Full material traceability ensures process reliability in production and it is a major building block for the economic success of manufacturing companies. To optimise production management, automated identification systems with tags which have barcodes printed on them are now increasingly used in production facilities and warehouses. This ensures full control from the receipt of raw materials to the finishing of the products and shipping.The steel industry in particular, is a difficult environment and the labels and tags that ensure full material traceability have to withstand extreme conditions. Raw materials and products have rough surfaces. In addition, the data carriers are exposed to enormous heat and heavy soiling. And last but not least, the whole identification process always has to be carried out under time pressure.