Quick Check 600 - QC600 Portable Product Retirement
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Posted in: Barcodes
Future Trend in Barcode Verification: No More Wands?
When Handheld Products, now Honeywell Imaging and Mobility, discontinued the Quick Check 600 family of verifiers last year, it was the death knell for thousands of verifiers in the field. Soon enough, those instruments would no longer be supported. Is this the beginning of the end for wand-based verifiers?
We’re getting ahead of ourselves. First, Honeywell discontinued manufacture and sales of the QC600 series of portable verifiers. This does not include the PC-tethered QCPC600 verifier, which is alive and well, still manufactured, sold and supported by Honeywell.
The strategic move to discontinue the battery-powered QC600’s is a logical and sensible move. The QC800 family of portables can readily perform all ISO/ANSI tests with the addition of an optional wand device, a pen or mouse.But we’re getting ahead of ourselves yet again. First, understand that ISO/ANSI verification requires use of a contact device to test the color contrast (PCS: Print Contast Signal) and reflectivity (MRD: Minimum Reflectance Difference) parameters. This is because the incident angle of the incoming red laser light is not locked at the proper angle for testing these two optical parameters with anything other than a contact device (such as a laser gun or linear imager). Unless the angle is fixed, the test results are unreliable.
Enter the QC800 family of portables—and here again, the distinction of “portable” is important, because we are not including the new and non-portable QC890 in this discussion. In its factory configuration, the QC800 family, including the QC810 for retail applications, the QC820 for Health industry applications, the QC830 for industrial and government applications, and the QC850 for all industry applications, comes in kit form including a gun-style linear imager. This is a non-contact device—no fixed angle, no PCS or MRD tests.
What this means is that the QC800 portables do not test full ISO/ANSI as they come from the factory. If it is important to test all parameters, the optional contact device must be used. It is a relatively low cost item, but it is essential. Without it, the linear imager can and often will give a passing grade to a barcode that actually fails the PCS or MRD parameter. This can be a serious matter if barcode performance liability is at issue.
If this sounds like a trap for unsuspecting people to fall into, let’s consider, calmly please, who is the trapper and who is the trapee. The bottom line of barcode verification is risk management. If the ultimate goal of risk management is to do it at the lowest possible cost, without regard for whether or not the risk is being fully addressed, then the one who might feel trapped is the one who is actually doing the trapping.
Verification is like insurance. Having too little is a mistake; having too much is also a mistake. Which is the worse mistake? That’s obvious.
What does the retirement of the QC600 family of portable verifiers mean for the company that needs to test barcodes as part of their risk management (and customer service and overall quality assurance) program? It means that the buying decision should be reached carefully, with the help of a knowledgeable and reputable reseller.What is a knowledgeable and reliable reseller? This is someone who will take the time to understand the specific and often unique needs of your company and the requirements of your downstream exposure. A good reseller will take care to neither oversell nor undersell you. A good reseller will stand behind the buying decision you make together. A good reseller will make sure you understand how to use—to set up and calibrate—the verifier. A good reseller will be available to help you understand test results and how to use them to improve barcode quality. And a good reseller will help keep your verifier operating accurately and reliably.
You might spend a little more to buy from a knowledgeable and reliable reseller. Considering the years of service life you can expect to get, and the confidence that you are correctly and completely managing your barcode quality program, the difference in cost is a wise and well-placed investment.
