What is on My Tag? RFID Encoding - All About RFID - Episode 7

What is RFID encoding – and what’s actually stored on an RFID tag? In this episode of All About RFID, Kyle Stanford gets into the bits and bytes of RFID encoding, revealing what “unique ID” really means and how data is written to tags during the encoding process. You’ve probably heard Kyle say “unique ID” in earlier episodes, but this time, he breaks down what that actually looks like in memory. From the EPC block to hexadecimal formats and memory limits, this episode takes a peek inside the RFID tag’s “brain” to explain how RFID encoding works – and why it matters for your system’s performance and consistency. What you’ll learn about RFID encoding:

• What the EPC memory block is and how it’s structured
• Why 96-bit tags are common – and what to do if you need more space
• What SGTIN means and when to follow the GS1 standard
• How to avoid mismatches between human-readable and encoded data

Whether you’re printing 100 tags or 10,000, RFID encoding requires clarity and consistency. Kyle shares real-world advice (and nerds out a bit) to help you avoid costly mistakes – like overwriting pre-encoded tags or encoding IDs that don’t fit your needs.

• Curious about GS1 standards, memory limits, or encoding best practices?
• Wondering what tools are used for RFID encoding at scale?
• Need a refresher on hexadecimals???

This is your RFID encoding crash course – practical, punchy, and nerd-friendly.