Data-Imaging: Associate images with barcodes

 

Pictures play an important role in many barcode-based workflows. Logistics companies photograph cargo entering and leaving the company's grounds. This can become important when goods reach their destination broken or incomplete. Did the goods leave the transport company imaculately? Was the cargo trailer loaded correctly?

The Ricoh Caplio 500SE comes with a through-the-lense barcode recognition mode. The barcode information is then written to the Exif header of each photo.

The software ExifExtractor from alta4 can then be used to extract the bar code information from the file and write the photo and the bar code to a data base.

 

Benefits

• Faster workflow completion and sigificantly reduced risk for human failure.
• Images and related metadata is available on the spot.
• Several steps in the workflow become unnecessary (seperate download of barcodes and images, association of the files).
• With the WLAN function (only model 500SE-W) the datasets can be transferred to the office right away. Shipping or transport of data carriers become dispensable.

Workflow

1. Activate memo function of the camera and scan barcode through the camera lens.
2. Select attribute data from the memo list.
3. Take a photo.
4. Barcode and memo entries are written to the Exif header of the photo. All successive photos are associated with the same barcode until a different barcode is scanned or the memo function deactivated.
5. Transfer data to the PC using WLAN or an USB cable.
6. Use ExifExtractor for an efficient photo management based on the Exif content.

Application example

A typical application area is the logistics sector.

Scan barcode through the camera lens.
Select attributes from the memo list, such as Employee, status of the freight, class of goods.
Take the photo. Barcode and memo entries are automatically stored in the Exif header.
Transfer data to your PC. Use ExifExtractor to extract the Exif content, rename your files based on Exif information and create the preferred output file, e.g. a csv-file.
Integrate datasets into the existing database.