A barcode scanner for every business and application

Identifying our customers’ needs since 1976

From the beginning, over 45 years ago, Opticon has been one of the first companies in the world to specialize in the manufacturing of industrial and commercial barcode scanners. At the time, it was a revolutionary new technology to identify information at any location. Inventory management, asset management, order picking, point-of-sale; all these disciplines made huge progress on efficiency thanks to Opticon’s barcode scanners.

In all these years Opticon gained extensive experience in not only the technology, but as well as the market needs. The products prove themselves relevant, easy to use and economical for any business. From industrial to logistics, and from retail to healthcare, we’ll deliver a tailor-made solution for your company. As a result, reliable identification devices with the best suitable solution for all applications on the work floor. When help is needed our Support team is there to assist you and our R&D team can help you with any programming challenges you have. That defines Opticon.

What is a barcode scanner and what are the advantages for your business?

A Barcode Scanner is a device that scans or reads a barcode. Before the information contained in the barcode can be used, it must be decoded by software which is incorporated within the Barcode Scanner. This turns the alternating black and white bars of a linear barcode or the dots in a QR code into a string of letters and/or numbers that can then be used to look up pricing, inventory, website or other information. This is a huge advantage since it dramatically improves efficiency of your small business or enterprise company, because it eliminates human errors caused by manually entering data, and it saves lots of time.

How do I choose a barcode scanner for my business?

As enterprise barcode scanners are used in many applications, many markets and everywhere in the world. This results in many flavors to choose from. You may need some additional information to select your best suitable solution. Aspects to consider are the environment, the application, type of barcodes and form factor.

Many shapes, sizes, and purposes

An Opticon barcode Scanner for your business comes in many shapes and sizes, from handheld to embedded scanners, based on the application:

• Handheld Barcode Scanner. Mostly used on counters at the point-of-sale
• Wireless Barcode Scanner. When more flexibility of the personnel is needed
• Pocket size Barcode Scanner. Quick and easy scanning for access control, stock inventory etc, where size matters
• Wearable Barcode Scanner. Used for inventory purposes in logistics and retail environments, where lightweight and comfort are key
• OEM or Fixed Mount Barcode scanner. For applications where embedded scanners are needed, like self-checkout, parking machines, laboratory, industrial, etc.
• Mobile Computer Barcode scanner. For inventory solutions using an Android or Proprietary system

Barcode Scanner Characteristics 

An enterprise Barcode Scanner can use several different types of scanning technology to scan the barcode. For a more technical description of the different types of Barcode Scanner, check our OEM page. A short overview and advantages of the different types:

A Laser Barcode Scanner consists of a small semiconductor laser and uses a moving mirror to make the laser line. The reflected data is then decoded into useful data. A Laser Barcode Scanner is suitable for almost any use, reads high-resolution barcodes, is fast, has longer range and is very affordable.

A CCD Barcode Scanner is a camera with only one row of pixels. This technology is extremely rugged since there are no moving parts and costs less. It is also smaller to integrate. CCD barcode scanners are only able to read barcodes from a shorter distance.

A 2D Imaging Barcode Scanner works much like a camera, taking a picture of the barcode and then using software to collect the barcode/QR data from the image. A 2D imager is very powerful and omnidirectional. A 2D code contains a lot more data compared to a 1D code. It can virtually scan every barcode symbology from nearly every surface including mobile screens. Even heavily damaged barcodes are not a challenge for a 2D imaging Barcode Scanner.

To help you select which type of scanning technology you need, check our Product Selector tool.

A barcode scanner for every business

Opticon has a scanning solution for every kind of business. From small business to large enterprises and also for different industries like the healthcare industry, industrial companies and more. Contact us for more information.