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CHECKLIST FOR A SUCCESSFUL BARCODE LABEL PROJECT By:
Norman Katz, Katzscan Inc. Not all software application projects are created equal. The main components of any software application project will be: (1) the software itself; (2) the hardware (the computer(s) the software application will run on – network server and client workstations); and (3) the setup of the data. However, in the case of software applications that use or rely on barcode labeling (see Table 1), there are many other components of the overall application that require consideration to ensure a successful implementation. Keep in mind that you want to avoid having your personnel spend any more time than is absolutely necessary to print labels. Your company is probably not in the business of making money printing labels, and it can be argued that this labor step does not add value. The goal should be that the cost of printing and applying a label will reap cost benefits by making other tasks efficient and gaining control over what you are trying to keep track of. Uniform
Label Size Let’s start with the simple basics: what is the size of the label most appropriate to print? Examine all the different items that you want to keep track of. Determine the best placement of a label on all the various items, and then determine the smallest footprint (area) you have for label placement. The size of the label will also determine how much data you can print on it. If sticking a label to your product is not an option, you might want to print tags that can be attached with plastic or metal ties. (Note that much of the information in this article applies also to tags, not just labels, but for the sake of readability, only labels are mentioned from here on.) You don’t want to force your personnel to make decisions as to what size label to use based on the product in front of them. Additionally, constantly changing label stocks in a printer is a time-consuming process. Having several printers with various label sizes is an option, but probably only increases the cost of the application, and will force higher prices for lower quantities of various sizes of labels. The size of your label may be indirectly dictated to you via a vendor compliance requirement specifying the height of the barcode and minimum acceptable width of the narrowest bars (typically measured in mils.) Lighting The lighting inside your facility is important. Label stock is available in flat and gloss finishes. In commenting on label readability, this applies not only to the human eye but to barcode scanners as well.
However, if your barcode labels will be read by another party (i.e. your customer or shipping company), you must consider the lighting in their environment and comply with their requirements or risk the inability of your barcode labels to be read, which could result in financial penalties for non-compliance. Printing
Method Barcode printers can print labels in either thermal or thermal transfer mode. Barcode printers work by heating filaments in the print head in such a manner as to create characters. This was the basic methodology used in dot matrix printers: each character was actually composed of dots that creating by striking a configuration of pins against a ribbon which impacted the paper. Twenty-four pin dot matrix printers produced a higher quality character than a nine-pin version because there were more pins involved in making the dots which comprised the characters. In thermal
mode, the heat of the print head chemically changes the composition of
the label stock as the print head filaments are heated to form
characters. Thermal mode
does not use a ribbon, but makes direct contact with the label stock.
In thermal transfer mode, the heat of the print head transfers ink from a ribbon onto the label. Even though thermal transfer printing requires a ribbon, the label costs are typically so much less than thermal labels that it is more cost effective to print a label in thermal transfer mode versus thermal mode. Also, thermal-printed labels do not withstand environmental situations nearly as well as thermal transfer labels; the printed image can be smudged or fade easily in bright light. In addition, because the ribbon acts as a protective barrier for the print head, printing in thermal transfer mode typically results in a longer life to the print head and reduces poor print quality from environmental factors such as airborne dust and dirt, and from direct contact with the label itself. Barcode printers have print heads offering the standard 203 dots per inch (DPI), as well as higher quality 300 DPI, 400 DPI, and 600 DPI models. Graphic images, such as a picture of the part or a company logo, can be nicely printed with higher DPI models while printing the information and barcode. (The caveat here is that the ribbon is usually black, so your images and logos will be black-and-white only.) Printing on small labels usually requires higher DPI barcode printers to ensure good quality images and thus good first-scan readability of barcodes. Scanner
Optics Barcode scanners can be equipped with different optics, such as standard range, long-range, and high visibility for scanning in outdoor (sunlight) situations. Scanner ranges are dependent on the size (in mils) of the narrowest bars of a barcode. In general however, long range optics can scan at twice the distance of standard optics. Scanner optics are important to consider because you don’t want a forklift driver to have to get too close to a warehouse rack or pallet, let alone have to park the forklift and get out of his seat just to scan a label. Also, you want to minimize the necessity of your floor staff having to constantly move and stand on stepladders to scan a barcode label. Not only is this a waste of time but it is a potential accident waiting to happen should they fall. Environmental
Concerns The different environments in which your labeled items will exist must be taken into consideration. For example, pharmaceutical and food items may be barcode labeled in cool, dry environments and then placed in freezers for storage. Further, when the items are moved from the freezer to the loading dock, they pass through the hot, humid warehouse. As such, the barcode label existed in three separate environments: (1) the cool, dry manufacturing environment, which also could be considered the label’s application environment, as this is where the label is applied; (2) the very dry and frozen storage environment; and (3) the hot and humid warehouse. Further, perhaps the cases are master-packed in larger containers with dry ice to ensure quality during shipping. What impact will direct contact with dry ice have on the case barcode labels in the transportation environment? In this example, the barcode label may have fallen off the case in the freezer due to using the wrong adhesive, or the label may have disintegrated from the condensation buildup when being moved from the freezer through the warehouse to the loading dock. Consideration of all environments that a label will exist in is critical to ensure the success of your project. Key material aspects are:
Other
Label Characteristics Labels can have other characteristics that can be helpful in various situations:
Engineering
Considerations Though only applicable to direct part identification, the application of a barcode label, as well as the options of laser etching or pin stamping, change the physical characteristic of the item marked. Be very careful to include your company’s engineers in any such decision to ensure the quality of your products is not compromised by direct product marking. Before implementing a
barcode labeling (or marking) system make sure you get everyone
involved, from the technology staff to the product design,
manufacturing, and warehouse personnel.
This will help ensure you minimize the amount of data and expense
of labeling, and maximize the use of the data throughout various
departments, resulting in more efficient operations and a shorter return
on investment.
TABLE 1 – SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS TYPICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH BARCODE LABELING
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