RFID EXPLAINED
RFID Explained
IntelTagRFID is a UHF-RFID textile tracking and laundry reconciliation platform. This section explains how RFID textile tracking works, what the terminology means, how it compares with barcodes and manual counting, and what a deployment involves.
Everything here is reference material. If you want to discuss your own operation, there is a form at the bottom of every page in this section.
What RFID is
Radio frequency identification uses electromagnetic fields to identify and track tags attached to objects. A system has three parts: a tag containing an integrated circuit and an antenna, a reader, and a reader antenna.
RFID is comparable to barcoding in that a device captures data from a tag and stores it in a database. The practical difference is that an RFID tag does not need line of sight, so a full trolley of linen can be counted in one pass rather than item by item.
In textile tracking the tags are passive, meaning they carry no battery and draw the power they need from the reader’s field. That is why a laundry tag can survive repeated industrial washing with no maintenance.
How RFID linen tracking works
Tagging, read points, leg-by-leg reconciliation, automatic exception reporting and lifecycle tracking, explained step by step.
RFID vs barcode vs manual counting
An honest comparison of the three ways to track linen — speed, durability, evidence, cost, and when RFID is not the right answer.
Cost and deployment
How station-based pricing works, what drives cost, how a deployment runs, and how to think about payback.
Glossary
Plain-language definitions of the terms used in RFID linen, workwear and commercial laundry management — four-leg audit, on-note, condemn threshold, lifetime wash count and more.
Frequently asked questions
Answers on proving deliveries, finding missing linen, chasing workwear, wash counts, pricing and multi-site portals.
Explore the detail
Ten detailed answers to the questions operations and finance teams ask most often, grouped by the problem they address.
Loss and accountability
- Who is accountable for linen loss — the hotel or the laundry?
- Where does linen actually go missing?
- How do you stop linen leaving through the door?
Billing and process integrity
- How do you settle a laundry invoice dispute?
- How do you prove every item was actually washed?
- How do you audit the hospital linen cycle?
Stock, lifecycle and reporting
Talk to Us
Tell us about your operation and we will come back with a practical assessment.