Dennis DeHainaut

RFID (radio frequency identification) technology was patented in 1973 and now is making its way into book publishing. Manufacturers and retailers, including The Gillette Co., Michelin and Wal-Mart, are embedding RFID tags in their packaging to automate checkout, track inventory and control theft. A book manufacturer has developed a process that embeds the chips in the chipboard of hardcover books during manufacturing. BindTech Inc. in Nashville, Tenn., conceived of the idea to embed the Smart Guard technology serendipitously, while manufacturing DVDs last spring. "We put an electromagnetic bar inside the [CD] case to prevent theft, but the bar interfered with the CD's graphics," says

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