With most companies having an online presence these days, you can expect their IT department to include some serious kit. Whether your business is large or small, keeping track of these expensive assets is an important requirement.

If you are responsible for looking after the laptops, computers and other office equipment relating to IT, you need to ensure that every item is tagged using an asset label. This is necessary in order to track and monitor the whereabouts of these assets.

When you go to a leading UK manufacturer for your fixed asset labels, you can order them for your precise requirements. This means there is plenty of flexibility involved and so whatever your application, the product labels can be custom-made to your specifications. By opting for these asset labels, you can design the barcode according to your company system.

There is also no need to worry about the durability of these labels as they are made to withstand even the most extreme operating environments. This certainly includes the heat of a server room and the IT storage facility.

The security of your IT equipment is of paramount importance to a company, so it is worth making an asset label purchase a priority.

Posted in Asset Tags by Grahame

Food scientists in Australia have developed an app for Apple’s iPhone that they claim will help consumers find out nutritional information on packaged food products, simply by making use of the app’s barcode scanner.

The scientific team, based at the University of Sydney, have come up with the ‘FoodSwitch’ application that utilises the camera on the iPhone. You just scan the barcode labels of the supermarket item you are considering buying and can find out nutritional advice on its contents.

In Australia, there are high rates of heart disease and stroke and so the scientists hope the app will give shoppers more of an informed choice over what they eat. Therefore, those looking to lose weight or eat healthier can use the technology to benefit from the recommendations given by the app.

Bruce Neal, Senior director at the George Institute for Global Health, which is based at the university, explained:

“FoodSwitch’s three-step approach marries the latest technology with cutting edge research. Australians can now scan barcodes, see what’s in a food, and switch to a healthier choice in an instant.”

Barcode labels have a variety of uses and this example just goes to show how they can be used to help customers.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Geoff

The tagging of items in factories has become more common over the last few years as people try to save money where they can. And the best way that companies can track their assets is by using asset tags.

If a factory uses stick-on asset labels on their portable items, the likelihood of them going missing will be dramatically reduced. And the all the item information can be kept within a database which can be accessed when needed. Some asset tags can even have a barcode printed on them so that a barcode scanner can be used to read the information. This makes stock taking and hence inventory management much easier.

Cheap asset labels

If you business needs to use a large number of asset labels, you’ll want a product which is not only durable and high quality but a product which is also cheap. Cheap asset labels are printed on semi-gloss adhesive paper and come in wide range of different sizes. The labels can be printed with your company name, logo or promotional message and can be bought in rolls so are easy to affix to each item in turn.

Posted in Asset Tags by Geoff

It has been reported that MyEchain have recently upgraded their loyalty card app to provide additional features for customers. The app, which is available to iPod, iPad and iPhone users, can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store.

The new improvements to the app include the use of enhanced barcode technology, allowing the user to render a variety of rewards cards simply by using this app on the iPhone. Barcodes can now be displayed horizontally too, making it easier to scan at the cashpoint.

These changes have made the barcode scanning functionality much more user-friendly and the fact that the app can store all kinds of loyalty cards ready to be used in various commercial locations means that it is a very handy app to carry around with you.

Being able to make use of retail barcodes through the electronic medium makes it so much more straightforward to increase your points with a certain retailer. Now, you don’t need to ensure you have all your cards with you when you go out as this certainly makes for a better experience. With the horizontal orientation you no longer need to worry about the issue of it not scanning properly when there is a queue waiting.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Bridget

An asset labels use is simply not confined to the numbering or the labelling of a product or a part. Asset labels can also be used for security purposes and to stop people tampering with certain parts of a machine or a device.

Security labels are available in tamper evident and void types:

• They provide a tamper evident seal so that they split apart and cannot be removed in one piece. The labels also cannot be reattached.
• They can provide a void message if the label is removed

They can be used to:

• Provide a visual deterrent to stop theft or misuse
• Provide ownership information
• Secure data so that it cannot be tampered with
• Label sensitive equipment
• Stop tampering of computer equipment
• Enhance vehicle security

Tamper evident seals are being used more frequently all the time, with their uses not being tied to just computer equipment. Tamper seals can be used to protect sensitive goods from being tampered with and are the perfect label to use for sensitive documentation storage or for numbering or labelling of portable appliances.

Posted in Asset Tags by Grahame

Retail barcodes have now been taken to the next level. Starbucks, the global coffee chain, has rolled out its new app that allows its UK customers to be able to pay for their coffee and snacks using their handset. They have also improved the features on the app, which can be accessed through the Apple App Store.

Barcode labels are not only useful for a business such as Starbucks to control its stock levels and organise its operations effectively, but these electronic versions have been used to make the customer experience easier as well.

iPhone users simply have to scan their device at the till. The barcode technology then checks the purchase and takes this amount from the customer’s account.

Apple product owners can already use the app to search for the store nearest to them and access nutritional information on the Starbucks range of food and drink.

This retail barcode service is now available in the 600 Starbucks stores located throughout the UK.

Starbucks UK’s Vice-President of Marketing, Ian Cranna, said of the venture:

“Customers are looking for extra value. This scheme allows us to be more personal, rewarding the most frequent customers with extra benefits”.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Bridget

The stock you hold within your business can account for a good deal of your company finances. And the only way you can work out how much stock you hold and what this stock is worth is if you do a stock take.

Stock taking is the procedure by which you can verify the quantity and condition of the assets you hold. And this can be performed at regular intervals or as an annual review so that company finances can be assessed,
Stock taking can however be a very time consuming process and a complete stock take can be a very costly exercise for a business to complete. But one technique which can dramatically cut the time it takes to do a stock take is to use asset labels or barcode labels on all the stock you own.

Asset labels help you keep track of the items you own and it is significantly quicker to scan a barcode than to manually input data about an item into a computer. By hence reducing the time it takes to capture this information you can thus save a significant number of man-hours, which would normally be lost to manual stock taking procedures.

Posted in Asset Tags by Geoff

Portable appliance testing is carried out at most businesses across the UK. It is a way of labelling each portable appliance that a company owns and a way of making sure that the appliance is safe to use.

Some insurance companies will insist on regular portable appliance tests if they are to insure your building or employees from damage or harm.

One of the easiest ways to label and hence find and record information about all the appliances you have on site is to use portable appliance asset labels. These labels have pre-printed information on the label which can be read by the portable appliance tester or by a barcode scanner. This information is then entered into a database so a user will have access to all the portable appliances on site and whether or not they have passed the relevant test.

Some portable appliances are used in heavy industrial environments so require a label which will not fade, rub or lose its adhesion. But, if you use high quality asset labels, and speak to your supplier, they should be able to recommend something which will work well in all scenarios.

Posted in Asset Tags by Grahame

Barcode labels are one of the best ways that you can speed up the data processing at your business site. Because of this it is vitally important for businesses to have a thorough understanding of the uses of barcode labels and what savings can be made by using them.

Barcode labels and asset labels are the perfect way of labelling any items or stock that you own. Whether a laptop, flash drive, tools or other equipment, if they are all labelled, the chances of them going missing or even being damaged are reduced dramatically.

Tracking of any items which have a label affixed also becomes very easy and speed at which data is collected and entered into a database is also improved. Instead of a manual data entry system, a barcode scanner can be used to scan the item which has the barcode attached. This also eliminates human data entry error.

It doesn’t matter if it is a small business, a commercial premises or large industrial site. If asset labels or Barcode labels are used, product visibility increases and major savings can be made.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Grahame

We have discussed previously what benefits can be had by using asset labels in your business operations. Loss of assets can have a huge impact on a company’s finances, so it’s important for business owners to effectively manage their fixed and portable possessions. Asset tags are thus commonly used across a range of businesses to enable easy identification of items or products. The labels also feature strong adhesive to prevent peeling.

There is a wide range of information which can be printed onto an asset tag, this includes:

• Asset number or name
• Asset barcode
• Asset part number or serial number
• A company name or logo
• A marketing message
• Safety information
• Information about product contents

With so much information which can be printed onto an asset label, it’s easy to see how stock-taking can become a very simple process indeed. In fact, when a barcode label is used, all that is needed is a quick scan with a barcode scanner and asset information in the database can be updated accurately and efficiently.

Posted in Asset Tags by Geoff