Many commercial applications require a means for coding and tracking in demanding environments. Often technologies such as bar codes and RFID fail to meet the criteria of performance and cost:

• in chemically and environmentally harsh environments;
• where miniaturization and robustness are required;
• or where optical interference and conditions prevent the use of conventional approaches.

Spectra's hardware, software and media products are targeted towards applications such as textile services, marking of lumber and military hardware, combinatorial chemistry for drug discovery, flat mail processing and other product tracking applications. They include inks and labels for our fluorescent LaserCode™ symbology, miniature scale LaserChips™ for chemistry and a new breakthrough material system called Actíva™ that can reversibly change from a transparent state to white during readout. Coupled to each of these products is a material-specific reader system that accurately senses the tagged or labeled material. Actíva allows the use of existing 1D and 2D barcode readers.