Mobile printers are deployed primarily to improve productivity. By giving users a tool to produce labels and receipts exactly when and where they’re needed, enterprises save the steps required to travel to a stationary or vehicle-mounted printer, pick up the print output, and bring it back to where it is needed. These steps build unnecessary labor cost into printing operations. Therefore, the value a mobile printer provides depends directly on how it supports productivity.

“Productivity enhancement” isn’t a line item on mobile printer spec sheets that organizations can use to easily compare different models. Instead, spec sheets list printer sizes and weights, print widths, media compatibility, wireless connectivity support, I/Os, power sources and other configuration options that add up to thousands of potential choices. Understanding how these features and options relate to mobile printer productivity and reliability is essential for choosing the best printer for your operations.

There are five fundamental tips for finding the mobile printer that provides the best fit:

1. Respect the work environment.
2. Understand user needs.
3. Don’t deviate from enterprise security and integration standards.
4. Match the mobile printer to its computer.
5. Consider operating cost as part of total cost.

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With a free or inexpensive app you can turn the Android or iPhone smartphone in your pocket into a powerful data-collecting barcode scanner for basic inventory management, asset tracking, and ticketing needs.

Most apps you will find in iTunes and Google Play only focus on reading barcodes for checking product prices, but there are also many apps ideal for small business and enterprise users.

We reviewed hundreds of apps to bring you the 10 of the most useful barcode scanner apps.

Read our full review of barcode scanner apps.

Scanners may have become easier to use than ever but choosing one from the long list of models out there is a challenge.  Luckily, you don’t need to know all the technical ins and outs of scanner technology to find a good fit for your business.  With the following 4 questions you’ll be able to narrow down your options to the right one for you.

Question #1 : What type of barcode are you reading?

This is one of the most important questions since you can end up paying too much for a scanner or get one that doesn’t work at all.  There are essentially 2 types of barcodes:

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Industry Need

What can customers get in your stores that they can’t get online?

Retailers who cannot easily answer this question risk losing business to e-commerce competitors – more than 3,100 U.S. retail stores closed in 2011 and more than 5,000 more are projected to close in 2012, according to published industry reports. Retailers who are answering the question successfully are focusing on creating an excellent customer experience. They are creating and enhancing customer loyalty programs, offering new services, seamlessly merging sales channels and providing exceptional customer service.

Creating a positive customer experience also requires satisfying the desire for immediacy. Successful retailers have products available for customers to touch, try and take home right away, without having to wait for shipment.

To create this experience, retailers need to keep their products on the shelves and their staff on the floor. It requires a workforce that is knowledgeable, flexible and highly responsive. Retailers should demand the same from their equipment.

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All thermal label printers have 3 basic consumables: labels, ribbon (if thermal transfer printer), and printheads. Even though it is part of the printer itself as opposed to a media item the printhead is still considered a consumable due to the fact that it does wear down over time and will need to be replaced. When you take into account the fact that replacing your printhead will cost you up to almost half of what you paid for your printer it is something we will want to get the most out of. Printheads don’t just stop working one day either so along the way you will see a drop in your print quality which can cause a host of problems beyond just the cost of a replacement. We’ll take a look at what your printhead is and how it works along with 5 things you can do to ensure a long use-cycle to avoid problems and extra costs to your print application.
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Everywhere You Look

At this point most everyone knows what a barcode is, right? When I tell people I work for a company that deals with barcodes they pause for maybe a second but then immediately go “Oh yeah, the black and white lines on pretty much everything!” No longer the subjects of suspicion or conspiracies, barcodes have become an indispensible tool for tracking pretty much anything. Look on any retail product and you will find a UPC code. On the back of your driver’s license you’ll find a PDF417. Open up your favorite magazine and you will find QR codes in advertisements taking you to websites and special offers. They literally are everywhere!

Given the wide range of applications to use a barcode more than one type has been developed throughout its history and several dozen are currently in use. Most of us see the bars or gridded boxes and just think ‘barcode’ but depending on what you are tracking and how much information you need it may not be clear what is the best code to go with. We’ll take a look at the 3 types of codes and some of their common uses to help get a better idea of how to get the most out of barcodes.

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Sample C# source code for generating and printing Code39 barcodes in a Windows application is now available from Microsoft.

The code can be incorporated into Visual Studio 2010 to create new applications.

Get the Code39 C# source code

Microsoft has created a great deal of confusion with it’s many versions of Windows for mobile devices: Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5, Windows Phone 7, Windows Embedded Compact 7, etc.

What are the current Windows operating systems for handheld devices?

Mobile device manufacturers like Motorola, Honeywell, Intermec and Datalogic handheld mobile computers using Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 and Windows Embedded Compact 7 solutions. Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 and Windows Embedded Compact 7 are great platforms to power the wide range of Enterprise Handheld Devices used by enterprise customers today.

Microsoft recommends Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 as the platform when:

• Application compatibility across a wide range of devices is desired
• The device requires advanced security (remote wipe, password enforcement) and device management capabilities
• Voice telephony is desired (Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 provides Cellcore and Dialer capabilities for enterprise handheld devices)

Microsoft recommends Windows Embedded Compact 7 when:

• A high degree of customization and flexibility is required for the device
• The device focuses on a on a dedicated task

Why would I use Windows Embedded Handheld versus Windows Phone 7?

Windows Embedded Handheld is targeted at enterprise handheld devices that run line-of-business (LOB) applications. It’s intended for enterprise users who need a device that integrates with existing enterprise infrastructure, is compatible with Windows Mobile 6.5 applications, and leverages current device management and security solutions.

Windows Phone targets smart phones with a new UI, tools, and application marketplace. It is not compatible with Windows Mobile 6.5 applications.

For an updated compatibility listing refer to this post.

These USB (HID) credit card readers are supported by Authorize.net VPOS:

• Magtek USB HID Mini Swipe Reader (white) – 21040101
• Magtek USB HID Mini Swipe Reader (black) – 21040102
• Magtek USB HID SureSwipe (black) – 21040140
• Magtek USB HID SureSwipe (white) – 21040146
• Magtek Dynamag (Formerly known as Centurion) HID Cardreader (black) – 21073075
• IDTECH MiniMagII USB/HID MagStripe Reader (beige) – IDMB-335133M
• IDTECH MiniMagII USB/HID MagStripe Reader (black) – IDMB-335133BM
• IDTECH MiniMag Duo USB/HID Reader (beige) – IDMB-355133M
• IDTECH MiniMag Duo USB/HID Reader (black) – IDMB-355133BM

The Intermec SR61HP offers unmatched performance on colored barcodes. Equipped with the latest 2D Imager generation, the SR61THP delivers best in class performances when it comes to reading colored barcodes. Colored barcodes are used on medicine packages, in postal applications and in retail/consumer good packages. By choosing the SR61THP, you can read colored barcodes easily and quickly, and increase productivity by avoiding manual entry.