Using NFC Tags with Inosscan

What are NFC Tags?

An NFC tag starts as a passive IC. These come in various formats, round one shown, for mounting in the chosen package.

NFC tags come in all shapes and sizes, from paper stickers to plastic cards, key fobs, discs, badges, wristbands and even rings.

Near-field communication (NFC) allows devices within a few centimeters of each other to exchange information wirelessly. NFC also allows devices to read information from electronic tags.

NFC is used for tap to pay services which is why most mobile phones support NFC. Reading NFC tags is supported by most Android phone devices and iPhones since the iPhone 7.

NFC tags are commonly used for access control. Many hotels and businesses use NFC tags

Where can you get NFC Tags?

You can purchase NFC Tags from this site, see below. Our Tags are shipped from Australia so shipping times maybe an issue for you.

There are also suppliers pretty much everywhere. In most countries you will be able to get tags same day or within a couple of days. You’ll have to wait longer if you want a custom package or custom printing.

How much do NFC Tags cost?

You should be able to find a Tag to suit your needs for around US$1.

The cost of an NFC Tag comes down to the way the chip is packaged. A paper sticker may only cost a few cents, a plastic card or key fob a US Dollar, a ring might cost US$10.

You can do it all on your phone

What NFC Tags are supported by Inosscan?

iPhones support a limited set of NFC Tags. As such Inosscan is limited to Tags supported by iPhones to maintain iPhone and Android compatibility.

Inosscan suports the MIFARE range of NFC Tags:

MIFARE DESFire
MIFARE Ultralight
NTAG (all the NTAG series. Most common are 213, 215, 216)

Your Tag supplier will be able to advise you.

How does Inosscan use NFC Tags?

Inosscan doesn’t write any information to the Tags. Instead, Inosscan uses the unique ID of each tag to associate it with a person.

This means there is no need to initialize a Tag before it can be used. Open a person’s record in Inosscan and scan a Tag to associated it with them.

There is no need to buy any expensive hardware to gain the security afforded in using NFC technology when you use Inosscan.

Why is there an NFC Tag Reader available on the Inosscan website?

Inosscan for Android allows for the use of a Bluetooth connected NFC Tag Reader.

This is so you can create a Scanning Station, or Scanning Kiosk, using a cheap Android Tablet. Place this Scanning Station in your registration area to allow your event participants to check/scan themselves in and out. Doing so will make managing your event even easier.

You could also use this tag reader to allow people to scan remotely from your phone like at the entrance to a bus.

Scanning an NFC Tag

Get your phone ready to scan a tag, approach a tag with your phone and Inosscan will indicate success or failure.

iPhones read NFC Tags near the top of the phone at the center. Tags can be read from the front or the back of the phone.

Most Android phones read NFC Tags from the center back of the phone.

To scan a tag at a scanning station, approach the reader with the tag and look for the result on the screen.

Using a phone

Using a station

More information about the Tags available on the Inosscan website

The epoxy tag is cheap, waterproof and versatile – you can attach it to almost anything:

Attach it to clothing
Attach it to a key ring
Attach it to equipment like a dive vest or life jacket
Attach it to a back pack or luggage

The silicon wrist band is a one size fits all wrist band which stays with the person for the duration of your event. Scanning this one is a positive scan for the person wearing it.

Tag Readers

Tags

Tags & Tag Readers