Data
Collection & Verification
Input
Devices For Data Collection - What Works Best In Each Environment
Once
your product is labeled, how will you read that data and transfer it to
a computer? How can you add it to your database? How do you use the data
for better management and decision making?![](http://host.web-print-design.com/Winco_new_10_00/images/handheld_02.gif)
There are a wide range of input technologies available to suit different
needs: pens, wands, lasers, CCDs, fixed or portable scanners, hand held
terminals, or magnetic card readers. The input devices you select will be
based on how data collection fits in with your work flow. For environments
where the bar coded items travel, fixed scanners can be installed to read
bar codes as they travel along a high speed conveyor belt. Or they are passed
over the scanner like in a grocery checkout line. Portable laser scanners
are well-suited for scanning cartons at distances up to 30 feet away, or
when moving around the product to be scanned. Laser scanners can read poor
quality symbols or large bar codes and deliver first time read rate for
better accuracy. They can also be used to scan through plastic or other
coatings.
Magnetic
card readers are ideal for tracking personnel activity including time and
labor, and providing access security. Hand held data collection terminals
are ideal for warehouse and inventory applications like order picking and
document tracking. Pen-based units are the device of choice for signature
collection, for example most overnight delivery companies use a pen-based
unit to allow parcel recipients to sign-off on delivery. Portable data collection
devices can use wireless communications to link to a computer by using RF
technology. These wireless networks are now cost-effective for as few as
two scanners and read bar codes up to 200 feet away from the PC base. Working
with the latest in two-dimensional bar codes, users can store and collect
a tremendous amount of information in a very small bar code space. Portable
data file scanners are available to make use of this
new technology.
Once you have selected the appropriate input devices for the various elements
in your application, you need data collection software to create a structure
for the collection, transfer and storage of your data. Select a software
package that allows you to quickly and easily create a customized system.
The software should produce custom prompts for portable data collection
and create a compatible database management system on you PC. Look for a
software product that requires no programming.
Verification
of Bar Code Data
As
bar code labeling becomes more sophisticated and used on a broader variety
of products and packages, it is often necessary to verify that the label
on the product/package is correct. This is especially important for companies
to be protected from the possibility of penalties from mislabeled goods
sold to third parties, for example in the retail industry. Verifying equipment
can be grouped in two categories: portable and on-line. Portable verifiers
allow random spot checks on the processing and production floor, during
shipping and at retail locations. In addition, verifiers are also used for
receiving verification of deliveries by Federal Express and UPS, for example.
On line verifying equipment provides the same functionality in a fixed location
similar to a product warehouse setting. Both types of equipment offer verification
software that will allow you to quickly and easily set up the parameters
to be checked. Additionally, they provide support data relating to print
quality and acceptability of coded label information.
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