POS Barcode Scanners

Barcodes play a vital role in any point of sale system, especially in product-based industries like grocery stores, clothing stores, pharmacies, and many others. In fact, any business that requires tracking stock figures or shipments, pricing items, managing financial documents, and performing other logistical and organisational services will need an efficient barcode system. In turn, a barcode system will need the appropriate scanner to match. This ensures all barcode information is analysed and collected accurately.

When choosing a barcode scanner for your point of sale, it’s important to select the appropriate scanner that will cater to your business’ needs. Does your system use standard linear barcodes, or complex 2-dimensional barcodes? How will the scanner be used? It’s essential to answer these questions before choosing your barcode scanner.

There are two types of barcode scanners that are most frequently used in New Zealand:

Linear Imager Scanner

These scanners read traditional one-dimensional barcodes by taking a picture of the barcode, and then analyse the information. This method offers faster reading speeds compared to ordinary laser scanners. Linear image barcode scanners are a great cost-effective option, as they can easily read barcodes that have been poorly printed or damaged.

Two-Dimensional (2D) Barcode Scanner

2D barcode scanners are used to scan two-dimensional codes. The data is encoded using patterns of dots, hexagons and other shapes, able to contain hundreds of characters of information. Examples of 2D barcodes include QR codes or data matrix codes. 2D scanners can read any type of barcode, including traditional linear codes and codes on computer/phone screens. They also read faster and require less aiming, speeding up your point of sale processes.