Now a common place tool used at almost all levels of business, the barcode is now celebrating 60 years of use!

The now-ubiquitous patch was first patented in 1952. The first design, invented by Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver, resembled a circular bullseye. Originally created to help speed up the check out lines at a grocery store, they are now use to track almost anything.  Asset management, inventory, POS, and ID issuance are just some examples of processes that would be much more difficult with out the help of barcodes.

Today, 60 years after the barcode was first patented, there are more than 5 million individual barcodes in use around the world.  Oddly enough, one of the first retail products to use a barcode was Wrigley’g gum!  Through the years, many different types of codes have been developed, but none as popular and well-known as the UPC barcode, used on retail items, and the quickly advancing QR code you can scan with your smartphone.

Wherever you look you can find the barcode hard at work.  With advancements in scanner technology and more flexible barcode development, we’ll hopefully see another 60 years of barcodes!

New research into the mobile consumer buying habits of men and women reveals that, not only do men shop more via mobile devices than women, but they also make more use of barcode scanners.

As mobile devices become the most common way people get online, uSamp decided to conduct a survey of the mobile shopping habits of 1,100 men and woman, ages 18 – 75. The results may surprise many people in that it found men to be the bigger online mobile shoppers.

What was everyone buying?

• 27% of males purchase consumer electronics on mobile vs. 8% of females
• 23% of males purchase movie and event tickets on mobile vs. 11% of females
• 30% of males purchase digital content on mobile vs. 20% of females
• 13% of males purchase food and drinks on mobile vs. 8% of females
• 8% of males purchase office supplies on mobile vs. 4% of females

Another interesting result from the study was that 91% of the time men were scanning barcodes with their mobile purchase versus the 85% of women. The survey found that men and woman who scan barcodes with mobile devices are shopping at these types of stores:

• Electronic store: 27% male vs. 12% female
• Convenience store: 7% male vs. 3% female
• Health & Beauty Store: 6% female vs. 2% male

More info on the study can be found here.

Janam Technologies announced that its XM66 rugged handheld devices are being used to scan spectator tickets during this summer’s preeminent global sporting event.

“Moving spectators quickly and easily into multiple ticketed venues is crucial for success of the event,” said Harry B. Lerner, CEO of Janam. “We are extremely proud that Janam was selected and couldn’t ask for a better venue to showcase the capabilities of our products.”

“This is yet another case where mission critical operational needs are best addressed with purpose-built tools, as opposed to fragile consumer devices in attachable sleds with half a day of battery life,” Lerner added. “This solution required rapid-fire barcode scanning and secure, reliable wireless data communication in a lightweight yet rugged device.”

Continue reading »

Finding the right scanner that will meet the demands of your business and not break your budget is always a challenge.

To help make the decision easier, the Unitech MS-180 is our current Hot Deal though the end of the month.

Unitech’s MS-series scanners are some of the most affordable and reliable on the market today.  These scanners can benefit all aspecst of your business to save you time, money, and make your business more efficient. This video goes over just a few business scenarios, but the MS series can tackle almost anything you need it to do.

Motorola Solutions and Psion announced that they have agreed on the terms of a recommended offer by Motorola Solutions for a buyout of all Psion stock shares.

Psion has been a pioneer in ruggedized mobile computing products and their application in industrial segments around the world. With headquarters in London and a major operational presence near Toronto, Canada, Psion has been a leader in mobile computing solutions since 1980. Psion has approximately 830 employees, customers in more than 50 countries.

Continue reading »

In this modern world of technology the mobile phone is being used more and more for everyday things, and one of those things is the ability to read handy barcodes by way of a barcode scanner app on your mobile device that can read the code on products and deliver info about that product, I’m pretty sure if you own a mobile device you know how barcode scanners work.

So with this in mind, we thought we’d bring to our Android readers out there, our pick of the top 5 barcode scanner for the Android platform for your consideration, so let’s kick off that top 5 with…

Continue reading »

Three Printers Gain Certification from Aldelo

Star Micronics America, a leading worldwide manufacturer of point of service printers, has announced that three of their printers are now certified with Aldelo’s XERA POS.  After an extensive certification process, Aldelo has certified the TSP100, SP742 and SP500 point of service printers from Star Micronics.

Specifically designed for all fine dining, table service, and quick service operations, XERA POS is a hospitality point of sale software that embodies the latest user interface look and feel with intuitive screen workflow. The combination of the Star printer and Aldelo software is ideal for virtually any hospitality environment.

Star’s TSP100 is the first all-in-one receipt printer and offers a high throughput of 22 receipts per minute (RPM). The TSP100 is wall mountable to create more counter space and offers the revolutionary futurePRNT receipt design software.

Star’s leading impact printers, ideal for kitchen use have also been certified for XERA POS. The SP700 is an impact printer that is built specifically to work in environments where heat and humidity can erode the type on the kitchen order. It is a fast, two-color printer that offers crisp, easy to read type for quick viewing. In addition, Star’s legacy impact printer, the SP500 has also been certified. The SP500 is an excellent solution for food service and kitchen applications. It also boasts a high speed and can print 4.2lines per second at 40 columns.

Continue reading »

Same Rugged Reliability Now with Industry-Standard Interfaces

CognitiveTPG today announced the availability of its newest member of the desktop label printer line – the DLXi. The DLXi combines the legendary reliability of the Advantage LX and Blaster printer lines with the latest communication interfaces and performance. The DLXi is designed to operate in challenging environments while providing a seamless migration to the latest technology.

The DLXi carries on the tradition of metal frame construction and a metal print mechanism for the utmost in reliability backed with a 2-year warranty. However, it is the communication connector combinations that set this unit apart. The 4-inch print width model offers the most communication interfaces offered on a desktop printer platform (Serial, Parallel, Ethernet, USB-B and USB-A host).

Thinking of adding scanning and category management to your operation? Your VeriFone POS system already has the software to scan PLUs and report sales. Because VeriFone POS systems are open, you can choose from a variety of scanners. Whether you need a high-tech 2D bar code scanner for scanning state licenses in conjunction with EASY ID or a basic 1D bar code scanner to move the lines, our partners have options that fit your needs and your wallet.

Benefits of opening your POS system to Scanning

A new supermarket scanner from Toshiba Tec may make conventional barcode scanners in supermarkets unnecessary.

At most supermarkets a laser barcode scanner is used to read barcodes of packaging and produce stickers. The newly developed Object Recognition Scanner instantly recognizes merchandise directly by appearance with a camera, be it fresh produce or packaged goods.

Fruit and vegetables in supermarkets don’t usually have barcodes, because they’re put out while they’re fresh. So these items can’t be read at the register using barcodes, which means staff need to input data to record them. If staff are part-time
employees, they may not recognize some items, which can cause delays. We’re developing this new scanner to solve that problem.

In this demo, there are three kinds of apples: Fuji, Jonagold, and Mutsu. The Fuji and Jonagold originally come from the same stock, so if you’re not really familiar with apples, they might look the same. But this scanner can distinguish them, by recognizing subtle differences in pattern and coloration.

This is an impressive technology, but definitely has limits. It is unlikely the technology can currently distinguish an expensive organic apple from its non-organic twin.