What was once only contemplated for colleges and universities, badging identification for students has now become more commonplace in this country’s elementary, middle, and high schools. While some solutions within the lower schools may not be as technologically advanced as universities where an entire debit/credit system attaches to the ID, the practice still has some very useful applications.

Safety

The tragic incidents at schools like Sandy Hook elementary School and Columbine High School remind us of how important securing our schools can be. Identification of students allows for easier and quicker accounting of the whereabouts of our precious children. K-12 schools have been using a combination of id card badge and printing and a tracking software to track where children are and set up mustering points for evacuation. Zebra ZXP Series 3 printers provide multiple options for printing and encoding and work nicely for many schools with a hundreds of students. Scan Station by Jolly technologies allows for checking in and out at various stations to continually track where students are.  While you can never predict when tragedy will occur, having the right process in place can help eliminate the uncertainties.

Efficiency

ID cards can also improve efficiencies within the schools. Knowing traffic flows and usage at specific points around the campus can help schools understand where resources or infrastructure need to be added. Zebra ID Cards can simply be swiped or scanned at various locations to understand activity levels at each locations. In a more complicated environment, the Zebra ZXP Series 7 offers RFID printing capabilities to track students in real time. Quick action can be taken when activity exceeds capacity in a given area, and it allows administrators to jump in before any issues arise.

ID badging of students can safe time, energy and in some cases lives. Zebra and BarcodesInc have the right ID card solution for any size school or campus. Give us a call to discuss what options are right for you.

Star has released its WebPRNT Browser to extend Star’s WebPRNT technology for web based receipt printing to customers using Star’s portable and desktop receipt printers in a mobile environment using Bluetooth connectivity.

Star’s WebPRNT Browser allows you to print receipts or data from a web browser-based application running on a mobile device to a Star Bluetooth printer wirelessly. To begin, configure Star’s WebPRNT Browser to open the desired web-based application which supports WebPRNT and print to the desired Bluetooth printer. Once configured, the user simply pairs their mobile device to a Star Bluetooth printer, opens the application on Star’s WebPRNT Browser and prints from the application. Easy to set up for both application developers and end users, Star’s WebPRNT Browser combines the utility of WebPRNT’s webbased receipt printing technology with the simplicity of Bluetooth connectivity.

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SATO announced today the launch of the new CL6NX, a 6-inch industrial thermal label printer designed for intuitive operation, easy integration and industrial strength durability. The CL6NX is ideal for manufacturing, warehousing, supply chain logistics, healthcare, retail, and is easily configurable and scalable for global deployments.

The NX Series represents SATO’s next generation of thermal printers with advanced support for barcode symbologies, character sets and communication interfaces. A product of SATO’s global research and development network, the NX Series incorporates value-added features in a world-class design to deliver a printing solution that goes beyond expectations.

“The CL6NX builds on the success of the CL4NX, which was a game-changer for both SATO and the industry. The NX Series’ advanced technology and innovative features redefine the standard for the next generation of industrial printers,” said Noriyasu Yamada, Chief Product Planning Officer at SATO. “Through the expansion of the NX Series, we are able to offer an even greater level of flexibility to our customers, minimize their total cost of ownership and boost efficiency to give them a competitive edge.”

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Zebra is one of the leading manufacturers of ID card printing solutions that can meet the needs of any environment from low volume, print only to high security, high volume applications. Their printers offer options for color or monochromatic, single or dual-sided printing, and even lamination options for the highest quality cards possible. Zebra’s printers also offer a full range of encoding features for magnetic stripe, smartcard, MIFARE, and RFID to ensure your cards are secure and reliable to meet the most demanding access control and government requirements.

With so many capabilities and options available, it can be a challenge to find which Zebra ID card printer is the best fit for your specific needs. The feature chart below quickly and easily breaks down each of the four main models currently available from Zebra by their key attributes. For further assistance selecting the right ID card printer, contact us at Barcodes, Inc.

Model	ZXP Series 8	ZXP Series 7	ZXP Series 3	ZXP Series 1
Print Method	Retransfer card printer	Direct-to-card printer	Direct-to-card printer	Direct-to-card printer
Print Sides	Single or dual-sided color and mono-to-retransfer film	Single or dual-sided color and monochrome	Single or dual-sided color and monochrome	Single or dual-sided color and monochrome
Print Speed	Single-sided: Color: 190 CPHDouble-sided: Color: 180 CPH	Single-sided: Color: 300 CPH Mono: 1,375 CPHDouble-sided: Color: 225 CPH	Single-sided: Color: 195 CPH Mono: 700 CPHDouble-sided: Color: 140 CPH	Single-sided: Color: 130 CPH Mono: 545 CPH
Images per Ribbon	Color (YMCKO): 625 Mono (Black): 2,500	Color (YMCKO): 750 Mono (Black): 5,000	Color (YMCKO): 280 Mono (Black): 2,000	Color (YMCKO): 100 Mono (Black): 1,000
Security	High security	High security	Locking features	None
Interfaces	Standard: USB, Ethernet Optional: Wi-Fi (802.11)	Standard: USB, Ethernet Optional: W-Fi (802.11)	Standard: USB Optional: Ethernet	Standard: USB Optional: Ethernet
Edge-to-Edge Printing	Over-the-edge	Yes	Yes	Yes
UHF Gen 2 RFID	N/A	Yes	N/A	N/A
Magnetic Stripe	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Smart-card Contact	Yes	Yes	Yes	N/A
MIFARE Contactless	Yes	Yes	Yes	N/A
Smart-card Contact Station	Yes	Yes	Yes	N/A
Card Thicknesses	30-40 mil, 30 mil laminated	10-50 mil, 30 mil laminated	10-40 mil	10-40 mil
Input Feeder Capacity	150 cards	200 cards	100 cards	100 cards
Output Hopper Capacity	100 cards	100 cards	Integrated Hopper: 45 Cards External Hopper: 50 cards	Integrated Hopper: 45 Cards
Laminator	Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A

Zebra has announced the launch of their new ZQ500 mobile printer series designed for rugged field-based applications.

The 3-inch ZQ510 and 4-inch ZQ520 printers are portable, print-on-demand devices that combine a military-grade design with simple functionality for printing solutions that require a robust device capable of going into any outdoor or indoor environment. The new ZQ500 series is also the perfect replacement for the previous RW Series and is targeted for transportation & logistics, distribution, field service, and government applications.

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Successful data acquisition for barcode reading or part inspection depends on the ability of the data acquisition device, such as a barcode reader or machine vision camera, to function at peak performance within the restrictions of the application. In applications where barcode reading or machine vision inspection processes are embedded inside of equipment, limited integration space puts a unique set of restrictions on how a device can be installed, not to mention demands on the size and capabilities of the device itself. Before installation, it is important to choose a device with optimal specifications to ensure inspections can be done accurately and consistently throughout the life of the machine. This post outlines the five things an engineer should know before choosing a data acquisition device for embedding into equipment, including:

1. Barcode Type and Orientation
2. Inspection Requirements
3. Application Speed
4. Integration Space
5. Data Communication Needs

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