Month: September 2017

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Barcodes for Business News

What is the Importance of Inventory Control?

barcode system, barcode scanner, barcode labels, Dane Titsworth

No matter the industry you work in, inventory control is a vital aspect of your business. Managing your inventory can help you keep track of your products, streamline your sales, and monitor other factors such as ordering and shipment. This could answer questions you have about your products and your sales. How much inventory should you always have on-stock? How large of a storage space do you need?

Today we’re discussing a few key ways improved inventory control can change your business for the better. Ready to learn more? Let’s dive in!

Keep Track of Your Sales

Keeping better track of your products, made possible by utilizing stock labels and documenting them, can improve your sales tracking processes. Not only does inventory control better monitor your sales, it can also increase your sales.

Say you had a product that didn’t sell well. You can keep track of how many times it was sold, and how many products you have left. Then, you can discount that product in retailers and online. At a lower price, you’re sure to increase sales of the product, generating more revenue for your business. If you didn’t practice inventory management, that product could have been sitting in the warehouse, not generating any revenue. You can also gain better insight on what sells best, any trends in sales, and other information on customer preference.

Always Know How Much Inventory To Have

A tricky issue to tackle is knowing how much inventory to store and sell. Ordering too much could result in bad ROI conversions, and ultimately cost you money. Ordering too little could result in stressful situations such as ordering new products in a time crunch. When you properly utilize inventory control, you can keep tabs on how much is too much and how much is too little. If you have leftover stock or find yourself ordering more products, you’ll be able to have better judgment on ordering stock.

Improves Customer Satisfaction

By managing your inventory, you can create a system of ordering inventory for your best-selling products. This is a way to increase your customer satisfaction. Say you have a product that’s popular amongst your customers, and you didn’t order enough of that product. The result? Frustrated customers who could take their business elsewhere. Inventory management allows you to better monitor these sales so you’re sure you have enough inventory, especially during busy seasons.

Prevent Revenue Loss 

Keeping track of your inventory will save your company money, whether it’s directed to sales or cutting costs on storage. You can also keep tabs on specific product information that could result in revenue loss when stored. One example is a spoilage. If a time-sensitive item, such as a food or cosmetic product, is stored past its expiration date, it must be thrown out. Dead stock is another example. If the product is not in season, no longer popular, or completely irrelevant, it can’t be sold.

Improve Your Inventory Control Today!

Controlling your resources can help you better manage your products and deliveries. Moreover, inventory management can even lead to more sales and help prevent loss of revenue. If you find managing your inventory difficult, call us to learn more about how we can help you track your products. We’d love to put the right tools in your hands!

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Barcodes for Business News

The Ultimate Barcode Printer Buying Guide

Barcode Label Printer, barcode labels, barcode systems, Dane Titsworth

Does a poorly printed barcode really matter that much?

Yes, it does.

Barcodes are responsible for everything from allowing ticket holders to enter events, enabling shops to sell products, and ensuring packages are delivered correctly. They can also increase efficiency in warehouses and storerooms. Incorrectly printed barcodes could render products unusable and cause you to lose business, so choosing the right barcode printer is essential.

Confused by all the barcode printing options? Don’t worry. We’re here with the ultimate to guide to purchasing the right printer.

What Type of Barcode Printer Do You Need? 

There are three main types of barcode printers.

All of these printers are known as thermal label printers, meaning you can print onto any media that the printer can hold, including tags, labels, tickets, and wristbands.

Desktop

Ideal for small, one-off jobs or businesses that only need to print the occasional label, desktop printers are easy to use and don’t take up much space. They’re perfect for small offices and retail stores.

Industrial

Need some serious printing capacity? Then an industrial barcode printer is the right choice. These printers are capable of printing constantly, meaning you can be as efficient as possible.

Mobile

Want to print barcodes while on the go? Mobile printers are handheld and don’t need to be connected to a PC, making them perfect for ad hoc printing. While capacity is limited, they’re ideal for staff who need to print labels on the shop or warehouse floor.

What Will You Be Printing Onto? 

Are you printing onto unusual media, like a wristband or ticket?

You’ll want to consider this before making your purchase and look at specialized options. Dedicated wristband printers are easier to refill than standard printers, and can create high-resolution images. Perfect for attractions like theme parks where regular wristband printing is required. Special ticket printers accommodate large stacks of tickets and print them in a folded arrangement that makes them easier to store and distribute. Compare the shapes, size, and material of your media with the capabilities of the printer you choose.

Should You Choose Direct Thermal or Thermal Transfer? 

Direct thermal printers create high-quality barcodes, don’t use ink or ribbons, and are easy to maintain. They’re ideal for creating short-term labels, or labels which won’t be exposed to harsh conditions.

Thermal transfer printers are more expensive and do use ribbons. They create barcodes which can withstand harsh environments and have a long shelf-life. They’re also capable of color printing.

For long-term barcode printing that withstands extreme conditions, thermal transfer is the right choice. For short-term printing in normal environments, direct thermal printing will do fine.

Will You Need Any Printer Add-Ons?

Handy add-ons can improve your barcode label output and efficiency. A cutter neatly separates labels for you, an RFID add-on lets you encode data into labels while printing, a peeler can automatically apply labels for you, and a rewinder feeds printed labels back onto a roll for you. Be sure to consider these extras when choosing your printer – a little extra expense now could save you loads of time and money in the future.

Looking to Buy Your First Barcode Printer?

Finding the right printer means choosing between desktop, industrial and mobile, comparing direct thermal and thermal transfer printers, and including add-ons to save time and increase quality.

Feeling overwhelmed? List all your requirements, check them against this guide, and you’ll be ready to start comparing printers online to find the best fit.

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Barcodes for Business News

How to Choose the Right Barcode Label

barcode label, barcode scanner, barcode scanning system, Dane Tistworth

You’ve done it. You’re taking the leap from being one of the 46% of small businesses that don’t use inventory tracking technology to streamlining your process and putting yourself on the road to having a more efficient pipeline. There’s just one problem: You don’t know which barcode label type to invest in.

Let’s change that.

Today we’re going over how to choose your barcode label wisely. Ready to learn more? Let’s go!

A Note on Barcode Types

First, a quick overview. There are two primary types of barcodes, 1D barcodes, which are a rectangle or square of up and downline vertical lines and 2D barcodes, which are usually square. There are two primary types of barcodes, 1D barcodes, which are a rectangle or square of up and downline vertical lines and 2D barcodes, which are usually square. Each of these has several variants with their ideal applications, but the biggest difference is that 1D barcodes are linear and can only be scanned one way (think the UPC code on a cereal box when you head to self-checkout with the thin red horizontal line to scan it).

A 2D barcode label, on the other hand, can be scanned in any direction and can store far more data than linear codes. That won’t matter for every application, but more stored data means that a single scan can input that much more information seamlessly into your database. Which of the many kinds of labels you choose from depends in part on your business needs as well as the industry you’re in. Some barcodes are proprietary or are the standard in a certain field, like the 2D Aztec barcode which is used in the Transportation industry, or the Code39 1D barcode which is used by the U.S. Department of Defense (among other applications).

How Durable and Versatile Do You Need Your Barcode Label to Be? 

Once you’ve figured out which type of barcode your industry uses (or if you have the freedom to choose whichever you’d like), consider how durable and versatile the barcode needs to be. The 1D ITF barcode, for instance, has wide spaces and thick lines, meaning it can be easily printed on rough material like cardboard and still be read by a scanner. Therefore it’s used primarily in the packaging industry. Also consider what kind of environment these labels are going to be exposed to, what kinds of surfaces they need to be applied to, and how long they’ll be expected to last in the elements they’ll be stored and shipped in.

Saving Money, Smartly

As with most things in life, better quality labels printed with better adhesives that last longer also cost more. Sure, you could just spring for the top of the line, but good stock management means spending as little as possible to get the job done well and correctly. Related to this, you need to decide whether you want to have your labels printed by a third-party and pre-tested or to invest in your own barcode printer. Some companies, like Idezi, provide extra insurance on your printer investment by guaranteeing protection for unexpected print head failures, depending on the service programs that are available.

We’re Just Scratching the Service

Want to know more? We’ve got the expert barcode tips and industry data you need to make the most educated decision. Learn all about barcode label and scanner technology across multiple industries on our blog today!

Learn more about labels and there different applications.

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Barcodes for Business Healthcare Industry Science

How Do Barcodes Improve Medical Safety?

Barcode scanners, barcode labels, barcode scanning systems

In 2010, 4,000 women experienced ruptures of faulty breast implants, according to BBC News. And among the 400,000 women who’d received the same implants worldwide, few were able to find out if theirs were one of the bad ones. Tragic and scary, but the damage could have been lessened–and helped these women achieve some peace of mind–if these implants had been printed with a humble barcode.

Medical Barcode Technology Can Save Lives 

Barcodes on implantable items like breast implants or pacemakers might seem like the stuff of dystopian science fiction, but its real-world use has more utopian application. Between seven and 15 percent of deaths in hospitals can be attributed to medication dispensing errors, i.e., a doctor or nurse misprescribing a drug that patient shouldn’t be taking. With barcode technology used throughout the hospital system, these medications can be scanned, checked, and verified, lessening the potential for dangerous administrations or contraindications.

Tracking Your Warehouse-to-Patient Supply Chain

Instituting barcode technology can help hospitals track medicines, implants, and patients all the way through the supply chain and beyond, collecting valuable data on the medicines themselves, implant wear and tear, and more. It can even be set up to tell nurses and doctors when their patients, who are wearing scanned barcode wristbands, are overdue for their next shot or treatment. The system can even be set up to tell nurses and doctors when their patient (with a scanned barcode wristband) is overdue for a dosage (from their scanned barcode medicine). Barcodes are truly improving healthcare.

Barcode Technology Helps Hospitals Cut Costs

All of this saving lives and streamlining the system saves money, too. One study found that using a barcode system saved a hospital pharmacy $2.2 million per year by significantly reducing medication dispensing errors, with a net benefit after five years of $5.5 million. Naturally, instituting a thorough barcode system is expensive, but here, too, the study found that hospitals reached a break-even point with the tech as early as one year to no later than 10 years after instituting the technology.

The average? 51 months. In other words, it’s money well-spent.

You Need Good Barcode Technology and Training, Though

Unfortunately, it’s not enough to get any old barcode tech. You need solid equipment and the requisite training and hospital culture to make sure it’s being implemented effectively. As many as one in two nurses had performed their previous shift without scanning either patient barcode or medication barcode in their previous shift, one 2012 study found. That’s a good reminder that while technological solutions are marvelous, they’re only as good as the people using them.

But Good Machines Still Matter

That’s not to put the blame solely on doctors and nurses, though. Guess the number one and two reasons for noncompliance?

Bad labels and faulty scanners.

Change is hard and it’s harder to build trust when you’re using unreliable equipment. There’s a solution, though, and it’s simple: Use the best technology you can get and get it serviced regularly. Here, we’ve got you covered. Check out our scanners and scanner repair services here.

Learn more about the solutions we offer for healthcare facilities, hospitals, and sterile environments.

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Barcodes for Business News Uncategorized

How to Improve Inventory Management with Barcode Systems

barcode scanner, barcode labels, barcode systems, Dane Titsworth

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Are you a business owner looking to boost the success of your company?

The answer may lie in smarter and more effective inventory management. Establishing control of your inventory is vital to the success of virtually every business. Read on to find out why and learn how you can facilitate effective inventory management for your company.

Why Inventory Management Is Vital to the Success of Your Business

Maintaining your business’s inventory effectively isn’t easy. If you don’t have enough of what you need, you risk losing customers and sales. This can ultimately take a significant bite out of your profits. However, if you overstock inventory that you don’t need, it can hurt your business in more ways than one.

It’s also important that you have secure inventory control in place so that you can keep an accurate count of any internal or external losses. Here are ways ineffective inventory management can cost you.

Overstocking Inventory

If you are overstocking inventory, you are tying up capital in unnecessary areas. Not only that, the shelf life of products is at hand. A product that stays on the shelf risks losing value, and end up as a total loss if it reaches the point of obsoletion or expiration.

Stock-outs

Every time you are unable to provide a customer the product that they need or want, there is the chance you are not only losing their money but the customer as well. Stock-outs can hurt your company’s production as well as your reputation.

Stock Control in Manufacturing

In manufacturing, inventory is even more detailed because not only do you have to consider end products, but you must also be mindful of each part or component that goes into the whole. Running out of one piece can halt the entire manufacturing process.

How Implementing a Barcode System Can Streamline Your Inventory Process

If you want to ensure effective inventory management for your business, then you should weigh the benefits of a barcode system.

Barcode technology eliminates much of the risk posed by human error. In addition to providing more accurate numbers, it can also assist in tracking what to order. And, it also lets you know when items should be ordered. A barcode system helps to minimize overstocking and understocking issues. It also helps you to gauge your inventory’s productivity and consumer appeal. With the right barcode system in place, you can provide consumers with a better experience and a greater rate of satisfaction, boosting your reputation and your profits. Plus, barcode technology is time efficient and cost-effective, because you won’t have to rely on employers to monitor the inventory.

Find Out How Barcode Technology Can Benefit Your Business

If you are ready to see how more effective inventory management can raise your company’s bottom line, it’s time to implement a barcode system. Want to find out more? Get in touch with a professional who specializes in providing barcode inventory technology!

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Barcodes for Business News

5 Things to Consider When Getting Barcode Scanners

Barcode scanners, barcode scanning systems, Dane Titsworth

Most people don’t give a second thought to the barcode scanners at the grocery store or gas station. The only time we think about them is when they aren’t working properly. But for many business owners, the choice between barcode scanners is a big decision. There are several types of scanners, from in-counter to handheld, and it’s a lot to think about. However, if you keep a few things in mind while deciding, you should be just fine. Here are the five things to consider when buying scanners.

1. The Form

By this, we mean how it’s going to be used. Specifically, we’re talking in-counter, countertop, or handheld. There are slight variations to each, but one of these will likely cover your needs. Grocery stores and other businesses with a high volume of products often use in-counter or countertop scanners. But that probably won’t work for a business with large or awkward products. And it certainly won’t work if your scanning is being done out in the field. For that, you’ll need to go handheld.

2. The Wireless Capacity 

If you are doing your scanning outside of your business, you’ll likely need wireless scanners. They’ll connect via Wi-Fi, mobile broadband, or Bluetooth. This allows your employees to transmit data in real-time, no matter where they are. You might also want to look at wireless capacity if your employees are moving about a large warehouse. Wireless barcode scanners allow them to scan items easily and transmit the data from anywhere in the warehouse.

3. GPS Scanners

Speaking of warehouses, another useful addition to warehouse scanners is GPS. Items that are scanned at various locations are pinpointed by the GPS. This is useful when you’re moving items to and from storage or your business. It’s also a clever idea to have GPS when you’re moving expensive products or any shared equipment.

4. 1D or 2D Barcode Scanners? 

1D barcodes are one-dimensional, and they represent their data with the black bars and numbers we’re familiar with. These are the barcodes that are on most packaging you get at the store. 2D barcodes have both vertical and horizontal data and can contain up to 2,000 characters. That’s compared to the 20-25 characters a 1D barcode can handle. QR codes, a type of 2D code, have become popular recently in marketing. Keep these distinctions in mind when you’re choosing your scanners.

5. Durability

If your employees are simply swiping items at a counter, you may not need the most durable scanners. However, if your scanners are being used in the field, you might want something more rugged and durable. Look for scanners that are sealed from dust and can withstand drops from several feet. They may be a little more expensive, but in the long run, it can be a good investment.

Looking for More?

At this point, you probably still want to dig into some more research on scanners. If you’ve still got questions on the right scanner for your business, then contact us. We’ll help you find the perfect scanner for your needs at the right price.

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Barcodes for Business News

Barcode Logistics: Everything You Need to Know

Barcode scanners, barcode labels, barcode systems, Dane Titsworth,

Did you know improving the flow of inventory can lead to increased profits and reduce employee workloads?

But, figuring out how to improve that flow can be a challenge. Increasing the number of employees can be costly. Improving employee training could help, but at some point, even that growth will end.

That’s where barcode logistics come in. Barcodes have been around since the 1970s, and you see them so often that you probably don’t think twice about them. But implementing them into your shipping process can be revolutionary for your business. With barcode scanning systems, the flow of inventory can rapidly increase, without the need for extra employees or added training. If you’re new to the use of barcodes, you’re in luck. We’ve compiled a list of everything you need to know to implement barcode logistics for your business.

What Does a Barcode Do?

A barcode consists of several different elements.

At a glance, two are obvious; the barcode itself, and the number underneath.The barcode and numerical code contain information that will instantly communicate with your barcode reader about what is inside the package that the barcode is attached to. Each barcode will be unique to a certain individual product. This allows you to easily track the path of each product in your warehouse, eliminating confusion or lost items. If implemented correctly, all you’ll need to do to track down an individual item is go to the computer system linked to your barcode logistics and search for that barcode. If it was scanned when it entered your warehouse, the information stored by that barcode will tell you where it is located. To implement a barcode system, you’ll need a barcode printer, scanner, and a software system tying them all together.

Customizing Barcodes for Your Company

The information included on a barcode can easily be customized to meet the individual needs of a company or demands of a particular industry. You could use it to tell the scanner where that package belongs in your warehouse, how many of those products you have in stock, or when that inventory came into your warehouse.If your company deals with food or other perishable products, you could program the barcode to include an expiration date. If your inventory will be shipped to the client or to another location in its current packaging, your barcode logistics could include barcode labels with shipping and return addresses.

From healthcare to food service, barcodes can revolutionize the way that you ship, receive, store, and send out product.The options are endless. When your company integrates a barcode system, they will get the chance to completely customize what these barcodes will do, allowing them to decide which options work best for their company.

See How Barcode Logistics Could Improve Your Business Today

Barcodes can streamline the entire process of ordering, shipping, receiving, and sending out product for your company. They help eliminate loss and confusion, reduce the amount of time it takes to do inventory management, and more. If you’re ready to see how a barcode system could improve your workplace management, contact us today to find a system that works for you!

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Healthcare Industry News Science

Improve Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals with 2D Barcode Scanners

Healthcare, 2D barcode scanners, improve healthcare and pharmaceuticals with 2D barcode scanners

You might normally associate barcode technology with checking out at your local grocery store or preferred retailer, but 2D barcode scanners are seriously changing the healthcare industry.

Barcode technology is saving lives in the medical field. It plays a crucial role in the proper delivery of medicine. It’s been so efficient, in fact, that the FDA issued recent rules that actually require machine readable labels on any medication. Because the barcodes are small, they are easy to put on even the smallest of vials. They offer all the information needed by a nurse or doctor with just one swipe of the barcode under code-reading scanners. With medical errors being the third most cause of deaths, it’s time for a change. As technology improves, so do our chances of survival and access to fantastic health care. Here’s how the scanners and barcodes are changing medicine:

2D Barcode Scanners Prevent Errors

Barcode scanner technology is helping to eliminate errors in identifying patients and administering the proper medicines. With so many life-threatening mistakes that can be made during patient care, it is essential to get every step correct. There are too many deaths that occur on a yearly basis because of medical errors in hospitals. These mistakes can be avoided with a barcode system. Patients receive barcoded bracelets upon checking into the hospital, and anything administered to that patient must match up with the exact same barcode. When all vendors have a barcode for their medication, this should leave little room for error. Hospitals can protect their patients by incorporating barcodes into every aspect of their patient care.

Reduced Fossil Footprint

2D barcode scanners are able to help hospitals save resources. When a hospital saves on resources, they will also save money. What’s better than improving both the patient care and the financial circumstances of a healthcare institution? What’s more? Hospitals will pay off the implementation of the barcode system in just one year. Hospitals will save about $2 million dollars annually with the system. By cutting documentation materials in half, you’ll not only save trees, you’ll save coins.

Multi-Device Functionality

Implementing the 2D barcode scanners is not a complicated process for any medical facility. Idezi’s customer support for these systems is unparalleled and always available to help. The barcode scanners can also be used with mobile computer device89. This makes it easy to access information with the touch of a button from anywhere in a hospital. The sophisticated system can give both patients and healthcare teams great peace of mind, as stress is reduced, due to accurate and reliable information.

Go Big and Go Barcode

Barcode scanning systems can save lives, money, and are the most reliable system on the market. Eliminating hospital errors will improve patient survival rates. Safe and effective patient care is the key to any successful medical facility. This unique barcode scanning system works in collaboration with medical teams all around the globe. Experience maximum positive patient outcomes with a reliable, accurate system. For continued education on barcode scanning equipment and implementing the best system into your hospital, contact us today!

Learn more about the solutions we offer specifically for Pharmaceuticals, from labels to inserts.