Ultra-high frequency radio frequency identification tag antennas were screen printed directly onto pharmaceutical packaging and a comparison between commercially available inlays (hereafter reference tags) and printed tag antennas using two different inks (hereafter tags A and B) was made. The research revealed that the properties of the reference tag were slightly better than those for tags A and B on the empty boxes. Nevertheless, all of the samples can be successfully read for lengths of up to 105 and 125 cm for horizontally and vertically oriented tags, respectively. None of the tags compared can be read successfully when placed in close proximity to a metallic surface or a liquid.

Deterioration in reading capabilities may be prevented by inserting a material with a low dielectric constant ε. The authors proved that the readability of all of the tags is improved when additional cardboard sheets are inserted between the Al blister and the tags. The reference tags require a separation distance of at least 4 mm, whereas the tags A and B need only a separation distance of just over 2 mm to be read successfully.

The effect of liquids in glass vials is less pronounced than the effect of reflective metal. Generally, there is no need for low ε separation since the walls of the glass vial act as a separator. Regardless, the backscattered signal is approximately 5 dBm lower than the signal from the empty boxes and, in any event, the reading range for all of the tags does not fall below 60 cm.