Purolator, the largest courier service in Canada, has replaced laser-based scanners with camera-based barcode readers at weighing stations within its sorting and distribution centres. Purolator has placed purchase orders totalling nearly $250,000 for Cognex's DataMan 500 barcode reader in order to improve productivity at its distribution centres.
'The DataMan 500 offers significantly faster read rates than Purolator's current laser-based systems, and can also read labels with more highly degraded codes,' said Dr Robert Shillman, chairman and CEO of Cognex. 'With their existing laser-based scanners, operators were often required to pass packages under the scanners multiple times before the barcodes could be read. The DataMan 500 has been able to read every label on the first attempt, reducing operator processing time by half, and this has significantly improved both operator satisfaction and overall productivity.'
The DataMan 500, introduced in January, is a camera-based system capable of reading codes in real-world logistics applications where laser-based readers have previously been the standard. The DataMan 500 offers consistent, reliable reading of 1D barcodes that lasers cannot read, including damaged, distorted, blurred, scratched, low height and low contrast codes. It also reads codes presented in any orientation, multiple codes within the same image, and 2D codes such as Data Matrix and QR codes. With no moving parts to wear out, the DataMan 500 also offers exceptional reliability, lower maintenance and longer product life.
