A Printronix Inc. printer for radio frequency identification tags is being used by Hewlett-Packard Co. and Sun Microsystems Inc., the Irvine company said on Monday.
HP is set to use Printronix’s RFID printer in a lab it plans to open in Omaha, Neb., in March. The lab is set to study and show how companies can use the tags in warehouses and distribution.
RFID tags are labels embedded with tiny chips that store identification data. The Defense Department, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and others have spurred their usage as a more efficient way to track shipments.
Sun Microsystems plans to offer Printronix’s RFID printer as part of a package for governments, manufacturers, drug makers and retailers.
Printronix began developing its RFID printer in 2003. For now, RFID is a small but growing part of the company’s business. For the quarter ended Dec. 24, Printronix had sales of $34 million, mostly from other types of industrial printers.
Word of the pacts with HP and Sun spurred Printronix’s shares up nearly 8% on Monday.
