Zebra devices for easy integration and management from any location. Through Link-OS, the printer features Near Field Communication (NFC) functionality, which allows a user to tap a compatible device, such a smartphone, to the printer to get quick access to troubleshooting materials, including video tutorials.
"The ZD500R is an exciting addition to Zebra's already robust RFID printer line," said Antti Virkkunen, co-founder and operations country manager for Switzerland, Vilant Systems. "Zebra has developed an easy-to-use printer that meets a very important demand for compact desktop UHF RFID printing. It gives users a smart and flexible solution that embraces latest technologies."
In conjunction with the launch of the ZD500R, Zebra published a whitepaper titled, "Drive Value across Your Supply Chain with Chip-based RFID Serialization." The whitepaper explores how item-level RFID is rapidly becoming a key solution for enterprises to improve asset visibility throughout their value chain without massive multi-year IT deployments. The research paper is available for free on Zebra.com here.
For information surrounding the ZD500R visit www.zebra.com/zd500r and join the RFID conversation on Zebra's LinkedIn page.
About Zebra Technologies
A global leader respected for innovation and reliability, Zebra Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq:ZBRA) offers technologies that give a virtual voice to an organization's assets, people and transactions, enabling organizations to unlock greater business value. The company's extensive portfolio of marking and printing technologies, including RFID and real-time location solutions, illuminates mission-critical information to help customers take smarter business actions. For more information about Zebra's solutions, visit www.zebra.com.
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