HK1242002B - Method of quickly configuring an rfid printer - Google Patents

Description

How to quickly configure RFID printers

Cross-reference to related application(s)

This application claims priority to U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 14/556,489, filed December 1, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present application relates to a method for quickly configuring an RFID printer.

Background Art

The present invention generally relates to methods for quickly and efficiently configuring printers such as radio frequency identification (RFID) printers. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to methods for automatically configuring printers using information on a transfer roll of RFID media and firmware embedded in a printer.

An RFID tag is an electronic device that can be attached to an item whose presence is to be detected and/or monitored. The presence of an RFID tag, and therefore the item to which it is attached, can be detected and monitored by a device called a "reader" or "reader panel." The reader typically transmits a radio frequency signal to which the RFID tag responds. Each RFID tag can store a unique identification number. The RFID tag responds to the signal transmitted by the reader by providing its identification number and additional information stored on the RFID tag based on the reader's command, allowing the reader to determine the identity and characteristics of the item.

Current RFID tags and labels are produced by the construction of an inlay comprising a chip connected to an antenna applied to a substrate. The inlay is then inserted into a single label or tag. These tags or labels are then printed by conventional printing processes such as flexographic processes, and variable information can then be printed together with static information or alone. The chip is then encoded in a printer with a reader/encoder or individually by a reader/encoder. A separate RFID reader/encoder may also be present for verifying the information in the chip.

When printers, such as RFID printers, are purchased, they often come unconfigured, requiring the user to then manually configure the printer device. Due to the numerous settings and verification options that must be checked and selected during the printer configuration process (e.g., the location of the inlay on-site, power settings, etc.), configuration of RFID printers can be time-consuming and complex, and is often performed by a technician. If a technician is not available at the specific location where the printer is being used, someone must travel from another location to configure the printer. This is clearly undesirable and inefficient.

Therefore, there has long been a need in the art for a method of quickly and efficiently configuring a printer, such as an RFID printer. There is also a need in the art for a method of configuring an RFID printer that requires minimal effort on the part of the user. Finally, there is a need for a solution that is relatively simple and inexpensive to implement.

Summary of the Invention

The following presents a simplified summary to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed invention. This summary is not an extensive overview and is not intended to identify key/critical elements or delineate the scope thereof. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description that will be introduced later.

The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein includes, in one aspect, a method of configuring a printer, such as an RFID printer, comprising the steps of: inputting inlay information into the printer; comparing the input inlay information to a list of pre-existing inlay information stored in the printer to determine if there is a match; and, if there is a match, inputting an inlay offset into the printer. In alternative embodiments, information from a supply roll can be input via an NFC tag on the roll that is read by the printer, or information can be transmitted via any of the printer's normal communication channels.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes the following steps: feeding the medium into the printer to determine the inlay pitch of the medium; comparing the inlay pitch with the minimum inlay pitch; and selecting one of a first printer configuration or a second printer configuration based on the result of the comparison, wherein each of the first printer configuration and the second printer configuration includes one or more of the following settings: a first TID (tag identification) position, an encoding area, a TID singulate, a read power, a write power, a mark for encoding when the web is moving, a position for stopping encoding, a chip encoding speed when the web is moving, and a maximum encoding speed.

In another preferred embodiment, the method further comprises the steps of determining whether new inlay information is available from the communication port, and updating a list of pre-existing inlay information stored in the printer to include the new inlay information.

To accomplish the foregoing and related purposes, certain illustrative aspects of the disclosed invention are described herein in conjunction with the following description and accompanying drawings. These aspects are indicative of some of the various ways in which the principles disclosed herein may be employed, and are intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Additional advantages and novel features will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 shows a front perspective view of one embodiment of a thermal table and industrial printer on which the present invention may be used;

FIG2 illustrates a top perspective view of the thermal table and industrial printer of FIG1 ;

FIG3 illustrates a rear perspective view of the thermal table and industrial printer of FIG1 , with a cover according to the disclosed structure;

FIG4 illustrates a rear perspective view of the thermal table and industrial printer of FIG1 without a cover according to the disclosed structure;

FIG5 illustrates a right side perspective view of the thermal table and industrial printer of FIG1 ;

FIG6 illustrates a left side perspective view of the thermal table and industrial printer of FIG1 ;

7 illustrates a top perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the thermal table and industrial printer of FIG. 1 , further comprising an RFID validator and an RFID encoder;

FIG8 shows a flowchart of the user prompting phase of the method of the present invention;

FIG9 shows a flow chart of the inlay reading phase of the method disclosed herein;

FIG10 shows a flow chart of the updating inlay information phase of the method disclosed in the present invention;

FIG11 illustrates a method of using NFC on a roll of supplies and a smartphone to update information in a printer;

FIG12 illustrates a method for updating information in a printer using a UHF tag that is loose on a supply core or in a box;

FIG13 shows a roll of RFID transponders and labels placed on the roll; and

FIG. 14 shows a tag to be placed on a roll of RFID transponders.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for illustrative purposes, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding thereof. However, it will be apparent that the present invention can be practiced without these specific details. In other cases, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to facilitate their description.

Referring first to the drawings, FIG1 shows an example of a hot table and/or industrial printer apparatus 100 upon which the present invention may be used. In a preferred embodiment, the hot table and/or industrial printer 100 includes a reader and/or encoding device and a verification device. The reader and/or encoding device can read and program an RFID device, such as an RFID chip, contained in an inlay that may or may not be incorporated into a tag, label, or any other desired product, and can also print onto the product without damaging or otherwise adversely affecting the RFID device. The inlay can also be attached directly to the product, rather than being incorporated into the tag or label, such as by using an adhesive to attach the inlay to the product.

In some exemplary embodiments, products can be arranged in sheets or rolls, and multiple products can be printed, encoded, or verified at once in a continuous manner, simultaneously, or substantially simultaneously. In some exemplary embodiments, the reader and chip/antenna configuration can allow encoding and verification to occur sequentially, so that printing, encoding, variable data imaging, verification, and collating can all be completed in one continuous process. As used herein, a continuous process includes a roll-to-roll configuration and a sheet-feed process without process stops. Continuous can also include slight incremental stops, indexing, advancing, etc. that last no more than a few seconds.

Printing/printing as provided herein can be accomplished using any number of processes, including impact and non-impact printers, flexographic, gravure, inkjet, electrostatic, and the like, to provide just a few representative examples. Static printing can include company logos, manufacturer's information, size, color, and other product attributes. Variable printing can include identification numbers, bar codes, pricing, store location, sales details, and other information as the retailer or brand owner may determine is desired.

Exemplary RFID devices, such as inlays, tags, labels, and the like, are available from Avery Dennison RFID, Inc., located in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Avery Dennison Retail Information Services, Inc., located in Westborough, Mass. Such devices may be provided in any number of antenna and size configurations, depending on the needs or desired end-use application of the product.

Figures 1-7 disclose multiple views of the industrial printer 100 and are described below. The printer 100 can be of any suitable size, shape, and configuration known in the art without affecting the overall concepts of the present invention. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the internal and/or external shapes of the printer 100 as shown in Figures 1-7 for illustrative purposes only and many other shapes of the printer 100 are well within the scope of the present disclosure. Although the size of the printer 100 (i.e., length, width, and height) is important, the printer 100 can be of any shape that ensures optimal high-speed encoding and verification.

1, the hot table and industrial printer 100 has a generally rectangular shape with a printer cover 101, an access door 12 and a handle 1. The access door 12 can be actuated by the handle 1 to access the front of the printer 100.

Once the front door 12 is open, the user mounts the supply roll 3 on the supply roll holder 4. The supply roll 3 contains the supply for the printer 100 to print. The liner take-up spool 5 then serves as a rewind holder for the waste liner of the adhesive-backed labels.

In addition, printer 100 includes a supply damper 6, which helps remove vibrations from the supply roll 3 to improve print quality, and an out-of-stock switch 7 provides an on/off indication if supplies are loaded in printer 100 or if printer 100 needs supplies. A supply guide or frame 8 holds and centers the supplies. Furthermore, an array sensor (shown as 35 in FIG. 2 ) is attached to the supply guide to detect and accommodate slight variations in the hole position. An upper guide 11 guides the supplies in printer 100, and a loading marker (shown as 18 in FIG. 2 ) is a marker that indicates the supply path for the user to load supplies into printer 100. The printer also includes a print head 14. Print head 14 is a thermal print head, allowing printer 100 to automatically detect dot density. Furthermore, the printer includes a print head holder 15, a cast aluminum part, to which print head 14 is mounted to secure it in place. Furthermore, a release handle 10 releases print head 14 from holder 15 when needed.

The printer 100 also includes a ribbon spindle 16 and a ribbon take-up 17. The ribbon spindle 16 is for a DC motor controlled supply of ribbon, and the ribbon take-up 17 is for a DC motor controlled take-up of the ribbon. In addition, a wireless antenna 2 is also included in the printer 100. The wireless antenna 2 can be any suitable wireless antenna known in the art for communicating with a router or other device, such as an 802.11b/g/n dual band antenna. In a preferred embodiment, the printer includes two other antennas. An RFID antenna 9 that allows for RFID encoding of supplies and an RFID validator antenna 13 that is an external antenna for reading RFID supplies.

2 , the printer 100 includes a top LED (light emitting diode) sensor cover 19 that covers a top LED board 20 that serves as a reflective supply sensor LED. Additionally, the printer includes an LED cover 21 for the reflective supply sensor reflector and an index sensor 35 for a unique array sensor that automatically detects hole sensing marks. Specifically, the illuminated sensor array 35 automatically senses the position of the holes arranged through the web for sensing marks and correctly indicates printing/printing onto the RFID tag. By using the sensor array 35, the printer 100 can determine which individual sensors within the array should be used for indexing to account for manufacturing variations. The thermal print head (see FIG1 ) can be removed and replaced via the printer release sheet shown at 36. The supply path is illuminated for user convenience, as shown by the supply path light embedded in the supply guide 22.

3 , the back of the printer 100 includes a rear cover 26 that covers the electronics panel (shown in FIG. 4 ). The display panel 25 displays the user interface, and the wireless antenna 2 (shown in FIG. 1 ) can also be seen on the back of the printer 100. Referring generally to FIG. 4 , the back of the printer 100 is shown without the cover 26. A CPU board 29 or main PC board is shown, as well as an RFID I/O board 27, which is a module that contains encoding and verification modules. A power supply 28, which is the main supply of electrical power for the printer 100, is also shown on the back of the printer 100. In addition, the display panel 25 (shown in FIG. 3 ) and the wireless antenna 2 (shown in FIG. 1 ) can also be seen in FIG. 4 .

Referring generally to FIG5 , the right side of the printer 100 is shown. The right side of the printer 100 shows a front cover 32 and a wireless antenna 2 (as shown in FIG1 ). In addition, a CPU board 29 (as shown in FIG4 ) is shown, as well as an I/O switch 30 and an I/O outlet 31. The communication ports on the CPU board 29 are visible in this view. They include a USB host port, a USB device port, a serial port, and an Ethernet IEEE 802.3-compliant port. Referring generally to FIG6 , the left side of the printer 100 is shown. The left side of the printer 100 shows a wireless antenna 2 (as shown in FIG1 ) and a supply door 22 that protects and allows access to the supply roll 3. In addition, an NFC I2C chip 23 is disclosed, which provides unique capabilities to the printer 100 and allows the printer 100 to communicate directly with the main processor via a bridge. In addition, the printer 100 includes a display panel 25, which includes a keypad 24. In another embodiment, the display panel 25 can be a touch screen.

In a preferred embodiment, printer 100 includes a plurality of keys, including a keypad 24 and trigger keys. Keypad 24 can be used to enter alphanumeric data into printer 100. Alternatively, keypad 24 may have only a limited number of keys actuatable according to information depicted on display 25, used to select various printer operations, such as feeding a roll of recording material through printer 100, displaying status information, etc. In another embodiment, an HID-USB compatible device may be plugged into CPU board 29, enabling greater access to the keys. The trigger keys can be actuated by the user in various modes of printer 100 to activate the printing system and/or RFID reader/writer module 34. Alternatively, one or more of these devices can be automatically actuated by the controller of printer 100 based on a stored application program. In addition to displaying status information or data entered via keypad 24, display 25 can also be controlled to provide prompts to the user to actuate the trigger keys and/or other keys to control various operations of printer 100.

7, a top perspective view of printer 100 discloses an RFID validator 33 and an RFID encoder 34 (shown as antennas 9 and 13, respectively, in FIG1). Specifically, the RFID encoder 34 encodes the RFID tag while the web is moving, and the RFID validator 33 verifies the data encoded to the RFID tag.

In another embodiment, the printer 100 includes a microprocessor and a memory (not shown). The memory includes a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory and/or a ROM such as an EEPROM. The memory also includes a RAM for storing and manipulating data. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the microprocessor controls the operation of the printer 100 based on an application program stored in the flash memory. The microprocessor can operate directly based on the application program. Alternatively, the microprocessor can operate indirectly based on the application program, such as an application program interpreted by an interpreter stored in another area of the memory or the flash memory.

The microprocessor is operable to select an input device to receive data from and manipulate the received data according to a stored application and/or combine it with data received from a different input source. The microprocessor couples the selected, combined, and/or manipulated data to the printing system for printing on the record component. The microprocessor can select the same or different data to be written to the external RFID chip. The microprocessor couples the data selected for writing to the RFID reader/writer module, where the data is written to the external RFID chip in encoded form. Similarly, the microprocessor can select the same or different data for storage in the transaction record in RAM and for upload to the host computer via the communication interface. The processor is operable to select the data to be coupled to the printing system independently of the data the processor selects to couple to the RFID reader/writer module, providing greater flexibility than has heretofore been possible.

A roll of RFID tags containing RFID transponders is shown in FIG13 . Tag 1320 is contained on core 1310 and is shown in FIG14 . The inlay number and setback distance are programmed onto the inlay at the point of manufacture. This NFC tag can then be read by any NFC reader/encoder, as would be included in a smartphone, as shown in FIG14 . The NFC reader/encoder can then be used to send information to an NFC reader/encoder, which can then be used to send information to an I2C NFC tag (as shown in FIG7 23 ) accessible by the main CPU board (as shown in FIG4 ). This process is shown in the flow chart of FIG11 . Alternatively, tag 1320 can include a UHF inlay programmed with the inlay number and setback distance. This inlay will be read using a high-power reader on an RFID antenna (as shown on antenna 9 in FIG1 ) or an RFID antenna embedded in a supply rack. This inlay will enable the printer to read the required information from the inlay. Alternatively, as shown in FIG12 , a separate tag and an RFID roll that can be placed above the RFID reader/encoder can be included for printer configuration purposes.

Having now described an example of the type of thermal table and/or industrial printer 100 upon which the present invention may be used, a method for quickly and efficiently configuring the printer 100 will now be described. As shown in Figures 8-10, and described in more detail below, the method of the present invention can generally be described in three stages: user prompting; reading inlay information; and updating inlay information. An alternative method for reading inlay information is described in Figures 11 and 12.

FIG8 shows a flowchart generally disclosing the user prompting phase of the method of the present invention, which is preferably an offline process, wherein a user (not shown) enters the process at block 110 by placing a tag in the printer core and entering or selecting an inlay number or indicator (which may be obtained from the tag the user wishes to use) from a list of possible inlays on the front screen of the printer 100 at block 120. During the user prompting phase, information is being entered. However, it is also contemplated that the inlay number/indicator may be automatically provided by the production system. If the user is unable to access the inlay number or indicator on the quick configuration tag, or wishes to use RFID media that is not currently in the inlay database, the user exits the process at block 180.

By way of background, while the use of inlay numbers/indicators is well known in the art, their format and location on the markers or labels is often inconsistent, and the indicators are not always complete, which can further complicate the printer configuration process, as it currently exists. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, (i) consistent terminology will be used for the indicators for each marker type; (ii) the inlay position will be represented by a 3-digit integer value, measured in millimeters; and (iii) a consistent marker format will be used at each production location. Furthermore, with respect to (i) above, by way of example, the following format may be used for the inlay indicator: "AD-xxxyyyz", where AD would represent the manufacturer's identity, xxx would represent the model number, yyy would represent the chip suffix, and z would be N or W for NEL or WEL, or E or F for FCC or ETSI. It is contemplated that the inlay indicator/number and inlay location can be provided to the user in a consistent location and manner on the label on the supply core. Of course, other types of indicator terminology may also be employed without affecting the overall concepts of the present invention.

Returning now to FIG8 , at block 130 , a determination is made as to whether the inlay number has been successfully entered (i.e., is currently in the inlay database) or selected from a list of inlays in the inlay database. If the inlay number has not been successfully entered, the user prompting process will exit at block 180 and the user will need to restart the process or manually configure the printer 100. On the other hand, if the inlay number has been successfully entered (i.e., it matches the inlay number in the inlay database), the number is stored in the printer 100 at block 140 and the user will be prompted to enter the inlay offset (which will also be available on the marker) at block 150 , as measured from the sensing mark on the marker to the top of the marker. Recall from the above that in a preferred embodiment, the inlay position will be expressed as a 3-digit integer value using millimeters as the unit of measurement, although other formats and units of measurement may be used without affecting the overall concept of the present invention.

At block 160, a determination is made as to whether the inlay offset has been successfully entered. If the inlay offset has not been successfully entered, the user returns to block 150 and is again prompted to enter the inlay offset. On the other hand, if the inlay offset has been successfully entered, the inlay offset is stored in the printer 100 at block 170, and the user prompting phase is terminated and exited at block 180.

FIG9 generally illustrates a flowchart for the read inlay information phase of the method of the present invention, in which the entered inlay indicator and inlay offset from the user prompt phase are used to retrieve additional information required for proper operation of the printer 100. This process is completed after the printer is initially configured using the inlay indicator and inlay offset. For proper operation to occur, the marker length must be known, and the printer will feed a marker to determine the marker length. More specifically, when the printer/encoder 100 receives a print/encode job or task, the flowchart of FIG9 is entered at block 190. At block 200, the printer 100 compares the current inlay number with a stored inlay list to see if there is a match. If the current inlay does not match an inlay in the stored inlay list, the process exits at block 280. On the other hand, if the current inlay number matches an inlay in the stored inlay number list, the process continues to block 210, where the printer 100 feeds a marker or label to determine the marker length or inlay spacing. At block 220, a determination is made as to whether the marker feed of block 210 was successful. If marker delivery is unsuccessful, the process will return to block 210 until delivery is successful and inlay spacing is determined.

Once marker delivery is determined to be successful and the marker spacing is determined, the process proceeds to block 230 where the start encoding position is calculated by adding the inlay start encoding position to the inlay offset entered at block 150. The printer 100 also sets the encoding area to the inlay encoding area read from the database, and the process proceeds to block 240. At block 240, it is determined whether the inlay spacing determined at block 210 is greater than or less than the minimum inlay spacing.

If the inlay spacing from block 210 is less than the minimum inlay spacing, a Gen2 RFID TID is required to singulate the RFID transponders, and the minimum inlay spacing is used. At block 250, the maximum print speed, read/write power, usage area, and stop encoding position are automatically configured. The printer saves the active settings from the database for the selected inlay. Furthermore, short spacing is set to true, and the first TID position is set to the sum of the inlay offset entered in block 150 plus half the inlay length. Furthermore, the stop encoding position is equal to the difference between the selected inlay offset and the entered inlay offset. The process then proceeds to block 262 to determine whether the data to be encoded is a typical encoding scenario of a 96-bit EPC, access code, and lock code. At block 264, the current print speed is compared to the maximum print speed for a typical usage scenario of a 96-bit EPC, access code, and lock code. If the current speed is greater than the maximum speed, the current speed is set to the maximum speed at block 270, and the process exits at block 280. If the user is encoding data outside of typical usage scenarios, the encoding time is determined by accessing the following information in the inlay database: EPC field time, user storage time, access code time, lock code time, and kill code time to determine the encoding time in block 266. Alternatively, the printer 100 can perform a sample write to determine the encoding time in block 266. In block 268, the time in zone is calculated by determining the speed of one step and multiplying it by the number of steps in the encoding zone. In block 272, the encoding time is compared to the time in zone. If it is less than the time in zone, the process exits in block 80. If the encoding time exceeds the amount of time in the encoding zone, the print speed is reduced and the encoding time is rechecked in block 274. If no value is found to be encoded while the web is moving, the printer is set to stop encoding. The inlay information reading phase then ends and exits at block 270.

If the inlay spacing from block 210 is greater than the minimum inlay spacing, then a Gen2 RFID TID is not required to individually separate the RFID transponders, and the process proceeds to block 260. At block 260, the maximum encoding speed, read/write power, usage area, and location to stop encoding are automatically configured. Furthermore, if the time required to encode a label exceeds the amount of time available to the printer 100 for encoding, the printer will stop encoding the label. Furthermore, the location to stop encoding is equal to the difference between the selected inlay offset and the entered inlay offset. The read inlay information phase then concludes and is exited at block 270.

FIG10 illustrates a flow chart of the update inlay information phase of the generally disclosed method of the present invention, wherein the process begins at block 300 by searching for the availability of updated inlay information from one of the printer's communication ports, which may include, but are not limited to, serial, USB host, USB device, near field communication (NFC), Bluetooth, wired Ethernet, and/or wireless communication. At block 310, the printer 100 determines whether new or updated inlay information is available from the communication port. If no new inlay information is available, the process returns to block 300 and waits for new or updated inlay information to become available from the communication port. On the other hand, if new or updated inlay information is available from the communication port at block 310, the new/updated inlay information is read from the input source at block 320, verified, and stored in the printer 100 at block 330. If the inlay information received from the communication port is an update to inlay information already stored in the printer 100, the newly received inlay information replaces the old inlay information. After storing the new/updated inlay information at block 330 , the update inlay information phase ends and will be exited at block 340 .

In summary, the method of the present invention enables a user to quickly configure a printer, such as an RFID printer, by simply entering an inlay indicator and an inlay offset and running the firmware in the printer 100. The printer settings that can then be automatically configured include, but are not limited to: first TID position, encoding area, TID monomer, RF read power, RF write power, a flag to encode while the web is moving, a position to stop encoding, and a maximum speed for encoding while the web is moving.

What has been described above includes examples of the claimed subject matter. For purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, it is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the claimed subject matter are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is intended to embrace all such changes, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, if the term "include" is used in the detailed description or the claims, it is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprising" as "comprising" is interpreted when used as a transitional word in a claim.

Claims (8)

1. The method for configuring the printer includes the following steps: Input the inlay information into the printer; The input inlay information is compared with a list of pre-existing inlay information stored in the printer to determine if a match exists; If a match exists, a marker is delivered to determine the marker length or inlay spacing; Determine if the marker delivery was successful; If the marker delivery fails, the process returns to deliver the marker to determine the marker length or inlay spacing until delivery is successful; If the marker delivery is successful and the inlay spacing is determined, the start encoding position is calculated by adding the inlay start encoding position to the input inlay offset, and the encoding region is set to the inlay encoding region read from the database. Determine whether the inlay spacing is greater than or less than the minimum inlay spacing; If the inlay spacing is less than the minimum inlay spacing, then read the maximum print speed, read power, and used area, set the short spacing to true, set the first TID position to the sum of the input inlay offset and half of the inlay length, and set the stop coding position to the difference between the selected inlay offset and the input inlay offset. If the inlay spacing is greater than the minimum inlay spacing, then read the maximum encoding speed, read/write power, used area, and set the stop encoding position to the difference between the selected inlay offset and the input inlay offset; Determine if the data to be encoded is typical; If the data to be encoded is typical, the current printing speed is compared with the maximum printing speed of typical cases, and if the current printing speed is greater than the maximum speed, the current printing speed is set to the maximum speed and the process is exited. If the data to be encoded is not typical, the encoding time is determined by accessing the following information in the inlay database: EPC field time, user storage time, access code time, lock code time, and kill code time. The time in the coding region is calculated by determining the speed of one step and multiplying it by the number of steps in the coding region; Compare the encoding time with the time in the encoding region; If the encoding time is less than the time in the encoding region, the process exits; If the encoding time exceeds the time in the encoding area, reduce the printing speed and recheck the encoding time. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the printer is an RFID printer. 3. A method for configuring one or more settings of an RFID printer, including the following steps: Select an inlay indicator from the list of available inlay indicators stored in the RFID printer; The inlay offset is input into the RFID printer; The medium is fed into the RFID printer to determine the inlay spacing of the medium; The inlay spacing is compared with the minimum inlay spacing, and if the inlay spacing is less than the minimum inlay spacing, the RFID transponders are individually separated using RFID TID; and Based on the results of the comparison, either the first RFID printer configuration or the second RFID printer configuration will be selected. Each of the first RFID printer configuration and the second RFID printer configuration includes one or more of the following settings: first TID location, encoding area, TID unit, read power, write power, a flag indicating encoding while the paper roll is moving, a stop encoding position, and the maximum encoding speed while the paper roll is moving. Determine if a typical encoding case applies, and if so, compare the current printing speed with the maximum printing speed for that typical encoding case; and Determine whether one or more new inlay indicators are available from the communication port, and update the list of available inlay indicators stored in the RFID printer to include the one or more new inlay indicators. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein if the inlay spacing is greater than the minimum inlay spacing, the first RFID printer configuration is selected. 5. The method of claim 3, wherein if the inlay spacing is less than the minimum inlay spacing, then the second RFID printer configuration is selected. 6. The method of claim 3 further comprises the step of: calculating the starting encoding position of the medium by summing (a) the inlay start encoding position and (b) the input inlay offset. 7. The method of claim 6 further includes the step of calculating the stop coding position of the medium by subtracting the input inlay offset from the inlay backoff. 8. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of calculating the first TID position by summing (a) the inlay offset input and (b) half of the inlay spacing.