Inventory & AIDC Software Blog

Badly Printed Barcodes Waste Time & Time Is Money

October 2009 Inventory Tip: Barcode Printing Tips

There are three pieces of technology when considering implementing a barcode supported software application like IntelliTrack. The first is the software where the data is stored. The second is the portable or barcode scanner that scans the barcode to pass the collected data to the database. The third is the barcode itself.

The barcode is an essential component of the solution! It is contrast driven. The blacker, cleaner, more defined the barcode is on a white background the more efficiently it is read. The other more important consideration is the size of the label in regards to how far away you need to scan it. Why is this important? Every minute a user spends scanning and collecting data more efficiently is a savings in labor to you.

So why do many customers short-change themselves when it comes to printing barcodes? It sometimes feels like the barcode printing process is the afterthought instead of the piece of technology that ties the solution together.

Common Problems & True Stories

• Wrong Printer Type: A customer called in with a problem. "There's something wrong with your software!" "My scanner can't read the barcodes you (IntelliTrack) print".
• The facts: The customer was using an old laser printer that not only did not have a high enough resolution it was leaving a dark residue over the label. Not enough contrast.

• Bad Maintenance: A customer expressed concern that the label program in our software failed. It once worked fine. I actually went on site for this one. Arriving at the customer we went directly into the warehouse and the customer showed me a label grabbed a scanner and tried to the scan the label, bad scan!  The label looked good, nice white background good black thermal image. There were no lines running through the barcode and the customer was using a recognized barcode printing program.
  • The facts: The customer showed me the printer that printed the labels, a Zebra 105SE. For those in the know the 105 is a recognized industry standard warehouse print workhorse. I opened the case and it looked good. The printer did not appear dirty or misused. Then I saw the platen. Now the platen is the roller just under the print head that the label presses against as it comes out of the printer. The purpose of the platen is to ensure an even surface for printing. The customer platen had a label wrapped around it. To be more specific it had several labels wrapped around it. Like 10! Well this was not an even surface for printing and the extra diameter of the platen distorted the label just enough so that it was unreadable by a scanner.

• Wrong Size: A customer called in asking for help. Their team was having a heck of a time taking inventory or picking orders.
  • The Facts: The customer had an asset-tracking program and had several thousand blank asset labels they wanted to use. They were .5 inch by 1.5 inch. Instead of labeling the supply room with larger labels the customer used the asset labels and employees literally had to be 2" inches away to read the barcode that not only was printed two small were printed on label sheets out of an inkjet. Very wrong label size and wrong printer

To summarize, it never pays to take shortcuts with the technology that you expect to increase your efficiency. When printing barcodes do yourself and your employees a favor:

• Use a printer designed to print barcodes
• Use labels that are correctly sized for your environment
• Keep your printer clean and maintained by following manufacture maintenance guidelines.

You do these three simple things and the investment you made not only in your application but also in the equipment you invest in will save you time and labor. 

That! Is the way to get barcodes right!

-Will Daniel, COO IntelliTrack, Inc.