Chances are if you’ve been to the grocery store, the library, the video rental store, or even the hospital in the last few days, you’ve seen barcode scanners used to ring up purchases or manage inventory.  Barcode scanners can help almost any business run more efficiently. 

Barcode scanners are, of course, designed to read barcodes.  Barcodes are made up of a combination of bars and spaces.  Barcodes do not contain a great deal of encoded information about any given item; they supply a reference number.  When that number is scanned into the computer, information about the product is pulled up.

A barcode scanner is composed of four parts: a light source, a lens, a photoconductor, and a decoder.  The data the barcode scanner picks up are fed into a computer.  When beamed at the barcode, the light source is absorbed by the bars, which are dark, and reflected by the spaces, which are white.  The photoconductor then changes this information to an electrical signal.  The decoder takes this signal and translates it into a format the computer can understand.

The two most common types of barcode scanners are CCD scanners and laser scanners.  Each has benefits and disadvantages.  The CCD barcode scanner, for instance, has no moving parts and is less vulnerable to the wear and tear that affects laser scanners.  The laser barcode scanner, on the other hand, can read barcodes from a greater distance than the CCD and is ideal for warehouse situations where employees might have to scan products out of their physical reach.

Barcode scanners cost anywhere from just over a hundred dollars to several thousand dollars, depending on their individual features.  Several different online sites offer price comparisons and reviews of different barcode scanners.  Even if you’re “just” a small business owner, it’s worth considering incorporating barcode technology into your business.  You’ll be pleased with the increased efficiency and easier management of data.