Hi, Travis from POSGuys.com.
Today we're taking a look at the Zebra DS81 series of barcode scanners.
It comes in two versions, the DS8108, which is the corded version, this is USB connection,
and the DS8178, which is going to be a Bluetooth cordless version of it, so you can walk away
from the base and can get up to 100 feet of range, even more, depending on your location.
This is an advanced series of barcode scanners, so it does everything the two lower families
of barcode scanners do, but it does it better in most cases, but it also has advanced cutting
edge features, such as scanning multiple barcodes all at the same time, scanning invisible barcodes,
or parsing the data on the barcodes in a very specific format to you to make your business
run better.
So very advanced, and should help with productivity inside the business, whether it's retail or
manufacturing or registration, it just allows you to do a lot more and a lot quicker and
it kind of opens some doors to new security methods, new retail and check-out methods.
Regular barcodes scanning is exceptionally good with this scanner.
It has a very wide angle on it, meaning that you can scan of course straight on, but you
can also come from the sides, so you can see I'm at a pretty extreme angle, and I'm able to
get a read on it.
Range, can get very close, from near contact, and you can back up about two feet, so about
there is the limit range.
There are some scanners that cost less that can scan from further away, but this is more
a wide angle, so you're looking for error correction in scanning off-center.
As far as the size of the barcodes, it can get enlarged barcodes, and also very very
small barcodes, so these are 7 mil barcodes, they're very tiny, and it reads it no problem.
In fact, I can barely see the gap in the lines, but it reads it no problem.
Worn and faded barcodes, here's my little example, so we've xeroxed the same barcode
multiple times to make it more worn out and more faded, your standard version, it reads
it as you'd expect, and then here's kind of the middle range, it's pretty worn out, and
then the very faded, very dark and messy, it reads it no problem, so standard, small,
large, worn, it does a very good job with it.
In bright light conditions, the bright light does not effect the scanners ability to scan,
I'm going to be right on the bulb, and it scans no problem.
Don't worry about your lighting conditions, it'll scan it just fine.
In fact, the light actually damaged my barcode a little, and it still reads it just fine.
Multi-code is the ability to scan multiple barcodes all at the same time.
So here's the box that the scanner came in, so you can see there's a bunch of different
barcodes on it.
So one thing that this scanner can do is it'll scan all the barcodes on the box all at the
same time.
But not only that, it'll put them in the order that I specified.
So here I've configured this scanner to do it.
So it'll scan the first three barcodes, ignore the fourth barcode and the fifth barcode,
and then this third barcode, instead of transmitting the entire barcode, it'll just send the last
two characters, that last barcode is the date that the barcode scanner was made, so it's
just going to show the year.
So I'll go ahead and scan it, and then you can see on the screen that it only shows three
of the five barcodes, but it scanned them all at the same time, and it's just the last
two digits of the barcode.
So Digimarc is a pretty amazing new technology.
So everyone knows what a standard barcode looks like, your scanner of course can read it.
So the idea was that what if you could take a box and cover the thing completely with
that barcode, so here's a box, you can see barcodes are everywhere.
Now when you go to check out, you just scan the box, instead of looking for the barcode,
trying to find it, and then lining it up, you just scan anywhere.
So what Digimarc did is they made the barcodes invisible.
So take a look at the box, it has the one real barcode on it, but outside of that, you
don't see any other barcodes.
However, if you scan the box, it reads it.
And then you can see this is what a Digimac looks like sort of enlarged, it's a 2D barcode,
that's a series of small dots, and they can print it small enough that you're not able
to see those on the box, it has like kind of a slight gray on the white, but for the
most part you can't see it, and you can scan anywhere, so your product is completely covered
in barcodes, making check out really fast and really easy.
So here I have our margin for error test, we've done this before with the DS22, which
is the red circle, the DS34 which is the green circle, so I'll use the blue pen here and
I'll kind of calculate in some datapoints for it.
So on a 1D barcode, you can see that the circle is a little larger, but it's also wider, so
you have more of an oval shape to your margin for error, so side to side you're going to
get a little more room than up and down.
So Bluetooth specific features is, there are two different bases on it.
You have your presentation base, so when it sets it down on it, the beam will come out,
and it becomes an auto-sensing scanner, so every time a barcode passes through, it'll
scan, and then you can pick it up, and it enables the trigger.
Or you have your more traditional cradled scanner, I'll pair with this base, and you
just set it down to charge.
This one also has the ability to be wall mounted, you just flip this piece around, and then
if you want to wall mount it, it has a little lip to hang on, and you have a wall mounted
base now.
Both bases have built in pairing.
Once you're paired with the base, there's a button on it, if you hold your finger over
it, and then it beeps the scanner, so you can go find it if you misplace the scanner.
Both bases are relatively the same price, it just depends on whether you prefer presentation
or standard.
One other nice feature of this is the battery design.
So instead of having the contacts built in to the barcode scanner, and then having an
internal battery, what they did is they made the battery, and I'll just take it out, all
you need is either a screw driver or a quarter, or a box knife, and then this cover goes off,
and then the battery comes out.
So the battery contacts are built in to the battery and not into the scanner.
That way, if you're scanner contacts wear out, and your scanner isn't charging well
any more, when you replace the battery, you get fresh contacts.
Your new battery drops in, the cover goes on, and you just tighten it down.
There you go, your scanner's ready to go.
The DS81 series comes in two different versions, the 8178 which is your Bluetooth version,
and the 8108, which is going to be your tethered version, there's two different stand options,
your scanning capabilities are going to be the same whether you want the cordless version
or the corded version.
As far as whether you need this advanced scanner, it all depends on the direction that your
business is going to go.
If you're going to be scanning a lot of serial numbers, or you're going to be checking in
boxes and you're going to be using it for receiving as well as retail, then it's a feature
you might want, to be able to scan multiple barcodes at the same time and have it populate
a form automatically, especially if you're like a cell phone store that has seven or
eight barcodes on a box and you need the model number, the serial number, the date of it,
and all those kinds of things, it could be a very useful feature.
If you know that you might be incorporating Digimarc into your retail packaging, Digimarc
barcodes will definitely speed up your ability to check out customers fast, you just can
scan the label, you don't have to find barcodes on them, it almost helps your customer
interaction, because now you can focus on interacting with your customer rather than
having to find labels.
Very cool feature.
There's also some anti-theft built in to Digimarc, where you don't have to worry about people
covering up barcode labels with other barcodes for cheaper products, so a very cool thing.
As far as scanning capabilities go, it is a little better than the previous scanners.
I wouldn't say it's a big difference maker, the 4308 is a very very good scanner as well,
and if you're looking just to scan barcodes of today, and not looking for advanced features,
the 4308 might meet your needs just as well as the 8107 or the 8178.
It's definitely a big step above the 22 series, but that is their most affordable series.
So really take a thought on to what kind of advanced features you might be using in the
days to come when deciding what barcode scanner.
If you'd like to consult with our sales staff, give us a call at 855-POS-GUYS, they'd be
happy to talk to you and give you an honest recommendation on what barcode scanner will
work best for your business.
You can also visit us online at POSGuys.com.
Thanks!