Battle between CCD and Laser Scanners

Monday, September 26, 2011

Regardless of industry, businesses from all parts of the world need to monitor and organize their goods, inventories and such for security purposes. An efficient barcode scanner can help any business in achieving the much needed efficacy in these business processes. Whether you are in a coffee shop or a bookshop, a hardware store or craft store, these scanners are like guns which makes a sale and eventually, profits possible.

Technology-wise, there are two types of barcode scanners. One of which is the laser scanner which basically makes use of a laser beam as some sort of illumination sources which in turn helps in reading bar codes. A laser scanner possesses a rotating prism which moves across the barcodes beginning and end. The presences of a photodiode in its readers effectively measure the light's reflection intensity. Laser scanners are the popular choice of non-contact application as they have the outstanding ability to read barcodes from afar.
CCD Barcodes on the other hand utilizes charge coupled device technology. These scanners have light sensors thus they are also called linear imager scanners. The lights emitted by the barcode that they scan give these kinds of barcode readers the ability to last harsh conditions and such.

The primary benefit of using CCD barcode scanner is its ability to last longer as compared to laser scanners. This is due to the absence of movable parts in CCD scanners. This makes them less susceptible to breaking and damage. Another advantage of CCD scanners is their price. Generally, they are cheaper compared to laser scanners and considering the higher and better scanning rate that they offer, they are such a good and practical choice.

Laser scanners, just like the CCD scanners have the features that the former just does not have. For instance these types of scanners have the ability to scan at a wider distance. The long range scanning is its main selling point whereas the CCD can only read barcodes which area few inches away from it. User friendliness is another advantage of laser scanners as they are very easy to handle. Some of them do not even require the need to go over the manual, most especially those who are using barcode scanners for a long time. Its interface is as to use as pie.

In the world of barcode scanners, preference and need plays a very important role in determining your choice of scanner. You can go for CCD if you want a cheaper one that will last for long or you can pick laser ones that can scan at a greater distance and are very easy to use.