Category Archives: Barcode Equipment

Understanding Inventory Software

Tracking inventory has historically been a relatively straightforward process. Anyone with a pad and paper has been able to operate at the cutting edge of keeping track of stock and inventory. One imagines that, in the general stores of times past, the task of keeping inventory could have been performed by children.

 

While the basic task of keeping inventory has remained the same—the process of keeping track of how much stock you have of a given product—the processes by which people keep track of inventory have grown increasingly sophisticated and complex. The source of the growing sophistication and complexity of inventory is related to automation. Inventory is now tracked electronically. Of course, all electronic systems receive constant attention from the brightest engineers and entrepreneurs seeking to make electronic processes more useful and efficient.

 

When a process as straightforward as keeping inventory is automated, there are certain to be a great number of benefits in terms of increased convenience and efficiency. There is a risk, however, that those used to doing things the old-fashioned way will be left behind by the ever-changing innovation that occurs when a process becomes automated. Here are a few concepts that everyone needs to remain familiar with when working with barcode inventory software to stay on top of current progress.

 

Point Of Sale

 

barcode-point-of-sale

 

Point of sale may also be referred to as point of purchase. Each of these terms refers to the actual location from which an item was sold. Tracking point of sale using barcode software can be an important tool for businesses that sell products from multiple locations. Keeping track electronically not only of total inventory volume, but also of the individual point of sale, allows businesses to understand where certain items are being purchased. Not only does this allow them to more quickly and efficiently replenish their stock, but it also provides valuable data that may assist them in sales and marketing strategies going forward. A rental inventory scanner linked up to certain types of inventory software may be of interest to people who think this could benefit their business.

 

Barcoding

 

Businesses have barcoded their inventory for many years. You might think barcoding is as complex as it can possibly get. While this is true to some degree—barcodes are still simply a series of numbers assigned to a unit of your stock—there have been considerable advancements in barcoding software. One way to work with this newer software, which allows you to do more as far as organizing and strategizing with the data provided by barcodes, is to attach a barcode reader directly to your computer. This allows you to quickly integrate the data yielded by the barcodes to be used by the new software.

 

Interactive Reporting

 

Interactive reporting is a feature of a lot of newer inventory control software. Interactive reporting is basically a means making sure your inventory is always balanced. What makes it so advanced is its ability to notice trends in your inventory, such as what is selling quickly and what is not selling very well, and adjusts your inventory based on these factors. For example, if you have only sold 1 of Item #1 and 1,000 of Item #2, interactive reporting makes sure the stock of these is not replenished at the same rate. When an item in category #1 is sold that stock would be replenished by more of Item #2. Advanced metrics would make sure that your inventory is routinely reorganized so that inventory costs are optimized to most effectively meet fluctuating demand.

 

New Barcode Uses

As technology advances at a more rapid pace than ever before, many innovations that were once considered to be on the cutting edge of technology are quickly outmoded by even newer technologies. The hot air balloon is an interesting case study of just such technological development. For the vast majority of human history, human flight was considered the stuff of mythology. Outside of the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, perhaps, few humans considered that human flight would one day become commonplace.

 

When the hot air balloon was first beginning to be used in the 19th century it was considered the future of human travel through the air. Not having the context we do now, people assumed that the hot air balloon would remain the pinnacle of technology that allowed humans to travel through the air. People were planning on traveling from city to city in routine fashion in hot air balloons! Of course, we now understand that the hot air balloon was quickly outmoded by the airplane within a century as the future of human flight. While we still use hot air balloons for sightseeing and recreational purposes, they are no longer considered

 

The only way for a technology to survive in this age of rapid innovation is for humans to continually find new innovative uses for the technology. One example of a technology for which we are continuing to find new uses is the barcode. The barcode started out as a simple way to electronically track inventory. Rather than remaining in this relatively specialized area of human life, the barcode has sprawled out to become increasingly useful to many different aspects of human life. Here is a look at a few ways the barcode is proving to be a durable innovation.

 

Inventory

 

While barcodes have always been used for inventory, the way in which they contribute to inventory management is more innovative than ever. Today, many barcode scanners are able to link a physical barcode electronically with inventory management software. Now, not only is the data associated with barcodes stored electronically, but this software allows users to perform a variety of complex data analysis tasks with the data. A barcode scanner rental company, for example, may provide a company with both barcode equipment and software that allows the company not only to track its inventory electronically but also to have its inventory replenished automatically based on inventory fluctuation.

 

QR Codes

 

barcode-scanner-rentals

 

QR codes are another example of how barcode technology has merged with other technologies, in this case smart phone technology, to produce innovative results. For a variety of reasons, companies are including QR codes, a form of barcode, onto physical advertisements of all kinds. Newspaper advertisements, flyers and any form of media imaginable are all being outfitted with these QR codes. The QR codes are intended to be scanned using a smart phone app. Those who have scanned the QR codes with their phones are then taken to a page with more information about the product or event, or perhaps a page where a discount on a certain item may be obtained. In this way, barcodes are helping to bridge the gap between old and new media.

 

Health

 

One of the newest applications of barcode technology is in the healthcare field. A city in Japan, for example, is beginning the practice of outfitting patients suffering from dementia with barcoded tags. While this may seem like a frightening scenario for some, it may lead to an increased ability to track missing people who suffer from diseases like dementia.

World’s Most Popular Trade Shows

Trade shows serve an integral function in the growth of many businesses. They are an opportunity for businesses to sell and market their product to retailers and enthusiasts with a particular interest in their market. There is increased attention being paid in the media and in the culture in general to the importance of entrepreneurship and supporting the starting of businesses, and as a result people are increasingly fascinated with what it would be like to exhibit a product at a trade show.

 

wifi-badge-setup

 

The trade shows themselves, however, are interesting feats of organization and planning as well. The logistical skill necessary to host any trade show, let alone one of the massive trade shows we will be looking at in this post, is an impressive display of event planning. With the increased focus on businesses, trade shows have had to increase their focus on providing a successful setting for business to take place. They have done this in several ways. Many trade shows today provide not just the physical setting for the event, but also the physical equipment for exhibitors and attendees to feel that the show was an efficient use of their time. Of course, impressing hundreds of businesspeople and savvy customers with efficiency is no easy task.

 

One piece of equipment these events and organizations are supplying to vendors is called a tradeshow badge scanner. These pieces of equipment are rented by the show and provided to vendors, or sometimes rented by the vendors themselves. This piece of equipment helps them more easily keep track of data acquired at the conference related to sales and sales leads by allowing interested parties to simply scan a barcoded badge. It’s just one of the innovations you would find at the following trade shows, which are among the largest in the world.

 

Buenos Aires International Book Fair

 

The Buenos Aires International Book Fair in Argentina is attended annually by publishing and literary industry professionals as well as bookworms of the general public. In the spring of 2008, this trade show attracted over 1.2 million visitors over a period of multiple weeks from late April to early May. Many famous authors have visited the event, and it is usually a time and place chosen by many writers, publishers, editors, educators, librarians and others involved professionally with books to hold their annual seminars, meetings or conferences.  The Buenos Aires International Book fair has been operating for over 40 years, beginning in 1975.

 

AGRO

 

AGRO is an annual Ukranian exhibition of agricultural equipment. It is organized by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and held in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. First held in 1988, the expo has hosted more than a hundred thousand people in just one year. Its popularity owes to the prominence of the agricultural sector of Ukraine, which demonstrates the connection between trade shows and the economy as a whole. It is attended by those working or interested in the agriculture, agricultural machinery, livestock farming and food industries of Ukraine.

 

Tokyo Motor Show

 

The Tokyo Motor Show is held on a biannual basis in the late fall in Tokyo, Japan. The auto press considers this show to be among the most notable and important trade shows in the auto industry, with other prominent shows held in Paris, Detroit, Geneva and Frankfurt. The show is distinguished from even the other large auto trade shows for its focus on conceptual automobiles as opposed to production automobiles The Tokyo Motor Show began in 1954 and has hosted, in one year of the show, over 1.5 million people.

Short Term Inventory Solutions

If your business requires keeping inventory, and you’ve been in business for any length of time or had any degree of success, you understand the importance of working with inventory data. The efficient recording, processing, storage and transfer of data related to inventory is a crucial part of the daily process for many businesses. Businesses who handle this type of inventory data are well-versed in the latest tools and techniques for how to streamline their inventory operations. For businesses who don’t work with a fluid inventory on a daily basis, however, it can be easy to overlook this process. Businesses that are more seasonal in nature as opposed to similar on a day-to-day basis, or organizations who hold annual events at which things are bought, sold or transferred, like trade shows or book fairs, can be understandably less aware of best practices for keeping track of their inventory. Many of these businesses and organizations continue to keep track of inventory in the same way they have always done it, remaining willfully in the dark regarding new inventory technologies. Others may be intimidated by the potential cost of upgrading their inventory system. For many businesses, this fear is unfounded because for many, a short term solution may be available in the form of rental equipment. Barcode inventory rentals like scanners, printers and software are available and are a perfect solution to the inventory needs for many who work in the following areas.

 

Book Fairs

 

There are many types of book fairs, from larger, industry-related events to smaller-scale book fairs at schools. Many proprietors of these book fairs keep track of purchases the old fashioned way using cash and hard record keeping. Many book fair vendors understand this and make it possible for the individual schools to do so easily through an adjusted price structure. As time goes by, however, keeping records by hand will become the difficult-to-understand process that utilizing technology has been considered for the past few decades. As this happens, book fairs may want to make a small investment in rental equipment to keep track of their transactions. Barcode scanners and software are available to do so.

 

Trade Shows

 

trade-show-scanner

 

Trade shows are a great opportunity not only for businesses to generate sales, but also to market their product. For many, this marketing that happens at trade shows may seem to be an abstract concept, but in fact in can be measured in the form of sales leads. The more effective tool a vendor at a trade show has to monitor its leads, the better. These leads can be tracked through simple barcode scanning devices that may be rented from many companies specializing in barcode equipment and software solutions.

 

Temporary Employment

 

For employers whose employees are full-time and the work environment is somewhat casual, it can be a priority to devise a comfortable yet effective way of tracking attendance. For employers who employee workers on a temporary or seasonal basis, simply recording the exact attendance data, such as clock in and clock out time, and having that data easily accessible is of the highest priority. These employers may want to consider barcode rental equipment for this purpose. This allows employees to scan a barcoded badge and have their doing so recorded. Renting this equipment, which occasionally involves accompanying software, can be a more practical and affordable solution than a permanent, extensive software system and more effective than simple handwriting.

 

 

Latest Barcode Equipment Technology

Though in retrospect it revolutionized the way we access and store data, the advent of cloud-based platforms did not get the mainstream attention that other innovations of the past enjoyed. Perhaps this is because cloud-based storage and retrieval of data is not actually a tangible item like a computer or a cell phone. Then again, the internet or a computer’s operating system are similarly abstract and both are still more well understood by the public than the cloud. Perhaps this lack of understanding is the reason for the scant attention paid to the cloud revolution outside of tech circles. Perhaps it is one abstraction too far for most of us to invest our understanding in. Whatever the reason, cloud-based data storage and retrieval is revolutionizing every process that involves data.

 

In addition to the cloud, data is also associated with barcodes. Barcodes may not seem like a breakthrough innovation, but in their time they also revolutionized the ability to track data. Often, new technology does not supplant existing technology but merely enhances its functionality. This is the nature of the relationship between cloud-based programs and barcodes. With the right equipment, more and more businesses and organizations are quickly able to transfer their barcoded data to the cloud. The warehouse inventory and attendance figures are then available to them more conveniently than ever before. Here is a look at some of the equipment that makes it happen.

 

Barcode Scanners

 

There are a variety of different types and brands of barcode scanners. This equipment, most commonly associated with the grocery store check-out counter, can be an invaluable tool for businesses to quickly scan and score barcode data. These scanners also make it easy to scan certain barcodes and understand crucial information about the piece of inventory. Some of these scanners plug into a computer or mobile device, while some are freestanding pieces of equipment, such as a device that allows for employees to scan in and out for attendance using their barcoded badges.

 

Barcode Printers

 

barcode-printers

 

There are also many types and brands of barcode printers available. Industrial barcode printers are the largest and sturdiest option, designed for frequent use. Desktop barcode printers are a good option when space is limited but a considerable amount of printing still needs to be done. Portable barcode printers are designed for occasional and on-the-go use, and are a good example of how utilizing barcode equipment rentals and options, for one-off events or trial runs, may be a good option for your business.

 

Barcode Software

 

Not only are there seemingly an exponentially-growing number of options for barcode software designed for specific needs, some companies are able to write custom software specifically for the needs of your business. As with any product, it is important to find the right company with the business mindset necessary to truly understand how its product might be flexible enough to creatively fulfill different customer needs. In particular, there are many barcode software programs designed specifically for inventory, attendance and inspection purposes. Usually barcode equipment companies understand you may be attempting to find a new barcode solution, and even the software is available on a rental basis.

 

The Many Different Uses Of Barcode Readers

More and more of our lives are becoming automated. While there are certainly drawbacks to this—a potentially diminished capacity for effective social interaction, for example—there are undeniable benefits as well. Electronic storage of data and information, for one, has a positive environmental impact as less hard copies and paper are required to be used and kept. This is evident in the increasing popularity of ebooks. Believe it or not, the United States actually lags behind several other developed nations in their adaptation to the electronic book phenomenon. South Korea is one country in which nearly the entirety of their schools’ textbooks is now accessed via the internet.

 

Beyond the ebook and its platforms like Google Books and Google Scholar and its devices like the Kindle and Nook, the barcode is another ubiquitous symbol of the digital age. Barcodes were seized upon by early adopters like the manufacturing, shipping and retail industries as very efficient means of transmitting and storing information. These days, an increasingly diverse group of people and businesses are utilizing barcodes and barcode readers to make their processes more efficient. Here is a look at some of the ways barcode readers are used today; after reading, any who feel that barcodes and readers might be a good fit for their operation should inquire with a company specializing in barcode reader rentals to find out more information.

 

Seminars

 

Many organizations hold annual meetings, conferences or seminars. Other organizations are responsible for holding gatherings on a more frequent basis. The larger these gatherings become, the more difficult and important it can be to track attendance. Many organizers of such large conferences where attendance is required to be tracked, perhaps as part of continuing education requirements, are finding a solution to their problem in the form of barcode readers. These barcode readers allow attendees of conferences to scan badges to record attendance at the larger event or at a specific presentation or meeting. Not only does this mean less time and manpower is required of the event’s organizer, it allows the attendance data to be easily rerouted where it needs to go.

 

Safety Inspections

 

fire-extinguisher-safety-scan

 

Fire extinguishers and other safety equipment are usually equipped with barcodes that are tied to information about the specific piece of equipment. Included in this information are details about the specific capabilities of the equipment and the safety standards for which it satisfies the requirement. Since safety codes are constantly being updated, this equipment may be rendered out-of-date. Safety inspectors and safety departments are thus constantly required to check and make sure their equipment is up-to-date. Barcode readers are available to rent that come equipped with programs designed to assess whether a piece of safety equipment is up-to-date. This makes the process of checking the equipment much quicker for safety departments and in turn makes us all safer.

 

Athletic Events

 

Most people may not associate bar codes with athletic events. But the scale of many larger events can balloon their attendance to the level of large seminars. Think about how many people run large marathons, or participate in large charity runs/walks or basketball tournaments. For marathons, tracking the attendance and performance of their athletes is important. This tracking is equally important for charity events as there are often donation amounts tied to the results. These events often assign runners and walkers with barcodes at the onset of the race and use barcode readers at the end or at various points throughout the race to track their progress.  Among other uses, this makes it possible to marvel at your accomplishments immediately and share the proof with your friends and family.

3 Major Benefits Of Renting Barcode Equipment Instead Of Buying

For many years, many potential customers shied away from the barcoding industry due to the associated high costs of acquiring barcoding equipment.  Considering the functional singularity and specialized nature of barcode equipment, it seemed economically illogical to invest huge sums of capital in these products.  This is why some creative and customer-oriented barcoding manufacturers and vendors have come up with an ingenious purchase option: barcoding rentals.  Whether it’s a product of technology or not, the fact is, this is a huge bonus for barcoding customers.  With the option of renting instead of buying, business owners are flocking to barcode vendors to acquire these amazing devices and improve their business processes.  In other words, renting has made barcoding equipment feasible to the typical business owner.  Inarguably, the following benefits must have wooed previously reluctant customers to the barcoding industry.

 

rental-inventory-scanner

Lower Acquisition Costs

 

The barcoding industry is enjoying tremendous growth due to soaring customer appeal.  However, it’s the rental barcoding industry that has won the hearts of many business owners and other corporate clients.  Today, clients prefer the rental option because it requires less cash investment than the outright equipment purchase option.  By now, every business manager worth his/her salt knows a thing or two about barcoding and its advantages in business.  However, the equipment is still regarded as capital-intensive and hence not worth the trouble.  With the introduction of rental barcoding equipment, anyone can acquire barcoding equipment at a fraction of the original cost.  For instance, to track business inventory fast and effectively, a retailer can opt to use the barcoding inventory control solution instead of the highly inaccurate manual method.  Now that you can get a rental inventory scanner or reader, you do not need to waste time counterchecking stock movement with a pen and paper.  Use the more efficient and cost-effective solution: barcoding.

 

Technological Convenience

 

Rental barcoding equipment eliminates technology lags for the client.  Simply put, when renting barcoding equipment, the customer will most likely choose the most technologically enhanced and up-to-date models.  In the case of an outright purchase, a client is stuck with old models that were bought in previous years.  In a world steered by rapidly evolving technology, it is imperative to consider the ramifications of getting stuck in the “past” technology-wise.  Featuring the latest technological enhancements, rental models will ensure efficiency and functionality; thereby optimizing productivity.

 

Maintenance Relief

 

Rental barcoding customers do not have to worry about long-term operating/maintenance costs.  This is because they pick the most suitable barcoding equipment in its prime condition; they then use it for a short period of time, and return before it starts getting old and breaking down.  Additionally, they do not have to worry about the tedious and seemingly innumerable technological updates that plague the tech industry today.  On the other hand, buyers must bear maintenance and repair responsibility for their barcoding equipment; unless they have a valid warranty claim.  All in all, renting seems to be the way forward — it’s cheap, convenient and highly effective in terms of product performance.

 

4 Amazing Applications Of Barcoding Technology Today

Nowadays, some inventive manufacturers and vendors have introduced barcode rentals as part of their sales offerings.  Under this arrangement, you can rent barcoding business solutions at a fraction of their sale price.  With the introduction of this economical option, many people have discarded their ancient data collection tactics for the more efficient and effective barcoding options.  As the barcoding industry continues to grow, adventurous innovators and savvy business owners have started to extend the application boundaries of this technology.  Today, you will find barcoding technology being used in some of the following amazing activities.

 

Advertising

 

Although not very popular in the U.S. yet, the use of 2D barcodes for advertisement has really picked in some foreign countries like Japan.  Instead of posting a conventional advert in a print or online feature and then stopping at that, companies are including 2D barcodes that can be scanned with smartphones to access more information.  Incidentally, 2D barcodes are capable of storing more data and languages.  For instance, these barcodes usually contain uniform resource locators (URLs).  Therefore, you can scan the barcode for redirection onto the product or service website.  You can also access business location, direction and contact information from these 2D barcodes.

 

Nutrition And Health

 

barcode-rentals

 

Since the prevalence of the smartphone, there has been an outpouring of barcode applications or programs in almost any imaginable niche.  In the health and nutrition industry, mobile barcode apps are being used to track healthy food intake.  By simply scanning the barcode on the food you are taking, you can track your nutrition intake and even create a detailed food diary using these apps.  In other words, barcodes are helping people to stay healthy.

 

Games

 

Although these ones have been around for a much longer time — since the 1990s — barcode games are still pretty amazing.  Barcode games used special dedicated barcode consoles as part of the premise.  In some cases, players had to scan monsters in order to capture them, while in others the consoles were used to battle other players.  Nowadays there are smartphone barcode games that provide all sorts of fun.  Some cookies even feature passive barcode monsters that come to life after being scanned.

 

Event Admission

 

This is one of the most common uses of barcodes today.  Barcodes are being used to manage attendance in all sorts of events.  From offices to business seminars to movies, barcodes are literally controlling, tracking and managing all sorts of events today.  First of all, they are used to check and verify that the customer’s admission ticket is valid.  Secondly, they are used to collect and analyze attendance data; thereby providing a fast, accurate and convenient way to track event revenue.  Some clever event organizers are even avoiding ticket printing expenses.  Customers are expected to purchase and print their own barcode tickets and then present them before admission.  Likewise, barcodes are popular in a variety of online travel booking systems including flights, trains, trams and buses.  Travelers book and print their own boarding passes and then check in with either the pass or the scanned smartphone barcode — talk about the beauty of technology.

 

 

 

 

 

Most Popular Barcode Solutions For All Types Of Businesses

Basically, barcoding technology helps to speed up and make data collection more effective.  In the process, barcoding helps save the client both time and money.  All professional barcode equipment and software manufacturers strive to supply their customers with the most suitable barcoding resources to satisfactorily resolve their data collection needs.  As competition and technological evolution soars, customers are enjoying more goodies from reputable barcoding companies.  For instance, barcode readers and scanners are now available for outright purchase or renting.  In addition to creating user-friendly barcode kits for their customers, manufacturers are now offering better acquisition terms to enhance barcode adoption.  Therefore, you can now call or walk into a barcode store and get a barcode scanner rental instead of buying one.  With such good business terms, more and more businesses are hopping onto the barcoding bandwagon to ease and optimize their data collection processes.  Generally, barcoding technology offers the following three data collection solutions to the contemporary business world.

 

Fixed Asset Tracking

 

Barcoding technology enables business owners and even private customers to track their fixed assets periodically.  Fixed assets (or capital equipment) are labeled and their details taken and uploaded on various data collection and analysis solutions ranging from simple programs like Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to sophisticated packages like cloud-based mobile asset tracking systems.  You can use various barcoding equipment including barcode readers and scanners to record and later track a huge number of relevant asset details including asset number, location, description, status/depreciation, warranty information, and the respective audit date and time.  Some fixed asset tracking gadgets combine both barcoding and RFID technologies to optimize their functionality — they are suitably referred to as RFID-Barcode asset tracking kits.

 

Inventory Control Solutions

 

Like the aforementioned fixed asset tracking solutions, inventory control kits feature both data collection devices like barcode readers and scanners and data storage and analysis packages like Excel or specialized inventory and accounting programs for specific business settings.  Basically, inventory control solutions are used for stock-related business needs including inventory management, product ordering, and stock tracking.  In recent years, barcoding companies have created highly effective inventory management programs, which are capable of collecting and analyzing data speedily, economically and automatically.  You can track your stock on a daily basis using dynamic programs that are capable of storing all inventory details including product/item number, cost, and manufacturer and stock bounds.  High end inventory control solutions are easy to configure and customize; hence offer a very efficient data collection solution.  For instance, cloud based barcode inventory management solutions are very versatile and highly functional both for data collection and safe data storage.

 

Attendance Tracking

 

barcode scanner rental

 

Nowadays, business owners use efficient tracking devices, such as smart ID cards, to track event or workplace attendance.  These smart cards use barcoding and biometric technology to reduce the time needed for data collection and to eliminate human-related errors in the entire process.  By combining the functional power of an automated data collection system with an efficient time tracking program, companies are able to manage attendees effectively; whether it’s in their production sites, business conventions/seminars, or in trade-related fairs/exhibitions.  Data collected using barcode readers and scanners can be effortlessly transferred or uploaded to other equally efficient payroll, marketing or financial systems to enhance its application.  In all these instances, barcoding technology promotes accuracy and optimizes productivity.

3 Most Common Types Of Barcode Readers and Scanners

As the bar-coding industry continues to reap the benefits of technological evolution, consumers are enjoying more and more functional products that are geared towards ease of data collection and usage.  Like in every other tech-based industry, innovation has played a huge role in enhancing the functionality of bar-coding equipment.  Many barcode equipment manufacturers and vendors have come up with many types of barcode readers and scanners to suit various client demands.  As a result, barcode customers can now choose equipment according to type or to manufacturer/brand.  Additionally, barcoding vendors have introduced barcode equipment rentals as part of their sale options.  Incidentally, customers can now choose between buying or renting barcode equipment for private or industrial use.  Whether you decide to out-rightly buy or to rent barcode readers and scanners, you will most likely choose from the following types.

 

barcode-reader-rental

Entry Level

 

Entry level barcodes are designed for simple data collection projects.  They are relatively cheap and they work well with simple data collection applications.  Simply put, these barcode readers are recommended for general scanning purposes.  Created for the mainstream customers, entry level barcode readers and scanners are usually in the shape and size of a mobile phone.  These easy to use gadgets are very effective for typical barcoding business solutions, such as inventory tracking, attendance tracking and asset tracking.  Preferred for their accuracy, entry level barcode readers are powerful, accurate, and versatile in terms of connectivity and compatibility and they usually perform optimally in harsh conditions.

 

Industrial Level

 

Barcode manufacturers and vendors have gone an extra step to create a range of highly functional barcode readers and scanners for industrial usage.  Industrial level barcoding equipment is designed to optimize targeted functionality in specific settings.  Produced by reputed manufacturers, these barcode readers and scanners are small, compact and lightweight to ensure portability.  They feature advanced keypads and enhanced connectivity and compatibility to ensure ease of use and suitability in a wide range of industrial settings.  For instance, they usually support industry level connectivity standards, such as 802.11x, Cisco and Bluetooth connectivity, to enable wireless scanning, uploading and printing of data.  Most of these combine barcode and radio frequency tagging technologies to ensure fast and efficient data collection capabilities.

 

Specialty/Rugged

 

Specialty barcoding equipment is designed for use in very harsh environments, especially in areas that contain highly combustible or flammable materials.  Also categorized as rugged or ultra rugged, these barcode readers and scanners are suitably created to include protective design features, such as shockproof, waterproof, and chemical resistant outer covers, to withstand and survive in very demanding and hazardous settings.  These types of barcode readers and scanners can either be entry level or industrial level by types but they should also have other specialty elements to withstand high heat, explosives, dust and chemicals during usage.  Naturally, specialty or rugged barcoding equipment is versatile in terms of connectivity and compatibility; it’s easy to use, light in weight and applicable in various data collection tasks.  Some specialty barcode readers feature additional functional features that enable advanced usage in addition to data collection, such as GPS tracking, PDF viewing and laser scanning.  Mostly, industrial level specialty barcoding equipment supports Bluetooth, WiFi, and 3.75G WAN Radio among other connectivity options.