Barcode scanner types

Barcode scanners are the vital part of product scanning done at POS (Point of sale systems) stations at retail shops and restaurants.

Handheld scanners are very commonly used in checkout lines. These barcode scanners have a handle and a trigger button which when pressed will signal the LED or laser to take the reading of the item.

Pen-type Barcode Scanner - As the name goes, these barcode scanners resemble a ball pen and have a light source and a photo diode at the tip of the scanner. This method only has a LED light source and a sensor to capture its reflection. These types of scanner are widely used because they are less expensive and quite easy to maintain. The pen-type readers are available in different resolutions so as to read barcodes of different shapes and sizes.

Laser Barcode Scanner - The laser barcode scanner is similar to a pen-type barcode scanner in the manner of its working. Laser scanners obviously use laser beams as a source of light and reciprocating mirror or rotating prism for detecting the reflected light. Using laser allows reading of distant and wide bar code labels. Laser scanners are the most acceptable type of scanners as they are known for their operational efficiency.

CCD Barcode Scanner - CCD is the acronym for Charge-Coupled Device that is a semiconductor device used in this type of barcode scanner. The CCD barcode scanner consists of an array of tiny sensors placed at the tip of the scanner.

Camera-Based barcode Scanner – These barcode scanners are a recent innovation.
Sophisticated digital image processing techniques are used for decoding the barcode of came-based barcode scanner. A tiny digital camera is housed inside the scanner and this camera directly captures the image of the barcode.