LabelValue Label Blog

Top 5 Shopping Innovations

There have been a number of innovations made over the years that have revolutionized modern shopping into what we know today. Here we have provided a list of the top five innovations in shopping.

The mall. Today, many of us go to the mall over lunch or on our weekends to kill time, but it wasn’t always so convenient. What we know as a mall is actually a modern day version of the historical marketplace. The first mall was the outdoor mall at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, MO, in 1922. The first enclosed mall and the one we associate with today was build in Edina, MN, in 1956.

Shopping carts. Sylvan Goldman, owner of a chain of Piggly-Wiggly grocery stores, invented the first shopping cart, which consisted of adding two wire basket and wheels to a folding chair. He later worked with Fred Young, a mechanic, to manufacture the shopping carts.

Bar code. The patent for the first bar code was filed in 1949, although it did not begin to be used commercially until 1966. In 1975, the first U.P.C. scanner was installed at a supermarket in Troy, OH, improving the efficiency and accuracy of classification and changing the retail shopping industry forever.

Automatic doors. Lew Hewitt and Dee Horton invented the automatic sliding door in 1960, an idea that sprung after seeing that swing doors had difficulty opening in the winds in Corpus Christi.

Coupons. Pharmacist Asa Candler invented the coupon in 1895. Cadler had purchased the Coca-Cola Company and placed a coupon in a newspaper for a free Coke from any fountain in order to promote the new soft drink.

To order a Cognitive EZ LP barcode label printer, visit LabelValue.com.

Zebra TLP Label Printer

If you're looking for a label printer that is fast and user friendly you would be interested in   the Zebra TLP Label Printer. This thermal transfer barcode label printer integrates seamlessly into any work environment due to its wide compatibility with applications and programs in virtually any work environment. That is perhaps why the Zebra TLP label printer is found in hospitals, laboratories and warehouses. It is used for printing barcodes, labeling medications, and even for shipping and receiving purposes.

 

So is that the only reason why Zebra TLP's are so common? Not entirely. It comes with a sturdy double walled ABS casing, which will withstand heavy duty environments, and years of wear and tear. The Zebra TLP is also known for being conveniently small and printing conveniently wide labels (max print width is 4.09"). Oh and it's fast. 4" of label per second fast. Because of this, employees can work faster and smarter. The only downside? The label printer doesn't print high resolution color (it prints consistent 203 dpi) but it gets the job done.

Barcodes and Your Business: (Might be the best tools you'll ever use)

You browse the aisles of the grocery store tossing items into your cart left and right. Oh! You stop dead in your tracks. Your favorite pasta sauce (which you've been craving) is in stock. You grab the jar; cruise through the checkout and out the door with bags in tow. Within a half hour you'll be devouring the gourmet creation you dreamed up for dinner.

Do you know what just made your shopping experience a whole lot faster and easier?

Barcodes.

Most of us rarely realize how bar coding not only saves us time at the store (Hello?! Can you imagine the agony of waiting for a cashier to manually enter each individual SKU number for your entire purchase?) but also the benefit bar codes could provide to businesses.

Did you know?

• Bar coding is the most common automatic identification technology that provides timely, error-free information.
• Bar codes accurately verify business transactions and increase productivity.
• Slide spool assembly into cradle on top cover.
• Studies have shown that a data entry specialist will make one error for every 300 characters manually entered.

Code's Anatomy

Just as a swipe of a jar of tomato sauce across a scanner at the grocery store provides relevant information for a sale, bar codes similarly provide a method of encoding text information that can be read by electronic scanners in other applications. But the squares of black and white lines and numbers that appear on just about every product at a retailer only accounts for about 30 percent of uses. To understand this better, lets explore how bar codes work and what can bar coding can do for your business.

Each code is made up of a series of adjacent parallel black and white bars with differing widths spaced apart creating a pattern. The pattern of bars and spaces represent characters of the alphabet or numbers and the overall pattern is called a symbology. It represents a machine readable format of information.

Like with our pasta sauce, the bar code contains characters that are unique to a product and identify the manufacturer and product. To ensure proper decoding, each sequence of characters has a start character (system character) and a stop character or check character/digit and is used to signal the scanner when to start and end the data input. Accuracy and validation is ensured through the check character which is typically determined by a calculation. The smaller or more dense the bar code is, the more vital a role the stop and check characters play. When scanned, the light of the scanner is reflected off of the black and white bars to produce a wave pattern signaling highs and lows. When converted to a digital format on/off patters the information decoded can be interpreted by a computer and the information then used.

Want to learn more? See the full information page on our website.

Weekend Feature: Barcode Readers have universal applications for healthcare, retail and more

We've talked about how barcodes have and continue to change the way we do business. Barcode technology is improving accuracy and efficiency across multiple industries including retail, biometrics and healthcare. 

Now we're carrying the technology to help you get started.

Metrologic VoyagerCG MS9540 Scanners (now owned by Honeywell) are hand held single line wired laser scanners featuring patented infrared activation and decode all standard 1D bar codes including GS1 DataBar. The VoyagerCG MS9540 includes CodeGate technology – zeroes in on the desired code and completed data transmission with the push of a single button. The Voyager may be used as a hand held device or as a fixed presentation scanner when mounted with the included stand.

• Manufactureres Partn Number P/N MK9540-72A38 (Light Grey)
• CodeGate Technology.
• Aggressive performance in a lightweight design.
• Easy to use - 650 nanometer highly visible laser allowing the user to place the line on precisely on the bar code.
• .96mW peak laser power.
• Integrated EAS antenna.
• Scans all D1 bar code symbologies up to 80 data characters and 249mm or 9.8” in size.
• Scans at up to 72+2 lines per second.
• Measures 7.8” tall, 1.6” deep, 4” wide at the head and weighs 5.25 oz.
• PC Keyboard, Wedge, RS232, Light Pen Emulation, IBM 468X/469X, Stand alone keyboard and USB interfaces.
• FlashROM updated firmware from any PC – service provided free by Metrologic.
• Rugged and designed to withstand 5’ drops.
• 5 year warranty.
• FCC, Class 1 Laser, ICES and EN55022 Class B

Top three reasons your business should use bar codes

Bar codes aren't just for the grocery store. With dozens of applications, the technology is saving businesses money while improving accuracy, sales and more. Here are our top three reasons your business should use bar codes.

1. Studies show that a data entry specialist will make one error for every 300 characters manually entered. Bar coding is the most common automatic identification technology that provides timely, error-free information.

2. Bar codes are a relatively simple solution to monitoring employee time and attendance

3. Inventory managment

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Bar code technology celebrates 35 years

You know it well, though you've probably never given much thought to it. The rectangle of black and white bars present on millions of merchandise, which now has dozens of applications outside the grocery store, is turning 35 years old.

It helps you zip though the line at the grocery store. Helps small business owners track inventory with relative ease. It tells suppliers to order more stock. Not to mention it can eliminate nearly 99 percent of human-made data entry error.

Why we love them:

• Bar codes add value to small business owners - inventory, data entry, point of sale
• You can print bar codes to get started streamlining your business
• They help people with diabetes calibrate their meters
• They are used to board airplanes
• Track our shipments

What's your favorite use for a bar code?

A little bar code history:

• First used to read price of a 10-pack of Juicy Fruit on June 26, 1974
• Bar codes are scanned more than 10 billion times a day around the world