Barcode Equipment and Labeling Solutions

Tips and Reviews Covering Barcode Scanners, Printers, Labels and Equipment

Need Grainger Labels?

December 1, 2011 – 3:32 pm

Grainger, like many industrial distributors, require their suppliers to put special labels on their products so the product will get into the distribution system without a hitch. Many suppliers to distributors may not have the ability to make barcodes in house. This is where we come in. Adazon specializes in preprinted barcode labels and also in setting suppliers up to print their own barcode labels. The key is to understand the Grainger barcode required.Pre-printed Grainger Barcode Labels

Grainger requires a special symbology. The symbology is the version of barcode that is printed and read. The Grainger barcode is alpha and numeric and there are only a few symbologies that work with both. The 3 of 9 code is also known as the code 39 meets these requirements. The code 128A is also an alpha numeric code and acceptable to Grainger.

The process of barcoding a Grainger item begins with the Grainger New Item Addition Process where the supplier is provided a Grainger Stock Number. This stock number can have a master pack quantity, and ship pack quantity, and a sell pack quantity. These are key elements in understanding the correct barcode needed. I like to think of it as a case of beer, a six pack, and a can. If it can be sold as any of the three, then it needs a barcode.

Many suppliers can integrate the barcode right into the packaging, but if this packaging goes to many other distributors as well, then a specific label is more desirable so there is no confusion as to which barcode is for which system or customer.  Specific labels for each customer is then desired so as the product is made or picked for the order, the barcode labels can be put right on the product at that moment.

For suppliers that wish to print Read More »

By John Barth | Posted in Barcode Equipment Ideas, Barcode Label Information, Custom Labels, How to Information | Comments (0)

Thank You Veterans!

November 11, 2011 – 8:33 am

On this Veterans Day, we at Adazon would like to take this moment to thank all of our veterans for the freedoms we experience today. There is no greater honor then to sacrifice your life for our ability to succeed in freedom through personal choices and business freedoms.

Thank you for your service!

By John Barth | Posted in Barcode Industry | Comments (0)

Are you sick and tired of Dymo Label prices?

October 26, 2011 – 2:22 pm

Well, Adazon has the answer for you. Take a look at our new line of Dymo compatible labels we are making. If you are using the Dymo LabelWriter 400 or 450 series printer and still buying Dymo branded labels, then you have a significant opportunity to save some cash. Take a look at our new line-up of labels for the LableWriter. We have shipping labels, address labels, and the stamp labels that can be used with your Endicia account or Stamps.com. If you compare prices, you will see a real saves on our new product.

Quality you ask? Quality you get. We are using only the best raw stock materials to make these labels. A bright white direct thermal face stock along with our permanent adhesive provides a quality label that we guarantee. If you are not totally satisfied with the quality or the performance of our product, simply notify us within 14 days of your order date, and we will either replace it or refund your purchase price, including shipping. That is how convinced you will love our labels.

Dymo printers are in most offices and used for many applications from labeling file folders and file cabinets, to creating shipping labels for UPS or FedEx. We offer the popular Dymo 30252 address labels for the 1 1/8 x 3 ½ size requirement as well as the large shipping labels Dymo 30256 in many colors at 2 5/16 x 4 sizes. We also offer the Dymo 30915 Stamps Postage in two roll sizes of 500 per roll and 800 per roll. So you need continuous paper in your printer? Try the 30270 and see if that meets your need.

With our wide variety, you have no need to look any further for your Dymo supply needs. We sell these in small case sizes so you can save on shipping as well and hold a nice supply on hand. Whether you are in the food industry, office environment, healthcare, or any other industry, saving money on Dymo labels goes directly to the bottom line. Take a look at our offering and see what you think.

By John Barth | Posted in Barcode Label Information, Custom Labels, Custom Labels Chicago, Food Labels | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Custom Digital Labels

July 7, 2011 – 11:56 am

What are custom digital labels? They are labels printed on digital machines like the HP Indigo Digital printing presses, model ws4500 and the HP Indigo ws6000. Other digital options include the large scale Xeikon 3050, and some smaller scale Primera CX1200 and the complete 2 stage AXXIS by Allen Datagraph. Customers can now design the most intricate high quality labels, knowing that these presses guarantee:

Color consistency from the first label to last
Perfect ink to ink trapping
Enormous flexibility
Variable printing
Zero dot gain
175 to 200 line screen
Cost effective small quantity runs
No printing plates or film required
Perfect registration
And with the Dieless Label Finisher there is no need for expensive dies for unique shapes.

Benefits of using digital printing include: Read More »

By John Barth | Posted in Custom Labels, Custom Labels Chicago | Comments (1)

Medical Cannabis Labels

June 3, 2011 – 10:08 am

As medical cannabis is expanding throughout the country there is a growing demand for these custom medicinal cannabis labels for packaging. Labeling is very important on this product due to the tamper proof element and warning for children and pets. Making sure you work with a reputable label manufacturer that both designs and stocks the labels can provide a seamless label ordering process. Medical Cannabis Label

The need for friendly and knowledgeable customer service personnel is critical to making label changes easy and for coming up with best in class application solutions that can be beneficial for cost savings and productivity enhancements.

The displayed medical cannabis label shows the result of working with a customer to refine a label from a front and back label to one label that folds over to seal the package and shows all the information needed on both sides of the packaging. By coming up with this innovative solution, the customer saved on cost due to two labels being reduced down to one label with all the warning and compliance information on one, and the benefit of a tamper seal in one medical cannabis label. The customer also saves in productivity by only having to attach one label to the product instead of one on the front and one on the back.

This customer experience has provided one of the easiest ways to create a label for the most common packaging. By having a fold over label that seals a bag in one motion, in stock and ready to ship, has proven invaluable. Medicinal marijuana should also be labeled with the compliant number and warnings for your Read More »

By John Barth | Posted in Custom Labels | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Save Money With The Right Preprinted Custom Labels

February 7, 2011 – 4:24 pm

There are many ways to save money with custom labels. Below is an example of using variable data to save from having to invest in a lot of plates for different versions. First we need to understand the complete need of the customer. What is the label being applied to? Who will be reading the labels? How will the labels be applied? These are just a few questions that help uncover specifics that will help with a solution. Getting samples of the label or a sample file can provide tremendous input to help build the total picture. Custom Labels These elements can help develop concepts and creative solutions that ultimately reduce the customers overall costs and improve lead times on the label project.

Take this case as an example. A customer came to us with the need of 75 different pricing labels and each version had anywhere from 20 to 500 duplicates of the same label to be printed. To make it even more complex, the customer wanted the label to be a 2 color label with red and black ink on a white label. They had 2 other requirements as well. The label had to be made with removable adhesive and the material could not rip. To prevent the label from ripping we must use a synthetic label.

Well, this could be a very expensive label project unless we take a more detailed look at exactly what is required. First we see if we can leverage any of the plates to use through the entire job. A closer look shows that almost all of the variable printing is in black. With this knowledge, we can work with various digital methods to make the black images. These methods include inkjet spray inline on the press, or thermal transfer printing as a second stage.

Now that we know we will be printing all of the black as variable text and images, we must find out how many red ink changes are in this job. We see that there are only 3 red plate changes needed for this entire job. The red is used to create a reverse out white lettering showing the prices themselves.

Knowing this, a quote was put together to first run just the red plates providing the base for the job and then printing the black with thermal transfer print. After the labels were made in 3 versions, they were put on rolls with a 3 inch core preparing them for the thermal transfer printer. The key at this point is to make sure the labels are aligned properly so the black thermal transfer print is applied in the correct spot. Once this is complete, the labels are ready for shipping.

Using this example, we see that a job that originally looked like a complex run with 75 plate changes could cost up to $3375.00 in just plate costs alone, is now a very manageable job with only 3 plate changes and variable data either thermal transfer printed or inkjet sprayed onto the labels in line making the plate charges only $135.00 in cost.

Taking the time to look at each label job to formulate the best way to provide the images needed can save tremendous amounts of money as seen in this example. Let us help with your next label project.

By John Barth | Posted in Barcode Label Information, Custom Labels, Food Labels | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Bakery Labels Found In The Confectionary Industry

October 29, 2010 – 9:02 am

One of the many uses for labels is found in the confectionary industry.  Labels play a vital roll in the success and marketability of the bakery’s product.  These labels need to be able to adhere to several different types of surfaces as well.  Adhesive selection is also an important part of the labeling in the food industry because some organizations might want their customers to remove the label easily while others want their labels to be permanently affixed to the product.Bakery Labels  Label buyers have the benefit of choosing from several different adhesive options.  These options include permanent, removable, ultra removable, hot melt, freezer grade, Hammerlock, solvent, and acrylic.  Each of these adhesives includes their own special qualities and advantages. 

Each individual bakery can decide if they want to buy the labels blank and print on them with their own printers or have them preprinted with their own set of colors, pictures, text, and/or barcodes.  Bakery’s can also choose from several types of label material.  If they need their labels to be tear resistant and withstand water, the bakery would most likely choose some sort of synthetic label.  Synthetic labels are a non paper material that are much more durable than paper.  Synthetic labels, like paper labels, can be produced blank or preprinted with any color on the PMS color chart.  The downside to synthetic labels in the food industry is that they are more expensive and are not usually necessary for most storage facilities and grocery or retail stores.  Paper labels are more common in the food industry because they are less expensive than a synthetic material and are capable of withstanding the mild dry facilities that they are usually stored or found in. 

A lot of bakery’s like to do a combination of printing their own labels but also having a certain amount of constant text preprinted on the same labels.  This preprinting is done at the label manufacturing facility that the bakery employs and they will then use a label material that is compatible with the bakery’s printers.  For example, if a bakery Read More »

By Brian Shoemake | Posted in Custom Labels, Custom Labels Chicago, Food Labels | Comments (2)

Zebra Labels Price Increase

August 3, 2010 – 9:24 am

As many already know, the pressures on price in this industry have been very strong. From time to time we receive letters from our suppliers outlining exactly what those pressures are. Below is an overview of a letter Zebra Technologies sent out that is very informative and can answer a lot of questions about why pricing may be increasing in certain categories. Here is that letter:

Our industry continues to face raw material price inflation. While the US economy has improved, new capacity to match the increased demand has not kept pace, creating shortages of key ingredients that go into adhesives and film resins. There have also been global events which have created additional shortages of the components that go into paper liner and facestocks. Here is a more detailed look at what is driving the raw material increases:zebra

Paper and Pulp Cost Increases

  • Paper and Pulp has increased by 57% in the past year to a record high of over $1000/ton for NBSK due to increased demand and declining supply

                -Chilean earthquake in February 2010 took 8% of the world’s pulp capacity offline for several months
                -Labor strikes in Europe taking additional capacity offline
                -Increased global demand for China
                -Decline in North American paper capacity (2008-2009)

  • Platinum costs up 17% YTD, Silicon metal up 30% YTD – these are key ingredients in making silicone release liners
  • Continuing impact of elimination of “black liquor” tax credits

Films and Adhesives Cost Increases

  • Propylene monomer (a key component in adhesives) up 33% YTD
  • Strong global demand putting adhesive components on allocation from key chemical suppliers BASF, Dow, etc.
  • Polyester film shortage expected with the shutdown of DuPont’s Florence facility

Due to these cost increases, Zebra will increase pricing on most Zip Ship catalog items 4-6% on August 2, 2010. New costs on custom media quotes will be phased in as they take effect in June and July.

With adhesive and film shortages on the horizon, Zebra has aligned with suppliers who can support our customer’s requirements for the long term. We have also made investments in turrets and magnetic die cylinders to increase operational efficiency, to offset some of the raw material price increases.

This letter provides a great overview of the influences on price in the industry. I hope it sheds some light on the some of the issues facing our industry today.

By John Barth | Posted in Barcode Label Information | Comments (1)

Thermal Transfer Barcode Labels?

May 10, 2010 – 2:08 pm

We do a lot of employee training to develop our employees with the right skills to answer any customer call. Below is a caption of a new employee experience with our training and roll play customer preparing them for the job. The following is the employees experience:

One word or phrase can turn a days worth of work into a very valuable learning experience.  In the label industry, as I am sure in any other industry the use of numbers or alpha letters in part numbers can lead to a very crucial mistake.

This is my experience from today.  It started with my roll play customer calling saying that the product inside the case was wrong, but the part number on the outside of the case was correct.  Well something like this can end badly with losing a customer that has been with us since 2005.  Although in today’s world losing one customer can mean the difference to everyone’s bottom line. 

This customer called saying that he received the wrong product in the case, The customer claimed they could not print on the labels at all. This led me to asking a list of questions. One of the questions; “What did the label do when it was exposed to an open flame that touched its surface?” Direct Thermal will turn black where the flame touches the label. Unlike “Thermal Transfer labels” which will not react to heat.  This is because direct thermal is a heat sensitive label and the printer head will burn the image onto the label.  Whereas thermal transfer uses ribbons and the ribbons can come in a variety of colors.  So back to the story, I had asked the gentleman what he needed and he said thermal transfer which has the part number 4060DD1T10. What does the product do when a flame is touched to the label?  He told me that it turns black. This indicates it is a direct thermal label clarifying the customer did receive the wrong item, and that part number is 4060DD1D10.  So naturally I call my warehouse and make a big stink and tell them that they mis-marked a case of labels and that I want all of our inventory checked.  So now there are a bunch of questions the warehouse is asking me.  You see if you have a thermal transfer printer you can use a direct thermal label.  Well I didn’t know that.  The warehouse person recommended the customer keep the case and the labels should work fine with or without a ribbon.  So finally we had to call the virtual customer back.  After further research and a couple more questions this customer ordered the thermal transfer, but, needed to get the direct thermal.  After another important questions “Like does your printer use ribbon or not?” and how about researching their past orders.  Which, at that point after reviewing the past numbers I would have noticed that one little letter can change everything. 

There were a number of lessons learned in this customer roll play experience. Do you research on the customers past orders, always ask for the exact model of the printer, ask if ribbon is used in the printer, and at last resort, if the label type is not know, use the lighter test. After this experience, our roll play customer had a great educational experience, and our new employee learned a lot about troubleshooting label issues.

By John Barth | Posted in Barcode Label Information | Comments (1)

Inventory Control Software

April 28, 2010 – 3:37 pm

Have you ever wanted an easy way to barcode and keep track of inventory without a huge cost? There are many ways to get and inventory system and integrate it with your ERP system allowing for real time inventory tracking and picking. These robust systems allow for reports that provide “reorder points”, “cycle counts”, and “empty location” reports. But what if you don’t need all of this?

Well, we have a very basic solution for anyone that just wants to barcode their items and scan them into a basic spreadsheet. The formula is simple. One of the most user friendly solutions is found with Code Corps CR3500 scanner. This scanner is a very compact unit that can fit in your shirt pocket. It also has a powerful data management capability that can use JavaScript. This allows the unit to be programmed very easily directly for your specific need without paying a lot for custom software.Low-cost-inventory-control-software

So, if we look at how to pull off a simple solution to scan and record inventory on a spreadsheet, the steps with this scanner are as follows. Just download the free Code Reader file updater, than run it on your PC. With this software, you can program different prefix and suffix codes allowing you to automatically add a quantity in front of behind the item you scan. You can also program the scanner to add the enter key so once you scan a barcode, it will automatically go to the next row of the spreadsheet so it is ready for the next scan.

Once the user has scanned all the items to be entered into inventory, the scanner can be set to open your spreadsheet program and download all the data into a new worksheet. Now, how is that for fast and easy inventory tracking?

This may not be enough for a lot of users. In that case, there are some very robust inventory control packages that range from hundreds of dollars, to many thousands of dollars. So, if working with just a spreadsheet is not enough for you, then let’s look at the next step up.

There is a very reasonably priced off the shelf inventory management software package by Redbeam which stands can run on Windows XP, Server 2003 and Vista. This software runs on a robust SQL Database, easy to use, provides reporting with scope and sort capabilies, allows the printing of barcode labels, and allows you to import data from tab delimited sheets.

The really cool part about this software is that you can run reorder review reports, purchase history reports and other data that is critical in managing inventory and the cost is really reasonable. Here are some benefits of using this Redbeam package:

Benefits
RedBeam Inventory Tracking software is designed to:
• Speed Up Inventory Movements
• Improve Accuracy
• Locate Inventory Easily
• Track Item Movements
• Optimize Purchasing
• Reduce Inventory Levels
• Minimize Out of Stock Situations
• Increase Accountability
• Reduce Shrinkage
• Minimize Paper Work
• Create One Central Inventory Database

This is a great solution and can be put together in your organization for under a thousand dollars. If you require a system that in totally integrated with your ERP system, there are programs and we can scope out the requirement upon request.

So, if it is inventory management you are after and on a budget, there are some great options to meet your needs. Just determine what exactly is required and either chose a standard data collection devise that will download to a spreadsheet, an off the shelf inventory control software package, or a custom integration. These are the three labels of complexity and performance that can be used to meet your requirements.

By John Barth | Posted in Barcode Software Ideas | Comments (0)