Barcoding News

Challenge:
A family-owned chain of 156 small town hardware stores in the Northeast was looking for a way to streamline operations at the outlets while making it easy to get information on daily activity back to headquarters. They selected a software product offered by one of Zebra’s solutions partners.

Application:
A software house specializing in the management of data and business processes for retailers had all the features a retail hardware company needed. It also had one feature this customer didn’t realize it needed: Zebra desktop printers. Over the years, the software company had seen the efficiencies created by pairing their system with a dedicated output device for the shelf labels, shelf talkers, and flags the customers would create.

Solution:
Instead of trying to customize their offering for the almost limitless number of retail hardware environments they might encounter, the software company forged partnerships with the manufacturers of best-of-breed hardware platforms from PCs to network systems, to servers. The desktop barcode printers they chose for all their installations are from Zebra. Teaming up with Zebra meant this software company only had to be distracted from their code one time. As soon as the Zebra printing language was integrated with the partner’s system, the desktop printer was “plug & play” wherever the software was installed.

Result:
By choosing a single vendor for barcode printers, the software developer simplified their own programming. A dedicated interface between the partner’s proprietary software and Zebra Desktop printers allows a seamless installation in the customer’s 156 small hardware stores. At the same time, it eliminates the need for unbundled buying decisions that would have consumed both time and money for the end user.

LXE Inc., the rugged mobile computer business of EMS Technologies, Inc., announced today the immediate availability of the MX9, MX9CS, and MX9HL Ultra-Rugged handheld computers, designed for use in a wide array of heavy industrial and outdoor data collection environments.

“The MX9 family of handheld computers further extends LXE’s reach into new markets and outdoor data collection applications.” states Steve Newell, LXE’s general manager. Replacing the popular MX5 series of handhelds, LXE has incorporated improvements and additional functionality requested by its existing customer and partner base. “We have seen a growing demand for ultra rugged computing products. The MX9 computer offers best-in-class performance along with special features such as GPS receivers for positional location applications. Interest in the product for agriculture, forestry and public safety markets, among others, demonstrates the need for high-reliability handheld computing solutions. Adding the MX9 family of computers to our portfolio of products will greatly extend the breadth of LXE products made available to our growing network of partners, for use in their solutions offerings.” Newell added.

The MX9 computer is in a class by itself, offering a host of features, including an outdoor display, multiple scanning and imaging options, back-lit keypads, built-in GPS positional location option, and 802.11 a/b/g, WWAN and Bluetooth communications options. The MX9 computer includes an IP67 rating and rugged packaging designed specifically for harsh outdoor environments. With low-temp batteries and built-in heater control capabilities, the MX9CS version of the handheld computer is ready for a variety of cold storage applications. The MX9HL version is compliant with Class 1 Div. 2 Hazardous Location environments. All MX9 computers ship with a PXA320 processor and industry-leading Windows® CE 5.0 operating system offering an open platform for application development. All versions also include LXE’s Toughtalk technology, supporting voice recognition applications.

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Use the table below to determine what barcode verifier is best for the barcode you need to verify.

A new generation of Datamax E-Class printers is now available. The E-Class Mark II takes this proven printer platform to a whole new level of performance, print quality, reliability, connectivity, and versatility to meet a broad range of applications. Features include:

• Fastest label delivery in its class
• Standard serial, parallel, & USB ports
• Optional built-in Ethernet and wireless 802.11b/g Ethernet networking ports
• User adjustable mechanism to handle a wide range of media
• Available in 2 colors: warm white or cool gray
• Compatible with a wide range of thermal printer command languages

Complete press release below:

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From an economical single-camera system to a sophisticated eight-camera configuration, Microscan’s Visionscape GigE platform contains all the necessary components for a complete machine-vision implementation. PC-based Gigabit Ethernet systems leverage standard network components, such as cabling, switches, and interface cards, while Visionscape software allows rapid deployment of your machine-vision application.

Visionscape GigE works with a full set of Microscan GigE cameras and can be used in applications for precise inspection, identification, guidance, gauging, and measurement. It decodes all standard linear barcodes, 2-D symbols, and stacked symbologies. Minimum PC requirements for Visionscape GigE software include a Pentium P4 class processor (2.4 GHz or higher), Windows XP or Vista, at least 1 Gbyte of RAM, an XGA display, and one open PCIe slot for a network interface card.

The first service release (“SR1”) of BarTender 9.1 was released as build 2617 on July 20th, 2009. The enhancements are summarized here, with more details available on the BarTender 9.1 service release web page:

• Translations of New Features: Many new features that originally shipped with English-only user-interfaces in BarTender 9.1 have now been translated into all 23 languages supported by the BarTender Label Management Suite.
• System Database Support for SQL 2008: The BarTender System database used in the Enterprise editions now supports SQL Server 2008 in addition to SQL Server 2005.
• Version Number Displayed within Setup Manager: When you insert a BarTender CD into your CD drive and the Setup Manager automatically runs, the opening screen will now display the BarTender version number.
• Minor Bugs: A few minor bugs were also repaired with this service release.

A team of Irish scientists has devised a method of identifying individual chickens by putting miniature barcodes on their beaks and legs, and older hens by their combs. Working at the UCD Bioresources Research Centre, the researchers achieved a 97 percent accuracy rate in experiments on identifying individual bird parts with barcodes.

Led by Professor Shane Ward, the group set out to find novel, accurate, tamper-proof and cost-effective systems to track and trace animals using among other things, biometric identification. While laying hens do not have fingerprints, they discovered they have individual comb profiles. The researchers developed specific biometric algorithms to isolate the comb profiles using mathematical modeling techniques.

Simplified product offering provides better value and advanced features to end-users.

TEKLYNX, the world’s leading developer of software products for the AIDC marketplace, today announced a new version of LABEL MATRIX PowerPro. In an effort to simplify its label design offering and offer better value to customers, only two versions of LABEL MATRIX will be offered – LABEL MATRIX QuickDraw, a single-user program for basic label design tasks, and LABEL MATRIX PowerPro, a full-featured networkable label designer with advanced data integration capabilities. LABEL MATRIX PowerPro is now being offered at a lower price. The mid-range version of LABEL MATRIX will no longer be available. LABEL MATRIX 8 Single Users can upgrade to LABEL MATRIX PowerPro for free if they have a Software Maintenance Agreement (SMA).

“Simplifying our product offering makes it easier for customers to get what they need,” commented Beth Lukomski, product manager for label design at TEKLYNX International. “With two versions of LABEL MATRIX, customers can choose the features that best suit their requirements and get the best value in the industry.”

New features in LABEL MATRIX PowerPro 8.3:

• Print to Picture – Enables users to export their label designs for use in popular graphic editing applications. Users can utilize the graphic application’s tools to modify the label design and then re-import the label into LABEL MATRIX for printing.
• Advanced Security Controls – Allow administrators to manage user access to labels to meet compliance standards.
• RFID Support – Provides an easy-to-use interface for users printing and programming RFID labels, with the advanced functionality required to support the most popular RFID printers and tags.
• Printer Support – LABEL MATRIX supports over 2,100 thermal and thermal-transfer label printers and any printer with a valid Windows driver supplied by the manufacturer. Specialized TEKLYNX drivers enable users to easily and efficiently take advantage of powerful printer capabilities.
• Database Connectivity – LABEL MATRIX allows users to connect to external data sources to easily pull information into label designs, reducing errors by eliminating manual data entry.

Rugged PC Review reviews the Unitech PA600:

The Unitech PA600 HF, the latest in the PA600 family of rugged PDA‘s, is a Windows Mobile 5.0-based compact yet durable PDA using the 520MHz version of the Marvell PXA270 processor. It has an integrated 1D/2D imager for barcode scanning, USB host and client, Bluetooth Class 2, 802.11b/g WiFi as well as an integrated 13.56MHz High Frequency RFID reader that supports ISO15693, ISO14443A and ISO14443B standards in a single device. This makes the unit suitable for all sorts of real time transaction processing in a wide range of markets including transportation, field service and health care.

The PA600 measures 3.35 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches and weighs just over 11 ounces including battery, imager and RFID reader. It has a powerful full-shift battery, 128MB of RAM and 320MB of Flash ROM. Expansion is via a single SDIO slot. The backlit transflective TFT touchscreen display measures 3.5 inches diagonally and has the standard 240 x 320 resolution. Operation is via touch, stylus, a four-way navigation pad integrated into an 18-key arrangement that includes numeric, alpha and function keys for rapid data entry.

As far as scanning goes, the unit supports 1D symbologies such as UPC-A/E, EAN-8/13, Codabar, Code 39, Code 39 full ASCI, Code 93, Code 32, Interleaved & Std. 2 of 5, EAN 128, Code 11, Delta, MSI/Plessey, Code 128, and Toshiba, as well as 2D symbologies includidng Composite, Data Matrix, MaxiCode, PDF-416, Postal Code and QR Code.

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Dolphin 9900 series mobile computers incorporate the most advanced communication and data collection technologies to enable maximum mobile user productivity and efficiency. Designed with lifecycle management in mind, Dolphin 9900 mobile computers are backwards compatible with the full line of accessories available for Dolphin 9500 mobile computers. Consistent keypad layout and operator interaction minimize the need for training when switching from the Dolphin 9500 to the Dolphin 9900, resulting in a savings of both time and money. The Dolphin 9500 Trade-in Program allows you to realize extra savings on each Dolphin 9900 purchased during the program period. Upgrade to the Dolphin 9900 and maximize your mobile computer investment.

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