| It's pretty hard to imagine what life would be like | | | | even remember what it was like to go to the grocery |
| without barcode scanners. Everything you buy has at | | | | store and the checkout clerk would actually punch in |
| some point been processed through some kind of | | | | the prices for each and every item. Some of those |
| barcode scanning technology. The easiest place to | | | | checkers were pretty fast but they could never match |
| see this is at the check out counter of any store. | | | | speed with today's lightening fast barcode scanners. |
| Either the checker slides the item over the light panel | | | | All this convenience is made possible by a relatively |
| to read the product information or where self-service | | | | simple mechanism. A typical scanner is really made up |
| check out is available you do it yourself. If you look | | | | of three key parts. The part you normally see is the |
| around your home you'll see barcodes on everything | | | | wand, pen, or platen that houses the illumination |
| from a can of vegetables to a tube of toothpaste. In | | | | system. Red lights are use to read the shape of the |
| that one little black and white block of symbols is | | | | barcode. These will be either LED lights or laser light. |
| everything a merchant needs to know about the | | | | Once the light is passed across the code it is reflected |
| product. | | | | back to a sensor. The sensor will convert the light |
| Another good way to imagine barcode scanners in | | | | signal from analog to digital. The information then goes |
| action is package shipping. You buy a product online. | | | | to a decoder which translates the information into |
| The information is sent to the distribution center where | | | | something that a computer can use. By either hardwire |
| the product it pulled from the shelf. Once it's pulled it is | | | | or wireless technology the information is sent to a |
| scanned and your order sheet matched up to the | | | | computer where it becomes part of a database that |
| product information. It's boxed up and another barcode | | | | keeps track of the movements of the product. |
| label is put on the box where the shipper scans it and | | | | If you start to notice bar code scanners you will notice |
| makes a record of when it left the warehouse. Along | | | | that there are several different kinds. The simplest and |
| the way the box is scanned again and again until it | | | | least expensive are pencil type readers that must be |
| reaches the final destination. That's plenty of scanning | | | | dragged across the barcode. The most sophisticated |
| and doesn't even count the number of times it was run | | | | are the large laser scanners that you might see in a |
| through barcode scanners before you ever even | | | | state of the art large discount retailer. Whatever type |
| placed your order. | | | | of scanner you see it's job is the same—read and |
| Today barcode scanners are so widespread that we | | | | store information about a product. So that the check |
| take them for granted. It would be pretty difficult to go | | | | points along the distribution channel know when they |
| back to the paper and pen way of tracking items that | | | | need to make or order more and how the item is |
| was used before the technology became affordable | | | | doing in terms of getting to the end user. |
| and accessible. If you are over 40 years old you may | | | | |