Barcoding News

Every day, millions of people drive into gas stations to refuel their cars without giving a thought to the process of how that fuel gets there when they need it. Genesis Crude Oil plays a central role in transporting fuel to gas stations in the Gulf Coast region of the Unites States, which encompasses the states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

Genesis Crude Oil is a division of Houston-based Genesis Energy, a growth-oriented company with a diverse portfolio of customers, operations, and assets, including refinery-related plants, pipelines, storage tanks, and terminals The primary function of Genesis Crude Oil is moving crude oil, via trucks, from pumping stations to strategically located storage facilities, where the product is held until it’s time to move it to a refinery.

To make sure its deliveries always flow smoothly, Genesis Crude Oil equipped its fleet of trucks with the OmniTRACS® Mobile Information System from Qualcomm Enterprise Services. This system allows Genesis dispatchers to maintain contact with all drivers at all times. “We can use the OmniTRACS® System to send messages to drivers in places that cell phones don’t reach,” says Terry Lincecum, Louisiana district manager for Genesis Crude Oil.

The system, which relies on satellite technology, also sends data about conditions on the truck—such as its current location or the temperature and weight of the product being carried—back to regional headquarters. “If there’s a problem with one of our trucks after it leaves the pick-up location, we can find out about it before the driver reports it,” Lincecum says. That’s an important capability, because drivers are picking up crude oil from pumping stations in remote areas, and having to wait for drivers to be in cell phone range to learn about problems could delay finding solutions.

Problem

About a year ago, as the Louisiana region was adding new trucks to its fleet, Lincecum discovered a way to make the OmniTRACS® System even more valuable: he upgraded the printers they use with the system. Genesis Crude Oil drivers rely on wireless mobile printers to generate receipts confirming the contents of the loads they pick up from each customer. The driver also keeps a copy of the receipt to use as a manifest if a Department of Transportation inspector asks for documentation of the truck’s contents.

The information on that receipt also is transmitted, via the OmniTRACS® System, to Genesis Crude Oil headquarters, facilitating accurate recordkeeping. “As we were adding the new trucks, we realized that the printers we were using were becoming obsolete,” Lincecum recalls. One clue to this obsolescence was the increased frequency with which those printers were being repaired. After reviewing the costs of those ongoing repairs, Lincecum thought it was time to consider replacing them.

Solution

Genesis Crude Oil selected the Datamax microFlash 4te wireless portable thermal transfer printer. The 4te is the latest version of Datamax-O’Neil’s legendary 4t printer, the industry’s leading portable thermal printer and the defacto standard for route accounting and field mobile printing applications.

To accommodate the need for faster transaction processing in the fast-paced world of mobile field applications, the 4te printer incorporates a new, 32-bit RISC ARM 9 processor that allows the printer to process complex applications up to ten times faster, and enables the user to enjoy exceptionally high print throughput. It can print up to 2,240, 6-inch receipts on a single battery charge with automated, power-saving sleep and wake-up modes.

That printing capability was a selling point for Genesis Crude Oil, which was getting complaints from drivers about having to replace the paper in the older printers too often. But the most attractive feature of the 4te, according to Lincecum, was the newly developed kit for pairing the printer with the Qualcomm OmniTRACS® System. The kit made the transition to the new printer seamless. “Our drivers and customers really like these new printers,” Lincecum says. “The drivers like them because they don’t have to change the paper as often; that improves their efficiency. Customers like them because the print quality is much better. The receipts are much easier to read.”

Results

Lincecum says Genesis Crude Oil is pleased that the 4te is continuing the Datamax-O’Neil tradition for product reliability. After six years in the field, fewer than 10 percent of the units have ever been in a repair facility, even though they operate in harsh industrial environments.

“We don’t have nearly as much downtime now,” Lincecum says. “With our previous printers, when one went down, the driver would have to locate another truck nearby and wait for that driver to show up to print a receipt for the customer. We haven’t had those issues with the Datamax-O’Neil printers.”

As part of its new product development strategy, rooted in its Omnii product platform, Psion announced its latest rugged PDA device, the Psion EP10 handheld computer.

“We’re excited to launch our latest product in China, the world’s second largest economy, where mobile computers help run many of the most demanding logistical operations and where manufacturing, exports, transport and shipping dominate,” said John Conoley, Chief Executive Officer, Psion.

The new Psion EP10 is a small and durable PDA device that offers high performance, extensive features, communications capability and durability. It represents a major addition to the company’s portfolio of mobile business devices and offers all the functionality of high-end, full-size devices in a smaller form factor and at an affordable price.

Psion EP10 Product Highlights

• Texas Instruments latest high performance processor, the Sitara 3715 (OMAP3) at 800 MHz
• Large 3.7” full VGA transflective display
• 3GMA and CDMA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Full range of interactive sensors including Digital Compass, Gyroscope, light sensor, proximity sensor and Accelerometer.

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Classic, Standard or Professional CardStudio Software Offered for Basic to Advanced Card Design and Printing

Zebra Technologies, announces the release of its ZMotif CardStudio card design and issuance software suite this week. CardStudio is a Zebra card design software application for intuitive design, encoding and printing of simple to complex design cards. CardStudio is available now, in 11 different languages worldwide.

Ideal for a variety of markets, CardStudio is easy to use right out-of-the box. Users are able to design cards for access control, gift cards, loyalty and club cards, school identification and library cards, and visitor badges. This software is optimised for all Zebra card printers including: direct-to-card, retransfer, current and legacy models, and contains many new features and benefits for anyone looking at designing and printing cards. CardStudio’s Direct-to-Printer (D2P) technology optimises print quality and performance by providing advanced print control functionality from card design elements directly to the printer. New capabilities and features such as new software only license manager, and D2P print technology demonstrate Zebra’s commitment to deliver and innovate productivity software for ID cards across a wide range of industries and hardware/software solutions.

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Durable material and water-resistant adhesive creates a wristband that last for days; Hi-resolution images enable easy cashless payment options for guests.

Zebra Technologies, announced the launch of the Z-Band Fun and Z-Band Splash wristbands. The economical bar coded wristbanding solutions are ideal for amusement parks, theme and water parks, sporting events, and concerts. The wristband’s on-demand printing capability promises to create a splash in the amusement and attraction market.

The Z-Band Splash wristband features a durable, water-resistant adhesive which is perfect for water parks, resorts and cruise lines. Using direct thermal printing, Z-Band Fun bar coded wristbands can offer entertainment venues significant benefits compared to RFID wristbands.

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Zebra Technologies announced the new ZXP Series 3 card printer. Available in the first quarter of 2011, the ZXP Series 3 extends Zebra’s card printer product line with a new model that combines performance and affordability in a small footprint ideally suited for most card printing and encoding applications.

The ZXP Series 3 is unique to the card printing market, employing several advanced features that provide best-in-class performance at an attractive price point. The ZXP Release 3 ZRaster host-based image processing technology takes advantage of the increased processing power of today’s PCs to significantly optimise image and print quality while increasing overall print speed throughput. This permits greater sophistication in image optimisations without sacrificing printer speed or adding cost. Additionally, new Zebra high performance card ribbons employ an improved chemical formulation specifically designed for fast high-quality image printing. Zebra is first to market with the new ribbons, which provide more efficient dye transfer and greater durability under printing conditions. Both these innovations work together to provide better image quality and faster throughput without compromising reliability or cost.

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Zebra is excited to announce CardStudio™ ID card software for Zebra® card printers. CardStudio will be available as a stand-alone or bundled product, and will support all current and legacy Zebra ID card printers—both direct-to-card and retransfer.

Three different versions of Zebra CardStudio will be available: Continue reading »

Gruppo Maiorana, One of Italy’s Largest Food Distributors Chooses Datalogic Scanning’s PowerScan Readers to Outfit Cash & Carry Outlets

Overview

Gruppo Maiorana S.p.A. is the holding company of one of the strongest leaders in the food distribution market as well as one of the largest commercial real estate holders in central and southern Italy. Gruppo Maiorana’s extensive field experience, local market knowledge and professionalism are among the factors that have contributed most to its growth.

The operating companies of the group include Maiorana Maggiorino S.p.A., a commercial market service company handling food distribution and wholesale cash & carry outlets, and Emme Più S.r.l., a retail company that directly manages a chain of supermarkets and hypermarkets.

The Challenge

Although Gruppo Maiorana is a 35 year industry veteran, it has the characteristics of a modern company with new facilities dedicated to monitoring business management, marketing and information systems. With these facilities, Gruppo Maiorana’s ceD department (Centro Elaborazione Dati or Data Processing Center) is able to develop all IT projects internally. using the most competent, leading-edge hardware, this department led Gruppo Maiorana to become one of the first to install cordless bar code readers at its cash & carry outlet, Maiorana Maggiorino.

With the intention of equipping their stores with powerful tools to optimize business processes, Maiorana Maggiorino decided to invest in a new bar code scanning solution to upgrade its point-of-sale (POS) systems. since Maiorana Maggiorino carries over 30,000 different products, the hardware needed to be able to read diverse bar code symbologies (i.e. 1D linear and stacked codes) in all types of quality. The solution also needed to be cordless to provide the operator with the freedom to move, especially with two operators working: one to scan the customer’s items and the other to complete the transaction.

The Solution

After testing, Maiorana Maggiorino purchased Datalogic’s Powerscan PM8300-D readers with display screen to handle transactions at the Pos. “Datalogic scanning’s proven reliability and excellent reputation combined with the field testing of several other Auto ID technologies made us confident in selecting the Powerscan PM8300 readers,” said Fabio Mancini, Purchasing and ceD Manager, Gruppo Maiorana S.p.A.

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Mobility in the workplace is growing exponentially all around the world. “Companies continue to expand their mobile workforces, as increasingly capable and affordable technology becomes available in the form of high performance handheld devices connected to faster and more reliable wireless networks,” states industry analyst J. Gold Associates. According to VDC Research, “The global mobile workforce is comprised of 200 million knowledge workers and over 500 million task workers.”

What does this business mobility look like? “More and more types of workers are working away from the home office,” says Sheldon Safir, director of marketing at Motorola, “and the whole reason is to increase productivity.” Field sales forces and workforces can be away from the office for weeks at a time. But mobility is about more than simply being out of the office. More workers and managers are also getting out from behind their desks and working where they’re most needed. Retail sales associates are helping customers in multiple departments throughout the store. Warehouse workers are constantly on the move around indoor spaces larger than multiple football fields. And there’s one thing these and other mobile workers have in common.

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Selecting the best available mobile printer for the direct-store-delivery (DSD) application is as critical as the mobile computer selection.

Rugged mobile thermal printers’ benefits over impact technology are significant and include:

• Smaller, more portable footprint
• Ease of use
• Reliability
• Total cost of ownership
• Battery life

By David Krebs, VDC Research Analyst

Direct store delivery (DSD) is a key method of selling and distributing products for a variety of industries and especially for high volume food and beverage products. DSD is a business process that manufacturers use to both sell and distribute goods directly to point of sale (PoS) or point of consumption (PoC) including additional product and market related services such as merchandising, surveying and data collection, campaign management or collecting competitive intelligence.

Mobile printing is increasingly central to any effective DSD solution as it saves times over manually creating invoices and allows drivers to spend more time on merchandising and sales. In addition, DSD operations leverage mobile printers to support on-demand printing of variable information and are increasingly personalizing the content for greater value add. Mobile printing solutions enable DSD drivers to create accurate updated orders, pick lists, delivery receipts, invoices, settlement reports and other documentation. In addition to the time saving benefits associated with mobile printing – printing can reduce time spent on invoicing by as much as two thirds – it also ensures increased documentation accuracy.

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Intermec announced the expansion of its award-winning SR61T industrial scanning portfolio, including the all-new SR61HP high performance scanner, the SR61XR extra range scanner and the SR612D industrial range imager. The new solutions are ideal for customers in warehouse and manufacturing operations needing improved operator productivity and overall scanner reliability.

The SR61HP is the market’s most advanced motion-tolerant bar code scanner, featuring unique illumination and a red laser aimer to swiftly read bar codes at top speeds and in codes of all colors. The enhanced SR61TXR utilizes Intermec’s new third generation EX25 scan engine for the industry’s only near/far long-range 2D barcode scanner, providing the longest read range of any bar code scanner.

With five distinct product offerings, the SR61T family now includes a complete rugged, multi-purpose bar code imaging solution suite that minimizes scanner downtime and increases overall customer ROI.

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