When the NFC buzz started a few years back, I was all excited since like many I was having bad experiences with QR codes and was hoping something “better” would come along. When this tech did, it was limited in use for mobile payments, but some very smart marketing people jumped on it and saw possibilities for Print – even though NFC enabled ads in magazines or on marketing materials (other than displays) wasn’t quite possible. In fact, that was the main argument from the QR people – NFC had limited Print use and therefore would NEVER replace QR.
I guess never say never applies here. The first NFC enabled ad was published in WIRED Magazine and as soon as the cell phone companies do their part and produce NFC enabled phones, who knows how far reaching NFC could get since its SIMPLE! NFC stands for Near Field Communication – as in have your cell phone near it, and it will communicate. No apps or readers to download, just a tap of your phone or being within a certain distance of the material and boom – you get the content (as long as your NFC setting it turned on).
Now that there is an official icon to notate the use of NFC – start looking for it! If you are lucky enough to have an NFC enable smartphone already, PLEASE let us know what you are seeing and how its working out. Hopefully the BAD marketing mistakes from the QR era won’t be repeated.
NFC technology the new QR code, according to Ryerson panelist
TORONTO—Packaging that can tell your microwave how long to cook food?
That’s a possibility of a rising technology called near field communication (NFC), those on hand for the Ryerson University Graphics Communication Management Colloquium 2012 (Spark) last night.
The technology allows smartphones to communicate with chips—or “tags”—embedded in printed material, including magazine pages, posters and packaging of all kinds, to offer more information for the consumer with a tap of the phone near the tag.
Photo: Greg Carron of BNotions, which develops mobile apps, demonstrates an NFC tag embedded movie poster
Owen Duckman, president of Labelad which manufactures pressure-sensitive labels and flexible packaging, was on hand to talk about the new technology. He predicts NFC will trump quick response—QR—codes, which take a smartphone user to a website by scanning a code on printed material. NFC will allow “endless possibilities”, including the ability to ‘like’ an item via Facebook just by tapping it, he said.
Wired magazine is currently using NFC tags in printed ads, as highlighted by this article in NFC World.
The technology could also mean “talking packaging” for the visually impaired via a smartphone, and the ability to program cooking time just by touching packaging to a microwave. “It’s not so far-fetched, it’s a matter of creativity and cost,” said Duckman.
And what is the cost? About 30¢ to 50¢ per tag, the audience heard. The tags are vulnerable to static, and not all smartphones are compatible with them yet, although it’s becoming a more common feature, explained Duckman.
Continues at: NFC technology the new QR code, according to Ryerson panelist :: Design Edge Canada.
