You may have originally had a service plan on your devices or they may have run out of warranty. ADC offers service contracts on almost all brands of barcode terminals, scanners and barcode printers.

Service contracts are generally much less expensive than “time and materials” repairs and can keep your “fleet” of scanners and printers working for you rather than sitting on a shelf waiting for a repair. ADC repair contracts are “return to depot” and can include comprehensive coverage on most items.

ADC covers equipment from Motorola, Intermec, Zebra, AML, Datamax, and others. Let us give you a no-obligation price quote to put your existing devices under contract.

One caveat: if your terminals are broken at the time they are put under contract they must be returned to working order under “time and materials”.

Keep your devices working for you, call us at 901-327-9946 or email sales@adcisi.com.

Simple USB scanners and hand held terminals with TE (terminal emulation) software – two ways to add scanning to existing applications.

But what other ways can you communicate to your host system? In the “Olden Days” (back in the ’90s) we did a lot of “batch upload” systems; we stored barcode scans in a device and then uploaded them via a docking station. And we STILL do batch programs uploading to a custom web page.

In addition to TE, you can run an EXE (also known as a “fat client”); a standalone program which stores information locally on the device and must be uploaded or synced. Another way is to use a mobile web browser with a screen formatted to run your corporate program.

Your software provider may use “middleware”; a separate software package that transfers information from the wireless terminal to your host software. There are many routes from scanner to host; ADC is experienced with all of them.

If you need software help of any kind – packaged or custom, barcode scanning or label printing, call us at 901-327-9946 or email sales@adcisi.com.

Last issue we covered the simplest way to add barcode scanning; USB scanners attached to any PC or terminal.

If you are old enough to remember “dumb terminals” then you know where “Terminal Emulation” came from. But what does that mean for barcoding? A hand held terminal is something you see every day in Walmart or the grocery store. It’s usually a gun-shaped device with a screen, keyboard and built in scanner. It connects to your network via a wireless (wi-fi) connection. The program running on the device emulates a dumb terminal – usually a VT or IBM 5250 terminal.

What this means is that the hand held scanner can run corporate software (WMS or ERP) without modification making implementation of wireless scanning straightforward. All major manufacturers of hand held devices sell their terminals with Terminal Emulation software installed. Some versions of this TE software allows the addition of voice data entry; giving you further control of the device by adding a headset.

Next time: Host Interface or How Do I Get The Information Into My Software?

If you want to add wireless terminals to your existing application, call us at 901-327-9946 or email sales@adcisi.com.

ADC stands for “Automatic Data Collection”; a catch all term for replacing manual data gathering with automated processes.

In this series we’ll look at all the different ways you can automate a manual process. ADC is your “one stop shop” for getting this done.

Going from the simple to the complex; the simplest way to automate a process is by adding bar code scans to an existing program. The most commen example of this is the grocery store scanner at self-check out. The laser scanner reads UPC codes on soup cans and enters that into the computer (cash register).

Anywhere you still have workers keying information on a keyboard is a candidate for automation. If the items they are keying are not in barcode, you can still create simple bar coded menus to make the process faster. A free, open source bar code generator is available to download at http://www.zint.org.uk/zintSite/

Most scanners in use today are USB scanners; this means all you have to do is plug them into a USB port and they work. These scanners may be corded or cordless. Cordless scanners have a range of up to 50 or 60 feet from the computer. This approach requires no special programming or interfacing.

Next time: Terminal Emulation

If you want to add scanners to your existing application, call us at 901-327-9946 or email sales@adcisi.com.

There are still applications where paper forms are necessary — but even those are changing. A device called a Digital Pen works exactly like an ordinary pen with one important difference.

A digital pen stores the keystrokes of the writer; when the pen is docked or even connected to a Smartphone, all of the information on the paper form is reproduced without the need of hand keying the information.

So if you still need paper, consider capturing the information digitally using a digital pen. Contact ADC for a demonstration of this innovative technology.