We are all familiar with the linear barcode labels found on most products we buy, but Quick Response barcode labels are starting to appear more frequently.

Whereas the linear barcode is considered to be a one dimensional way of representing information, the QR code is 2D, allowing more information to be represented within the same area.

First designed for the car industry, its popularity soon spread to other industries. The QR code allows a greater amount of data to be read more quickly.

Barcode readers are now becoming popular for reasons not related to asset tagging and inventory tracking. Barcodes are now being used by consumers, and barcode label scanner applications are rapidly being downloaded onto smartphones.

These applications tend to be used by consumers who are looking for a good deal. When the barcode on a product is scanned by the phone, it can not only identify the item, but can also find the best price available.

Studies undertaken in the US show that the adoption of 2D barcode label scanning applications has increased dramatically in 2011, with the majority of users owning an Android OS Smartphone.

Posted in General by Bridget

Everyone knows what a barcode label looks like, but only a few know the true potential that a barcode label offers. Barcode labels are commonly seen on consumer products which are sold in a shop or store. But barcode labels can be used for many other purposes besides this traditional approach. In fact, barcodes can be used anywhere you need to store information and retrieve information.

Documentation

Barcodes can be affixed to many different types of documents. This can give the next user of the document information about when the document was last accessed and negates the need for the user to read the document in full. Its main help though is in document identification.

Ticketing systems

All tickets which are sold for events now contain a barcode. This barcode can contain important information about the validity of the ticket and can increase the speed at which the ticket is checked.

ID cards

Scanning technology has now made entering restricted areas easy. ID cards can feature a barcode, which when scanned allows a person access to a restricted area.

Pricing

The most popular use of barcode labels is in the pricing of products. If a product contains a barcode label it can be scanned easily. This removes the individual pricing of products and makes inventory control much simpler.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Geoff

One of the most important functions of any business is to make sure that their inventory records are up to date. Any businesses which deals in the selling or receiving of goods needs to keep track of the whereabouts of these goods and use the figures they have to further their business potential.

Inventory control can be very challenging. Some ways in which asset tags and barcode labels can help with inventory control are as follows:

Tag expensive equipment

Many modern offices contain extremely expensive equipment, such as computers and ancillary equipment. If asset tags are affixed to all these pieces of equipment, it’s easy to keep a check on the items you own. Asset tags are available in aluminium, vinyl or laminated polyester for these purposes.

Retail environments

In a retail environment, it’s really important to make sure that you know stock levels and take care to make sure you always have adequate stock of a particular product. In a similar way that asset tags can be used to keep a check of a business’s own inventory, barcode labels can be used on all the items you sell so that your point of sale systems can be updated with pertinent information.

Posted in Asset Tags, Barcode Labels by Geoff

If you want to improve efficiencies in your business operations then you should consider using barcode labels. Barcode labels are small stick-on tags which can be affixed to aftermarket goods or products. They can be used for product identification and tracking of products and goods.

There are quite a few reasons why people attach barcode labels to their products, these include:

Document tracking

One area where barcode labels can be used is in the tracking of documents. By attaching labels to important documents you can keep track of the documents and a simple scan with a barcode scanner can give you access to a wealth of information.

Inventory and stock

If you attach barcode labels to all the items you own you can keep track of them effortlessly. All the items will feature a barcode label and when you do a stock take, instead of manually inputting the data into a computer, a simple scan with a barcode scanner is all that is needed to save time and hence money.

Point of sale

All goods which are sold usually have a barcode label affixed to them. Sometimes, when a barcode label is not printed onto the product, after market barcode labels can be affixed to the product.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Geoff

It’s easy to see that barcode technology has made recording data about goods and products much simpler. It’s now easy to change the price of a product and find out which products are selling and which are sitting on the shelves. But although barcode technology has moved on over the last few years many people are still unaware how barcodes work and know nothing about stick-on barcode labels.

Some barcode label types

There are three heavy duty aftermarket barcode label types currently available. These include vinyl, aluminium and polyester.

Vinyl barcode labels

Vinyl barcode labels are made from a durable vinyl material that can adhere to a wide range of surfaces.

Aluminium barcode label types

Aluminium barcode labels are often used when the label would otherwise see a good degree of wear and tear. Because of this they are commonly used in factories or other industries where a paper barcode or a printed barcode may be rubbed off an item or an item might be easily damaged.

Polyester barcode labels

Polyester barcode labels are overlaminated with a clear polyester film which makes them resistant to chemicals or abrasion. The temperature tolerance of polyester barcode labels makes them particularly useful in harsh environments and their lifespan is commonly around 5 years.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Bridget

Barcodes have become a part of all our lives. They are usually affixed to an object and when read by a barcode scanner provide important data which can be used for business operational activities.

Why are barcode labels used?

Barcode labels can be used for the identification of property or important documents. They are the ideal way to track inventory or stock movement and can even be used between organisations to monitor the lifecycle of a product.

Using barcodes greatly reduces the amount of data errors, which are a common occurrence when you rely on human forms of data entry. When a barcode is read by a scanner the data in a database is updated automatically, which can reduce man hours and business overheads greatly.

Anyone who wants access to the data which is recorded by a barcode scanner can access this information easily and use this data to improve business efficiencies. Systems which have barcodes can provide up-to-the-minute information about things such as the selling of items, merchandising changes, historical item data and can reprice items quickly and easily.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Grahame

If you have to deal with a large number of products or assets you may benefit from using asset tag technology. If you use asset tags, you can keep an inventory of all your goods which would otherwise take a great deal of human effort.

There are many reasons why you might want to tag your goods, with some wanting to make stock taking easy whereas others simply want to keep a register of all the assets they own.

If you use asset tags on every item you own, or items you have in stock, you can track and recover all these items if any become misplaced or if any are stolen. It’s often the case that an asset control system is used to keep track of all assets a company may produce, so that the business accounting and logistics can run successfully.

It’s often the case that a business has a number of assets which are identical. Keeping track of these assets and identifying between them can become extremely difficult if asset tracking technology is not used. When you have asset tags in place on every item, keeping track of your assets becomes really easy.

Posted in Asset Tags by Geoff

Keeping track of items is essential for every company in the UK. However, many people fail to understand the importance of doing this. If you use asset tags on each and every item that you own you can keep a track of these items while at the same time saving your business money and time.

Some of the advantages of using asset tags include:

Proof of ownership

If you put an asset tag on every item you own, you can prove that you are the owner of the item. This can prove essential if the item is lost or stolen or if you need to make a claim for insurance purposes.

Cost-effective

Using asset tags and asset tracking software is one of the simplest ways to keep a check on every item you own. And because it’s cost-effective, the initial outlay won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

Prevention of theft

Tagging all the assets you own can prevent theft of an item. If you use tags which have a semi-permanent adhesive or tags which show ‘VOID’ when removed, your security is further heightened.

Any industry or business

Any industry can use asset tracking technology on the products that they own. Asset tagging is not confined to certain sectors or areas. These tags can be used on items from computers to industrial machines.

Brand identification

Asset tags can be printed with your brand name thus increasing brand awareness for anyone who may see the asset tag.

Posted in Asset Tags by Geoff

Tagging of all the items that you own is a good idea when you have to keep a close check on your financials. Tags can be attached to each and every item and a database of all these items kept so that stock and inventory levels can be looked at whenever needed. There are in fact countless advantages to using asset tags in your business.

Some of these advantages include:

Tracking items

When you attach a label onto an item tracking of the item becomes much easier. It also means that there will be little chance of the item becoming misplaced or stolen.

Audit of stock

If each and every item you own is labelled it becomes much easier to carry out an audit of all the items.

Saves time

After the items have been labelled it is much quicker to find them when they are needed, thus saving your company time and money.

Identifying identical items

If you keep large quantities of identical items it can be impossible to tell the difference between them unless they are individually labelled.

Items for hire

If you hire items to customers or you rent items for long periods of time, you need a way to keep track of the items loaded. And asset tags fulfil this purpose perfectly.

Posted in Asset Tags by Geoff

It’s really important for every company to keep a track of its assets. A company’s assets are owned by the company, so contribute to the overall value of the company. However, if you hire equipment or rent out equipment to customers there is a likelihood that you may not get that equipment back, or may get equipment returned to you which has been tampered with.

A good way to keep a track of any assets which you may hire is to use asset tags. Some asset tags even have a tamper-evident seal so that if the label is peeled off a ‘void’ message is displayed and so the equipment can be identified as being tampered with.

If you use tamper evident asset tags they serve as a two-in-one asset tracing solution. You can not only keep track of an asset, but can also see if the asset has been tampered with.

When a ‘void’ asset tag is tampered with, the remnants of the label are left behind with the word void left on the asset. This enables the hire shop or hire establishment to easily identify voided items and hence discuss the matter with the customer.

Posted in Asset Tags by Grahame