CLINTON, S.C. and IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 11 -- Avery Dennison RFID, a leading provider of high-volume, high-quality RFID tags, and Printronix Inc., a leading integrated supply-chain printing solutions manufacturer, recently published qualified specifications for all of Avery Dennison's UHF RFID inlays for use in Printronix's family of RFID printers and printer applicators. With this qualification, the Printronix SmartLine family becomes the first UHF printers and encoders to support Avery Dennison's entire line of inlays, including the new Gen 2 AD-220. The published specifications apply to Printronix's SmartLine family of RFID printers with either MP or MP2 RFID Smart encoding technologies. MP2 is the industry's first designed specifically to EPCglobal(TM) Gen 2 encoding specifications. "This is an important announcement for end users who are concerned about transitioning to Gen 2," said Mathew Mellis, vice president of RFID at Avery Dennison. "Avery Dennison has provided a high-yield, plug-and-play solution with the AD-220 that makes Gen 2 implementation significantly easier. In addition, our qualification results have found the Printronix SmartLine family to be an excellent platform for encoding Avery Dennison inlays. We are dedicated to working closely with Printronix to provide end users with RFID inlays that provide high yields, at a cost that enhances their RFID investment." Avery Dennison and Printronix worked together to qualify Printronix RFID Smart Labels using Avery Dennison's inlays. By using Printronix SmartLine products along with Printronix certified labels with Avery Dennison inlays, customers can count on a compliance solution backed by two of EPCglobal's leading providers. The Printronix SmartLine family gives customers flexible and predictable support for all of Avery Dennison's UHF RFID inlays with this qualification. Avery Dennison's AD-210 Class 1 and AD-220 Gen 2 tags share the same inlay position on all Printronix SmartLine printers and printer applicators. This will provide a majority of end users with Printronix printers to use the AD-210 for existing Class 1 needs and then transition seamlessly to Gen 2 with the AD-220; while retaining the same print label format and application position. "Printronix's commitment to providing end users with the most productive path to RFID adoption is evident in our qualification of all Avery Dennison's RFID inlays for use with Printronix's MP2 platform," said George Harwood, chief financial officer, Printronix. "Avery Dennison is a leading RFID tag manufacturer and shares our commitment to ease customers' transition to Gen 2 RFID printing. Together, we've extended our commitment to provide superior interoperability between Printronix RFID printers and Avery Dennison inlays." To facilitate widespread RFID printing adoption, the companies have designed a promotion to jumpstart Gen 2 printing and encoding. Printronix will give every customer who purchases a Printronix RFID printer through June 2006 a free roll of 500 Printronix-certified Gen 2 labels with Avery Dennison AD-220 inlays.