Custom options: RFID, colour, marks
Rehrig options named
- RFID
- Compatible on nestable and rackable pallets
- Colours
- Multiple; FDA-approved colours on some
- Marks
- Hot-stamped logos, all four sides, on the heavy-duty nestable
- Recycled
- 30 percent black and 10 percent colour (heavy-duty); 90 percent black (standard-duty); 15 percent black (rackable)
RFID plastic pallets are pallets a maker has made compatible with RFID tags. Rehrig Pacific lists RFID compatibility on its nestable and rackable pallets. Colours, hot-stamped logos and recycled content are separate options, offered model by model.
This guide says what each option changes in a spec and what to ask for. It sits beside the custom plastic pallets page, which covers how to send a request.
RFID: what compatible means
Compatible means the pallet is made to carry a tag. It does not mean a tag is fitted, and it does not name a tag standard. Ask which tag, where it sits and who reads it. A tracked closed loop uses RFID to count pallets in and out of known sites; a non-looped order rarely needs it.
- Tag type and frequency, in writing.
- Position on the pallet, and whether it survives washing or freezing.
- Whether the tag changes a rating or a listing.
- Who fits it, the maker or you.
Colour, marks and recycled content
| Option | What it changes | Ask |
|---|---|---|
| Colour | Looks, and sometimes the resin paperwork | Colourant document for that colour |
| Hot-stamped logo | Ownership marking; four sides on one heavy-duty nestable | Where the stamp sits and whether it affects the rating |
| Recycled content | Cost and the food-use story | The percentage and the document |
| Soft perimeter lip | Handling | Fit with your racks |
Recycled content ranges differ by model: up to 30 percent black and up to 10 percent colour on one heavy-duty nestable; up to 90 percent in black on a standard-duty nestable, which the maker also describes as 100 percent recyclable; up to 15 percent black on a rackable. Whether a recycled blend is acceptable for your product is a papers question.
Keeping a custom spec repeatable
Every option you add is a line that must repeat. Write the spec once: model, colour, mark position, tag, recycled percentage. A standing supply works when the spec on page one of the order is the spec on the last load.
Options listed by model
| Model | Colours and marks | RFID | Recycled content |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rehrig 40 x 48 heavy-duty nestable | Multiple colours, hot-stamped logos on all four sides, soft perimeter lip | Compatible | Up to 30 percent black, up to 10 percent colour |
| Rehrig 40 x 48 rackable | FDA-approved colour options | Option | Up to 15 percent black |
| Rehrig 40 x 48 standard-duty nestable | Not listed here | Not listed here | Up to 90 percent black; described as 100 percent recyclable |
Recycled content and colour trade against each other: the higher percentages are offered in black. If your pallets must be a brand colour, ask what share of recycled resin that colour allows, and ask the same question about the FDA-approved colour option if the pallet is for a food dock.
RFID in practice
RFID on a pallet is a radio tag moulded or fixed into the pallet so it can be tracked. Rehrig Pacific lists RFID compatibility on its heavy-duty nestable and RFID as an option on its rackable. iGPS built a whole pooled fleet around tagged pallets, which is why that fleet can be counted from a dock.
- Ask whether the tag is moulded in or added later.
- Ask which tag standard the maker supports and which your readers use.
- Ask what happens to the tag when a part is welded.
Questions to settle before a marked order
- Which mark goes on which faces, and whether the same mark is wanted on every lot.
- The colour name and the recycled share that colour allows.
- Whether a soft perimeter lip is wanted for the load.
- Whether pallets that carry another company's mark may be quoted: they may not, because they are not ours to resell.
What the tag decides
A radio tag is either moulded in or fixed to the pallet, and the choice is made at the factory. Moulded-in tags survive washing and impact better, and attached ones can be changed. Ask the maker which it offers, and whether your reader frequency matches the tag.
Why the model comes before the mark
A mark or tag has to sit where the deck, runner or lip leaves room for it, and that is set by the model. Settling the mark before the model can mean a mark that does not fit, so the reply to a marked order always starts by fixing the model.
Order of work for a marked or tagged lot
- Settle the footprint and the ratings first, as the mark depends on the model.
- Send the artwork or the tag specification second.
- Ask for a sample or a drawing before the full lot where the maker offers one.
- Confirm the reader frequency and tag type in writing.
From request to trailer
- Send the ship-to. A delivery ZIP, a footprint and a quantity, in pallets or in trailers. If you do not know a rating, describe the load.
- We match a model. We pick a maker and model whose published static, dynamic and racking load fit the load, and say so when only one maker fits.
- You get a count. The quote carries the maker's own per-trailer figure where one is published, and says plainly where none is.
- Papers and delivery. For food or pharma we attach the resin and colourant documents. A standing supply repeats the same line on every order.
What a complete request carries
- The footprint, in inches or millimetres, and whether it is fixed by a rack bay or a container.
- How many pallets, or how many 53 ft trailers.
- The ratings the load needs: static for the stack, dynamic for the move, racking only if the pallet sits on beams.
- Food, pharma, chemical, automotive, warehouse or export use, which sets the papers.
- One load now, or a standing supply with the same line on every order.
- Where it goes and when, and anything marked on the pallet: colour, logo, RFID tag.
Terms on this page
- Nestable
- Empty pallets stack inside one another, cutting empty storage space by up to 75 percent.
- Closed loop
- Pallets that travel between known sites and come back, so they are never lost to a downstream user.
- PP
- Polypropylene. More rigid than HDPE and better with heat and harsh chemicals; used where rack stiffness matters.
- Lip
- Raised edge on the deck, or an optional soft lip, that keeps the load in place.
- Rackable
- Rated to sit on rack beams, with a stated racking load.
- RFID
- Radio tag moulded or fixed into a pallet so it can be tracked.
- One-way pallet
- A cheaper pallet shipped with the load and not expected back.
- Captive pallet
- A pallet owned and kept inside one company or loop.
- Edge rack
- Resting on the rack beams by the pallet's edges only, with no support in the middle.
- Recycled-content pallet
- A pallet moulded partly or wholly from post-industrial or post-consumer resin.
Questions at the dock
What are RFID plastic pallets?
Pallets built to carry an RFID tag, so they can be counted as they move. Compatibility is a design feature; the tag is a separate choice.
Can I get hot-stamped logos?
One maker offers hot-stamped logos on all four sides of its heavy-duty nestable. Ask for your model.
Keep reading
Last reviewed 2026-11-12.