Source tagging is the application of EAS security tags at the source, the supplier or manufacturer, instead of at the retail side of the chain. For the retailer, source tagging eliminates the labor expense needed to apply the EAS tags themselves, and reduces the time between receipt of merchandise and when the merchandise is ready for sale. For the supplier, the main benefit is the preservation of the retail packaging aesthetics by easing the application of security tags within product packaging. Source tagging allows the EAS tags to be concealed and more difficult to remove. The high speed application of EAS labels, suited for commercial packaging processes, was perfected via modifications to standard pressure sensitive label applicators. Today, consumer goods are source tagged at high speeds with the EAS label incorporated into the packaging or the product itself.

 

 

The most common source tags are AM strips and 8.2 MHz Radio Frequency Labels. Most manufacturers use both when source tagging. One significant problem from source tagging is something called "tag pollution" where upon non-deactivated tags are carried around by customers causing unwanted alarms. The problem is that no store has both systems. Therefore if a store actually has an anti-shoplifting system to deactivate a label they will only deactivate one of the two. This is often the reason why people make an alarm entering a store and can cause great frustration for both customers and staff. The problem is most evident in shopping malls where customers float between stores. Retailers who use other types of loss-prevention systems than AM or 8.2 MHz Radio Frequency systems will not be as affected by "tag pollution".

As its name implies, source tagging is the embedding of disposable RF security labels at either the point of manufacture or packaging. Source tagging has been highly successful in the packaged products industry, and retailers, such as discount giant Target, are starting to use it for merchandise such as earrings, apparel, shoes, batteries, CDs, computer software, sporting goods and electronics. (Retailers' interest in source tagging has increased as shoplifters have gotten around anti-shoplifting tags applied to the outside of packages by removing the product and leaving the empty box on the shelf!)

The newest source tags are paper-thin and easily integrated into automated production processes. These tags are applied in primary packaging (or within or on the product itself -- for example, incorporated into woven garment tags) and under labels on bottles. Two-dimensional source tags can be invisibly embedded between layers of thin paper stock or cardboard on standard blister packages. These invisible tags, which are deactivated by the clerk with a verifier that needs no physical contact with the tag to work, are especially effective at addressing employee theft and represent a hot topic in retail security today.