If you ship to the DoD, you are most likely aware you will need to comply with MIL-STD-129 container and shipment labeling. If your shipment is going to a Defense Logistics Agency depot listed in the DoD contract clause DFARS 252.211-7006, you must comply with the RFID label requirement as well.

The US Government is taking steps to increase pressure to comply with the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) component of MIL-STD-129. >>See Update Here.

Simplify Compliance with MIL-STD-129

There are two things you need to do to comply with MIL-STD-129 – Produce 100% compliant labels and manage the workflow or communicate the related shipment data back to the DoD via ASN. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, not exactly but a good place to start is by downloading our e-book, “MIL-STD-129 Container & Shipment Labeling.”

This guide provides a basic understanding of the steps you will need to take to produce your labels and how to manage the related data via the WAWF. Our 1-2-3 steps to compliance covers ways to be sure your labels are in compliance, provide proof to your DCMA, and how you can not only simplify the data transmission process but also save on costs.

For additional information, please contact us or call 603-598-1553.

Things may have seemed quiet for a bit on the subject of MIL-STD-129 Department of Defense military labeling standard. Not as quiet as you may think. Reports show both MIL-STD-130 and MIL-STD-129 have been more heavily enforced in the field.

Earlier this year, the US Government made the following announcement to the attention of DLA Suppliers with important information regarding Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) component of MIL-STD-129.

“Effective October 1, 2011, all non-compliant passive RFID shipments will result in a negative impact to suppliers past performance history.” This affects you if you have or your customer has a DoD contract and ships stock to a DLA (Defense Logistics Agency) depot listed in the clause at DFARS 252.211-7006.

The announcement also states: “In addition to tagging shipments, an advance shipment notice is also required. The receiving report in Wide Area Workflow (WAWF) serves as the advance shipment notice. If the advance shipment notice is not submitted before your shipment arrives at the depot, you are in non-compliance.”

Anyone who has been tagging with RFID tags can tell you that the data associated with these tags can create a lot of data, quickly. As it does, it becomes more important for you to automate the data transmission process with the WAWF. Not only will it save workers time, accuracy increases and transmission costs can be minimized or eliminated. Since this is a large part of how you get paid, there is great incentive to get your ASN done quickly and correctly.

With so many deadlines and demands made on business today, it may be that until you know it will be enforced, it may slip behind in your priority. This is not one that should be left to your DCMA inspection to find out. Errors and delays can be expensive, penalties can exceed your shipment’s profit, and now it could cost you your (or your customer’s) contract.

How Can Winco ID Help You?

Winco ID has been educating our customers and those interested in compliance with MIL-STD-129 and MIL-STD-130 in our regional seminars, webinars, and on-site presentations. Either way, in just a few hours you will learn what you need to do to make and verify your labels correctly, manage the associated data over the WAWF, and know you are in 100% compliance. Read more here.

In addition to simplifying the process to fit in your workflow, we’ll show you how to extend your investment in compliance labeling, UID and RFID. You’ll learn how easy it is to track items in your business, deter counterfeiting, and protect your brand.

If you would like to talk to us about your DoD or any other kinds of labeling challenges you have, give Winco ID a call at 1-800-325-5260 X237 for more information. Need 100% compliant labels? Ask about our pre-printed label service to meet deadlines and impress your customer. For seminar info, please visit our events page.

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Additional Resources Recommended by the DLA:

A complete list of passive RFID requirements for suppliers can be found at DFARS 252.211-7006. You can view the clause at this link: http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/dars/dfars/html/current/252211.htm#252.211-7006.

Additional information regarding RFID (Including a copy of the DOD Suppliers Passive RFID Guide)is available at: http://www.acq.osd.mil/log/rfid/index.htm.

WAWF online training site for a complete module on entering RFID tags.

The US Government is under pressure to reduce spending without sacrificing our military forces. One of the first areas for improvement was inventory control. The US Government now requires anyone who ships product to the Department of Defense to comply with strict mandates for labeling pallets, cartons and products to enhance the accuracy and rapid response capabilities of our military.

Mismanaged inventory costs billions of dollars

What does that all mean for you?

If you or your customer supply goods to the Department of Defense, you will need to comply with MIL-STD-130 unit identification labeling which may include UID, or MIL-STD-129 pallet and carton labeling which may include RFID. Depending on the terms of the original contract, you may need to comply with both.

Here are 3 Reasons to Attend Our DoD Labeling Seminar

1. You have to comply-it’s in your Contract.
   In a few hours you will learn what you need to know to be in compliance AND know you are in compliance. This includes getting the right labels, right data, and right format to meet all the requirements of MIL-STD-130 and UID, MIL-STD-129 and RFID.
   You don’t have to comply – YET!  Your customers may hold Defense Contracts with MIL-STD-130, UID, MIL-STD-129, RFID requirements. As subcontractors, this may mean YOU have to provide labels that comply.
2. Automate the transmission of  the required data to the DoD via the WAWF
   Learn how this software solution that fully integrates RFID, UID, WAWF and the UID Registry can help you unify the UID and RFID workflow process into your existing business processes for added efficiency.
   Overwhelmed with mounds of data? Are you having trouble tracking the data associated with nested containers? Are you paying electronic transmission fees? You’ll be amazed at just how easy it can be and save on costs.
3. Need to do more than comply? Go beyond the DoD compliance
   The same principles of barcoding and labeling you use to comply with DoD mandates can be used to increase productivity and efficiency in your everyday business, too. Come see how asset tracking, traceability, mobile printing of labels and data capture at the point of activity can all be used to increase productivity. See how small changes to your labeling process can mean big differences.

Can 3 hours make a difference in your DoD Labeling Compliance? Here are a few things people who attended our DoD Labeling Seminar had to say:

“I learned a lot in a very short period of time.”
“The information was good and it was presented in a way that made it easy to understand.”
“I was happy to learn better ways of dealing with the data transmission part of DoD compliance.”

Deadlines are being enforced, and regulation details are numerous. Mandates are changing; making it difficult for some to comply and others to know when they are truly in compliance. Those who are not ready or are found to be non-compliant face the possibility of incurring high penalties, delayed shipments and loss of contract business.

Know your options, how to get in compliance quickly and easily and be sure your business is protected. Winco ID and our partners offer a resource of compliance solutions. To help you get started and prepare for our seminar, our ebooks will help you get started. Download our MIL-STD-130 eBook and a copy of our MIL-STD-129 eBook.

Attend our seminar on October 20, 2011 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Learn what you need to know to comply with Military Labeling Standards and make the right choices for your success.

Learn more about the seminar here or register on line here.

Our seminar is free but preregistration is required.

If you are unable to attend, or need to comply now, please call Winco ID at 603-598-1553.

Success in warehouse, shipping and receiving, and distribution areas all comes down to efficiency, accuracy and maximum worker productivity.

One way to increase productivity is having the ability to print and apply labels right at the point of activity-whether that be labeling a shelf when boxes are moved, a pallet being shipped, an order being picked, or inventory being received.

Stationary printers are known for their industrial strength to keep up with label printing demands for several departments. However, they are not very portable. Workers must leave their station, go to the label printer (…have talk time along the way) grab their label (…did they get the right one) and apply the label(s) to the right box (…is it the right one?) There goes that time, focus and increases the risk for error.

Mobile or portable printers allow the worker to print and apply the label right then and there. The downside has traditionally been finding a printer to withstand rough use in a typical warehouse or cold storage environment.

Datamax-O’Neil released the RL4 Portable Label Printer, designed and tested to withstand  warehouse use. Check out this video or download a free white paper to see ways just how much reliability and function this little printer offers:

• Survives being dropped several times on to concrete floors and shipping docks.
• With no time to remove gloves workers need for their own protection, many devices now account for this with easy loading media and larger capacity rolls for fewer changes.
• Rugged equipment is fully functional in cold storage with clean, crisp printed output.
• Battery life up to 12 hours, removable for charging.

Datamax-O’Neil is so confident the RL4 will survive your warehouse use, it comes with a 2 year warranty! Not only are you ensured uninterrupted use, but the cost of ownership is lower.

As demands for productivity increases, so does the need for rugged devices for all your barcode labeling and data collection needs. Are you using mobile label printers in your warehouse or other areas? Are they holding up to daily use? Do you want to add mobile printing, computing, or data collection in your warehouse and don’t know where to start?

Contact us at WincoID to see how easy it may be to get started.

Along with the increasing use of ID cards for identification, access control, and process automation, comes the demands for affordable, compact ID Card printers without sacrificing speed or quality printed output.

Zebra Technologies ZXP Series 3™ Card Printers rise to the challenge with this affordable, compact, easy to use printer with full encoding capabilities that’s suitable for a number of markets and applications.

Excellent print quality, vibrant colors, clear photos, text and bar codes.

The ZXP Series 3™  features:

• Excellent print quality, vibrant colors, clear photos, text and bar codes.
• Compact footprint to fit in tight work spaces, storage, mobile carts.
• Single- or double-sided direct-to-card printing.
• Easy-to-use – little training and you are up and running.  Zebra’s quick-replace Load-N-Go™ ribbon cartridge couldn’t be easier and faster for optimal efficiency.
• Buy-Now or Add-Later Options – to grow with your needs and your budget.
• Choice of connectivity for easy system integration
• Locking hopper available for added security.

With a recommended print volume up to 3,000 cards per year, many are making the move to using ID cards for security. Others who currently use a service bureau to print their cards are now printing their own ID Cards on-demand to save costs, increase controls and eliminate wait time.

Are you new to ID Card printing? Are you using a service bureau? If you would like to get started on printing your own or learn how you can increase the functionality of your ID cards, let us know by leaving a comment or give Winco ID a call at 603.598.1553.

“Organizations such as manufacturers, food processors, and laboratories that make, process or test products which impact human health and safety are all experiencing increasing pressure to prevent defects and contamination and to respond with rapid recalls when problems occur. This pressure is coming from government agencies and from upstream customers who demand compliance with increasingly stringent standards as a condition of being a supplier.” says Dr. Peter Green, the Chief Technology Officer of BellHawk Systems Corporation.

“An important part of this compliance is maintaining traceability records that relate products shipped to customers to the sources of supply used in making or testing those products. In our globally connected world, with its high velocity supply chains, it is no longer adequate to maintain these material traceability records in paper form or to discover that an operational mistake has been made hours or days after it happened.”

As a long-time partner of WincoID, we invite you to spend some time with Dr. Peter Green as he hosts a no cost, informative webinar designed as an introduction to improving product safety through the use of technologies such as barcode printing, scanning, RFID, mobile data collection and the Internet. You’ll learn how to capture materials traceability data as well as to prevent operational mistakes.

“Improving Food and Product Safety using Materials Tracking and Traceability Technology.”
Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 10:00am Eastern DaylightTime.

Register For BellHawk System’s Webinar Here

Is it time to replace your paper and pencil traceability records? Can you efficiently and quickly provide accurate traceability from source to supply chain?

To learn more about barcode printing, mobile computing, and RFID for protection and measurable gains in operational efficiency, call Winco ID at 603.598.1553 X237 or contact us here.

If you go to a centralized printer to pick up your labels and apply the label elsewhere, you not only waste time and take away from productivity, but this leaves a wide margin for error when the wrong label is picked up or applied to the wrong item.

Small, portable, Thermal Transfer and RFID Printing

It is proven that productivity and accuracy are increased by printing and applying labels at the point of activity. For some, the additional challenge is labeling items that are:

• located in remote areas of the warehouse.
• subject to harsh environments of the desert or out in the growing fields.
• require the durability of thermal transfer print for readability over longer life cycles.
• perishable or have an expiration date.
• moving fast, reserved for production or customers, or critical to operations and must be tracked in real-time.
• large, over-sized items or items stored outside.

No matter where you have to label or what you have to label, with Zebra’s P4T mobile printer, you can print long-life bar code labels and documents up to 4″ wide that withstand harsh and outdoor environments.

With so many mobile computers and printers available, why is the P4T/RP4T mobile printer different?

Zebra P4T and RP4T mobile printers are the world’s first mobile RFID printing solutions with dual print methods (direct thermal and thermal transfer) in a single printer.

Watch this short video to see:

Watch the video to see simple change of labels and ribbon cartridges.

• the importance of labeling at the point of application.
• how easy it is to load ribbons and media.
• the power of RFID and thermal transfer image durability in harsh environment applications.
• the P4T in action – indoor and outdoor applications in government, manufacturing, transportation and logistics and mobile field service.

Long-lasting, element-resistant thermal transfer labels, tags and receipts and RFID labels can be printed where and when customers need them, providing enhanced data and asset tracking accuracy as well as improved workforce efficiency.

Think of how useful that is when tasked with labeling large containers, shipment pallets, and complying with MIL-STD-129 and RFID requirements for the DoD (and have limited RFID printers or none.)

Do you need to print durable, long lasting labels to withstand the elements of the outdoors? Do your labels remain readable for as long as you need them to? Do you need different kinds of labels in different locations including encoding RFID smarttags?

New products are emerging on the market to enable distributed and mobile printing. For more information or to see if Zebra’s P4T fits your applications, please contact David Holliday or call 1.603.598.1553 X237.

Electrostatic discharge, commonly referred to as ESD, can cause device failure at the point of manufacture, assembly or in the hands of the consumer. This affects production yield, product reliability and profitability in the electronics market.

Moisture, temperature, materials and movement combine to create ESD which can damage printed circuit boards (PCB) and other sensitive equipment. The damage  can be so minor that the chip will appear to function normally in some cases but not others.

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD),Durable label materials are designed to withstand PC board manufacturing processes and conform to REACH, RoHS, and HALOGEN FREE requirements of the electronics industry.

As electronic devices become smaller and more complex, the more sensitive to ESD they become.

Labels For ESD Protection

Electronic manufacturers and assemblers are labeling more products for identification, tracking WIP, traceability for recall management, quality control, warranties, and compliance mandates.

It’s increasingly more important to use label materials designed to address two major ESD concerns that standard labels can present.

1. First, they eliminate the charge generated when the label is removed from the liner that can discharge and destroy sensitive components during application.
2. Second, after the label has been applied and during the label life, the label has been designed to prevent significant charge build-up on the label surface which can result in a static discharge event.

Every level of labeling products specifically for the electronic industry can play a role in offering anti-static protection:

• Electrostatic dissipative, RoHS compliant materials
• Humidity and temperature indicating inks
• Anti-static adhesives

If you are in the electronics market, you’ll want to read our free ebook “Labeling For Electronics.” This informative guide will provide a basic understanding of what barcoding can do for your business, what kinds of labels are available, even ways to make your label printing more productive. Download your copy here.

Durable label materials are designed to withstand PC board manufacturing processes and conform to REACH, RoHS, and HALOGEN FREE requirements of the electronics industry. If you’ve been affected by the shortage of Tedlar® (polyvinyl fluoride) for your labels or use Kapton® (polyimide) for your labeling, check out a new material that just may be what your looking for to save time and money.

Do you have labels that aren’t working for you? Have you looked at your labeling process to be sure you are getting the most value and productivity out of your labeling systems? Share with us by leaving your comment or call 603.598.1553 x237 to discuss your labeling challenges and projects.

As simple as a label may seem, if you are spending a lot of time setting up your labels, and getting them to work with your printer, you’re loosing valuable time.

Whether your label is used to keep track of where things are, where they are going, where parts came from, current inventory levels, or identification, you’ll need to be able to set up your labels quickly and easily.

With more things requiring a label mandated by government for inventory control and tracking, FDA for traceability, and other regulatory organizations, labeling demands can become quite complex and change frequently.

So how do you simplify the process of creating a new label or modifying an existing one?

Join us for a few minutes and we’ll show you how to create a barcode label in 5 easy steps by clicking on this video link:

Or click here: http://www.labelingnews.com/BT-label/bt-label.html

See how easy it can be to create a customized barcode label!

With BarTender, you have total control over your label’s appearance, including the type and size of text, bar codes and graphics. Place objects exactly where you want them and control rotation as precisely as 1/10th of a degree.

Label design templates will make it easier to print specialized compliance labels, ie: military labeling for MIL-STD-130 including UID format and MIL-STD-129 including RFID as well as other compliance mandates.

Do you have to STOP what you are doing to figure out how to set up a new label format? Do you handle your label design and sequential numbering from a central location and print throughout various departments or locations? Do you want to save time and make that part of your job easier?

Contact David Holliday at 603-598-1553 X237.

Do you sell to the government? Will your products end up in the DoD supply chain?

If so, you will need to comply with MIL-STD-130 including UID labeling, or MIL-STD-129 including RFID labeling or maybe both. This requires a complete understanding of the work flow from getting the labels right to managing the data via WAWF and UID Registry.

And it’s proven that most don’t get their labels right the first time. This can translate to delay in shipments and certainly impact the timeliness of getting paid! Worst case is, you may be subject to penalties that can exceed your profit on the entire job. Either way, whether it’s your customer or the government, some one isn’t happy.

There is a lot you will need to know in order to successfully comply. To help you get started, Winco ID has prepared e-books on these specialized topics.
Choose a topic and download our MIL-STD-130 & UID eBook and MIL-STD-129 and RFID eBook.