InfoTrends has been promoting the idea of interconnectivity between the printed and digital worlds for years now, as a way to raise the value of printed products and make them more functional and integrated into our digital world. We continue to see emerging applications that blend print and mobile technologies. Recently, there have been a number of creative applications leveraging Near-Field Communication (NFC) tags.

For those unfamiliar with NFC tags, they represent a wireless communication technology similar to RFID. The technology enables the transfer of data between a mobile phone and an NFC tag. The beauty of NFC is in its simplicity—once the tag has been encoded with the desired information or action, it is ready to use. The user simply touches the back of his/her phone against the tag to launch the URL, application, or service that has been encoded.

A number of today’s firms are exploring how to successfully merge print with NFC tags to deliver exciting applications for customers. Tap For Message is a Canadian firm that is using NFC to add personalized audio and video messages to greeting cards, stickers, hang tags, and gift card holders. NFC phone users can record a message using their smartphones. The sender taps on the NFC tag embedded in the greeting card or gift label, enters an activation code, and attaches a video. The recipient then simply taps or scans the label with his/her own phone and the message is played on their handset. These labels can also be used for invitations to weddings, parties, and corporate events. There is applicability for both B2B and B2C users in today’s market.