PragmatIC demonstrates NFC label with built-in display

The flexible labels don't need a battery and automatically light up or display information when they are read by an NFC phone.

PROTOTYPE: Thin NFC labels light up when scanned. Click to enlarge.
PragmatIC Printing and security printing giant De La Rue have developed a prototype NFC label that includes a display which is powered up when it is read by an NFC phone or RFID reader.

The label has been developed through the Rail (Remotely Activated Interactive Labels) project which has received a £600,000 (US$958,000) grant from the UK's Technology Strategy Board.

A range of concepts have been developed around the idea that a visual feature such as a light or logo is triggered when a consumer interacts with a label via their NFC phone.

Since the labels are powered up by the phone or reader, no battery is required. This means, says PragmatIC, that the labels can be both flexible and thin, at around 50 micrometers — thinner than an average human hair. The labels are also compatible with conventional hot lamination printing processes.

"PragmatIC's unique imprint based approach to printed electronics is not only able to deliver potentially exciting new security features, but is also a natural complement to other security printing technologies such as holographic embossing," says Philip Cooper, head of ideas at De La Rue.

PragmatIC has been demonstrated the prototypes at the Tax Stamp Forumin Washington DC in september.