Abstract A five-slot hexagonal shape chipless RFID tag is designed, simulated, and manufactured on FR4 substrate. The designed tag's copper geometry was replicated on a wide range of dielectric substrate to quantify the impact on resonance quality factor (RQF) and resonating frequencies. The tag's performance was assessed in three configurations. First, a hexagonal shape tag's radar cross section (RCS) was studied over different dielectric substrates. The various dielectric substrate effects were investigated over the maximum read range, resonant frequencies and RQF. In the second evaluation, the physical geometry of the tag was adjusted to achieve the spectral signatures in 2–7 GHz frequency band with high RQF. In step three, the optimized tag geometry was manufactured on FR4, Roger Duroid 5880, and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrates. Denford milling machine for PCB engraving and inkjet printing for silver nanoparticles deposition were used for tags manufacturing. During tag manufacturing, copper and silver were used as conducting materials for RCS backscattering. The tag RCS response was measured by vector network analyzer with bi-static antenna setup. The analysis of different dielectric substrate provides a pathway of designing a novel substrate by using various nanomaterials.