What Is a Bioptic Scanner?

A retail clerk scans a cereal using a Zebra bioptic scanner.

What Are Bioptic Scanners?

Bioptic scanners, in the context of barcode scanning, typically refer to a specific type of barcode scanner that combines both a horizontal scanner and a vertical scanner in one device. This design allows for improved scanning performance and versatility.

A bioptic scanner typically includes a horizontal plane, which is positioned below the user's line of sight and a vertical plane which is positioned at a higher angle. This configuration enables the scanner to capture barcodes from different angles and orientations, providing faster and more accurate scanning capabilities.

Bioptic scanners are commonly used in retail environments, particularly at high-volume checkout lanes. They are designed to read barcodes on products as they pass through the scanner, allowing for quick and efficient scanning without the need for precise alignment of the barcode with the scanner.

What Are the Benefits of Using Bioptic Scanners in Retail?

Bioptic scanners are specifically designed for high-volume retail checkout lanes. It combines multiple scanning planes, including both vertical and horizontal, to capture barcodes from various angles and orientations. Bioptic scanners are great retail technology solutions that provide advanced barcode scanning capabilities to provide fast and accurate scanning of barcodes, improving efficiency and productivity in various operations. This multi-plane scanning technology provides accuracy in barcode scanning, even in high-demand situations. When used in grocery scanner scales, a bioptic scanner can provide several benefits:

  1. Efficient and Accurate Barcode Scanning: The multi-plane scanning capability of the bioptic scanners allows for quick and accurate barcode scanning. This is important in grocery stores as it ensures that barcodes are captured and processed swiftly, reducing checkout time and improving overall efficiency.
  1. Speed and Accuracy: Bioptic scanners can quickly read barcodes from various angles and distances, ensuring fast and accurate scanning. This reduces the need for manual data entry and minimizes errors.
  1. Versatile Barcode Reading: Imaging bioptic scanners can read barcodes presented on electronic screens like mobile devices. This versatility enables businesses to handle a wide range of barcode formats commonly used in retail, ensuring compatibility with different products and packaging. They can also decode damaged or poorly printed barcodes, improving scanning reliability.
  1. Enhanced Customer Experience: The fast and accurate scanning capabilities of bioptic scanners can contribute to a smoother checkout process. The speed and accuracy of bioptic scanners result in faster checkout times and reduced waiting lines, improving the overall customer experience. These scanners can also improve the overall customer experience by minimizing errors during scanning and weighing operations.
  1. More Accurate Weight Management/Pricing: Bioptic scanners with a scale integration enable accurate weight management and pricing for different types of products like produce.
  1. Hands-free Operation: Bioptic scanners are often designed to be mounted on a counter or point-of-sale (POS) system, allowing for hands-free scanning. This frees up the operator's hands to handle other tasks simultaneously.
  1. Self-Checkout Capabilities: Having two scanning planes makes it easier for everyday customers who do not have scanning experience to scan all their items quickly and efficiently.

Why Should Businesses Invest in Bioptic Scanners?

Investing in bioptic scanners can be highly beneficial for businesses in the retail industry. One of the main key advantages of implementing bioptic scanners is the ability to significantly speed up checkout times. Here are some reasons why it can be advantageous for businesses to invest in bioptic scanners.:

  1. Increased Efficiency: Bioptic scanners streamline scanning processes, reducing the time and effort required for data entry. This leads to improved operational efficiency and increased productivity.
  1. Error Reduction: Bioptic scanners eliminate manual data entry, which significantly reduces the chances of human errors. This helps maintain accurate inventory records and prevents costly mistakes.
  1. Cost Savings: By automating the barcode scanning process, businesses can reduce labor costs associated with manual data entry. Additionally, the improved accuracy of bioptic scanners minimizes losses due to inventory discrepancies.
  1. Enhanced Customer Experience: Bioptic scanners enable faster checkout, which can lead to shortened lines. Overall, this technology can help contribute to happier customers.
  1. Future-Proofing: Investing in advanced technology like bioptic scanners ensures that businesses stay up-to-date with the latest industry standards. This allows them to adapt to changing customer expectations, various computer vision applications and emerging technologies, maintaining a competitive edge.

Bioptic scanners are a good investment due to their speed, accuracy, data-capturing capabilities and many other advantages they provide. They are a powerful tool that can contribute to the overall success of your business.

What Are the Features of the Zebra's MP7000 Grocery Scanner Scales?

Zebra MP7000 Grocery Scanner Scale is a high-performance barcode scanning solution, powered by bioptic scanning technology and designed specifically for high-volume retail checkout lanes. It combines multiple scanning planes to provide fast and accurate scanning of barcodes from different angles, improving cashier productivity and customer satisfaction.

Here are some key features of the Zebra MP7000 Bioptic Scanner:

  1. Multi-Plane Scanning: The MP7000 uses multiple scanning planes, including both vertical and horizontal, to capture barcodes from any orientation. This allows cashiers to scan items quickly, regardless of how they are presented at the checkout counter.
  1. Advanced Imaging Technology: The scanner utilizes advanced imaging technology to read 1D and 2D barcodes with high accuracy, even if they are damaged or poorly printed. It can also capture digital coupons and loyalty cards from mobile devices.
  1. Scale Integration: The MP7000 can be integrated with a scale to weigh items during scanning, enabling accurate weight measurements for pricing and inventory management.
  1. Durable and Reliable: Built to withstand the demands of high-volume retail environments, the scanner is designed to be durable and reliable, ensuring consistent performance even in challenging conditions.
  1. Easy Setup and Management: Zebra provides software tools for easy setup and management of the MP7000 scanner, including remote configuration, firmware updates and diagnostic capabilities.
  1. Color Camera Option: The optional high-resolution 2.3 Megapixel color camera paves the way for new applications that deliver major business benefits, including recognizing produce and preventing loss. Produce recognition applications can help identify produce to streamline item selection for easier and faster self-checkouts. Loss prevention applications can use the camera to help identify suspicious transactions and ensure the proper barcode is scanned for an item. The color camera makes it easy to build the image database needed to support these applications. These features can help enhance customer experience and can help significantly increase the success rate of self-checkout.
  1. Energy Savings: The intelligent illumination system consumes up to 60% less power than competitive devices, greatly reducing power consumption and cost.
  1. Space Saving: Bioptic scanners can be built into your checkout counter, freeing up space that you can use for other purposes. In many retail environments, counter space is at a premium. Every square inch that's taken up by equipment is space that could potentially be used for product displays, promotional materials, or simply to keep the area tidy and free of clutter. Bioptic scanners, like the MP7000, can be built directly into your checkout counter. This integration into the counter design not only helps provide a clean, professional appearance but also frees up valuable counter space.

The Zebra MP7000 Grocery Scanner Scale is designed to optimize checkout efficiency and enhance the customer experience in retail environments. Its multi-plane bioptic scanning technology, advanced imaging capabilities and scale integration make it a powerful solution for high-volume retail checkout operations.

Explore Zebra's Bioptic Scanners