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RFID retail and supply-chain tags commonly store a globally unique EPC (Electronic Product Code) in the 96-bit EPC-96 format — the RFID equivalent of a barcode, but capable of being read wirelessly and in bulk without line-of-sight scanning. The EPC-96 structure is built from a header identifying the encoding scheme, a company (or GS1 manager) prefix identifying the brand or manufacturer, and an item reference plus serial number identifying the specific product and unit. Getting this structure right before ordering or programming a batch of RFID tags matters, because a malformed or inconsistently structured EPC can cause reads to fail or collide with another company's numbering range further down the supply chain. This tool is a formatting and planning reference: it assembles a correctly-structured EPC-96 record preview from the values you enter — it does not write to physical RFID hardware, since a web browser has no way to communicate with an RFID tag writer directly.
How it works
Enter a numeric company prefix and item reference (and, depending on the scheme, a serial number). The tool assembles these values into the standard EPC-96 bit-field structure — placing each value into its correct position and bit-length within the 96-bit record according to the EPC encoding scheme — and displays a formatted preview of the resulting record, so you can verify the structure is correct before it's ever sent to real tag-programming hardware.
- Enter company prefix (numeric).
- Enter item reference (numeric).
- Enter serial number (numeric).
- Click Calculate to see your results.
Examples
Building a sample EPC
A company prefix of 614141 and item reference of 812345 produces a properly-structured EPC-96 record preview, showing how those values map into the standard bit-field layout.
Planning a product line's numbering
Using the same company prefix across many item references (one per product SKU) with different serial numbers per physical unit is the standard pattern for encoding a full product line consistently across a supply chain.
Verifying structure before a hardware order
Generating a preview record and comparing its bit-length breakdown against your RFID vendor's tag specification is a quick way to catch a mismatched encoding scheme before committing to a print run.
Who should use it
- Planning an EPC-96 record's structure before programming a batch of RFID tags.
- Learning how retail and supply-chain RFID tags encode data.
- Cross-checking a vendor-supplied EPC value's structure.
Industry applications
- Retail and supply-chain inventory management
- IoT/hardware prototyping
- Logistics and warehousing
Advantages
- Follows the real EPC-96 structure.
- Simple, instant preview.
- Useful for validating structure before committing to hardware programming.
Limitations
- Formatting only — does not write to physical RFID hardware.
- Doesn't validate whether a company prefix is actually GS1-registered.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Expecting this browser-based formatting tool to physically program an RFID chip — that step needs dedicated RFID hardware and encoder software.
- Using an unassigned or made-up company prefix on tags meant for real supply-chain circulation, risking a numbering collision.
- Mixing up the EPC-96 record structure with a different RFID encoding scheme that a specific vendor's hardware expects.
Best practices
- Use this to validate your EPC structure before writing a batch of tags with your RFID hardware's own software.
- Confirm your company prefix is properly GS1-assigned before generating records intended for real retail or logistics use.
- Keep serial numbers unique per physical unit within a given item reference to preserve the "one tag, one item" guarantee EPC is designed to provide.
Tips
- See the NFC Data Generator for a similar formatting reference for NFC (NDEF) tags instead of RFID.
- Double-check your bit-length breakdown against your specific RFID hardware vendor's documentation, since some vendors support variants beyond the base EPC-96 scheme.