Barcode scanners for EGAIS: myths and reality, selection criteria
In a previous article, we wrote about the new version of EGAIS 3.0 and the introduction of mandatory blot registration of alcoholic beverages in Russia. Now entrepreneurs are seriously puzzled by the problem of automation in accordance with the law.
There are a lot of myths about what reading equipment is suitable for working with EGAIS, from specific mistakes in the recommendations on the websites of regulatory authorities to marketing manipulations of the mind that are used by equipment suppliers. In this article we will tell you in detail what the equipment for EGAIS really is.
Hand on heart, the excitement and lack of awareness of entrepreneurs to us, as a supplier of equipment, is only at hand. I put on a red bun with the inscription “for EGAIS” on a suitable scanner in the catalog and catch the frightened customers with these five magic letters. This is used by many suppliers, raising sales of certain models. From the outside, it seems that the scanner labeled “for EGAIS” is a rare beast that has been specially sharpened for working with the state system, and count the types of such equipment on the fingers. We would like to restore justice and tell that the choice of scanners for EGAIS is huge, and most importantly - this is the free choice of the entrepreneur himself.
In the equipment catalog on our website in the relevant sections there are subsections, for example, “Scanners for EGAIS” . This does not mean that only these scanners are suitable for automation of trade according to EGAIS. There we collected the most popular models with the necessary characteristics, with the best price-quality ratio. We did this for ease of navigation, no more. And far from all possible options are collected in this section.
When automating work on EGAIS using a scanner, you need to know only one rule: the scanner for EGAIS is a 2D scanner (i.e., reading the PDF417 code). There are no other rules, all other characteristics, form factor, connection interfaces, etc. - all this applies solely to the requirements of the business processes of the enterprise and its internal inventory system.
And if you see somewhere some special recommendations for EGAIS on any other grounds, besides the ability to read 2D code - do not get fooled.
By the way, on the website of the Federal Agency of the Republic of Belarus ( http://egais.ru/tehnicheskie_sredstva ) in the list of recommended scanners the model of laser 1D scanner MS9520 appears in generalwhich is not suitable for working with EGAIS, as in fact, it doesn’t read PDF417, but only with special firmware, it takes a very long time (it is required to slowly drag the barcode with the pens with a laser), and not all PDF417 barcodes are considered to be it. And for sure, this scanner will not read DataMatrix (barcode of the brand’s series), which is absolutely not suitable for working with EGAIS.
If someone is not too lazy to delve deeper into the choice of a scanner for EGAIS from dozens of models of 2D scanners, he will notice that two-dimensional scanners of the same manufacturer with almost identical characteristics can have a two- or three-fold difference in price. Let's see why.
As soon as the rustling of the EGAIS bill passed and it became clear what technical means it would need to be automated, the leading scanner manufacturers quickly added two plus two. The main objective of the manufacturer was to provide the Russian market with a suitable competitive model of a 2D scanner and to bite off the maximum market share. And while our entrepreneurs here complained about the law, equipment manufacturers over the hill were already struggling with the idea not childishly. They developed new products and began to produce optimized scanner models. We needed scanners with excellent 2D optics, while the cost had to be cheapened. And the size of the Russian alcohol market required well-thought-out production plans and logistics.
Leading scanner manufacturers (Honeywell, Datalogic, Zebra, etc.) released scanner models focusing on this Russian project and position them as scanners for EGAIS. In these scanners, barcode processing is optimized, the device better recognizes damaged, frayed excise or federal stamps, thanks to special algorithms and an increased resolution matrix. But not without casualties. To reduce costs, manufacturers sacrificed multi-interface, bundling, or packaging costs.
Scanners that are recommended for use with EGAIS have image scanning technology for working with worn, small codes at a distance of up to 20 cm, as well as with glued on convex parts of the goods. If we take the "Big Three" of manufacturers Honeywell, Datalogic, Zebra, then their promotional offers of wire hand scanners for the Russian alcohol market look like this:
As you can see, the main characteristics are almost identical, as well as the price. Similarly, the situation will be with wireless models for EGAIS , and with combined (presentation) scanners .
The choice is wide, but the rule is only one - the scanner should read PDF417. Manufacturers have taken care to make such models with an optimally low price - it is worth paying attention to them first of all.
When choosing equipment, we recommend giving preference to reliable manufacturers who offer models with decent technical characteristics to the market. If you buy more than one scanner, but automate the retail network, equipment sellers can offer you to test the scanner in action (evaluate ergonomics, quality and speed of reading, etc.).
When choosing a scanner for EGAIS, pay attention to the warranty conditions from the manufacturer, they can be different (1 year, 3 years or 5 years). And also, we recommend paying attention to the quality of the scanner and its design.
There are a lot of myths about what reading equipment is suitable for working with EGAIS, from specific mistakes in the recommendations on the websites of regulatory authorities to marketing manipulations of the mind that are used by equipment suppliers. In this article we will tell you in detail what the equipment for EGAIS really is.
Let's start with barcode scanners
Hand on heart, the excitement and lack of awareness of entrepreneurs to us, as a supplier of equipment, is only at hand. I put on a red bun with the inscription “for EGAIS” on a suitable scanner in the catalog and catch the frightened customers with these five magic letters. This is used by many suppliers, raising sales of certain models. From the outside, it seems that the scanner labeled “for EGAIS” is a rare beast that has been specially sharpened for working with the state system, and count the types of such equipment on the fingers. We would like to restore justice and tell that the choice of scanners for EGAIS is huge, and most importantly - this is the free choice of the entrepreneur himself.
What to believe
In the equipment catalog on our website in the relevant sections there are subsections, for example, “Scanners for EGAIS” . This does not mean that only these scanners are suitable for automation of trade according to EGAIS. There we collected the most popular models with the necessary characteristics, with the best price-quality ratio. We did this for ease of navigation, no more. And far from all possible options are collected in this section.
When automating work on EGAIS using a scanner, you need to know only one rule: the scanner for EGAIS is a 2D scanner (i.e., reading the PDF417 code). There are no other rules, all other characteristics, form factor, connection interfaces, etc. - all this applies solely to the requirements of the business processes of the enterprise and its internal inventory system.
And if you see somewhere some special recommendations for EGAIS on any other grounds, besides the ability to read 2D code - do not get fooled.
By the way, on the website of the Federal Agency of the Republic of Belarus ( http://egais.ru/tehnicheskie_sredstva ) in the list of recommended scanners the model of laser 1D scanner MS9520 appears in generalwhich is not suitable for working with EGAIS, as in fact, it doesn’t read PDF417, but only with special firmware, it takes a very long time (it is required to slowly drag the barcode with the pens with a laser), and not all PDF417 barcodes are considered to be it. And for sure, this scanner will not read DataMatrix (barcode of the brand’s series), which is absolutely not suitable for working with EGAIS.
Recommended Scanners for EGAIS
If someone is not too lazy to delve deeper into the choice of a scanner for EGAIS from dozens of models of 2D scanners, he will notice that two-dimensional scanners of the same manufacturer with almost identical characteristics can have a two- or three-fold difference in price. Let's see why.
As soon as the rustling of the EGAIS bill passed and it became clear what technical means it would need to be automated, the leading scanner manufacturers quickly added two plus two. The main objective of the manufacturer was to provide the Russian market with a suitable competitive model of a 2D scanner and to bite off the maximum market share. And while our entrepreneurs here complained about the law, equipment manufacturers over the hill were already struggling with the idea not childishly. They developed new products and began to produce optimized scanner models. We needed scanners with excellent 2D optics, while the cost had to be cheapened. And the size of the Russian alcohol market required well-thought-out production plans and logistics.
Leading scanner manufacturers (Honeywell, Datalogic, Zebra, etc.) released scanner models focusing on this Russian project and position them as scanners for EGAIS. In these scanners, barcode processing is optimized, the device better recognizes damaged, frayed excise or federal stamps, thanks to special algorithms and an increased resolution matrix. But not without casualties. To reduce costs, manufacturers sacrificed multi-interface, bundling, or packaging costs.
Scanner Examples for EGAIS
Scanners that are recommended for use with EGAIS have image scanning technology for working with worn, small codes at a distance of up to 20 cm, as well as with glued on convex parts of the goods. If we take the "Big Three" of manufacturers Honeywell, Datalogic, Zebra, then their promotional offers of wire hand scanners for the Russian alcohol market look like this:
| Barcode scanners | Honeywell HH400 | Zebra DS2208 | Datalogic QuickScan Lite QW2420 |
| Scan resolution | Code 39 - 4.0 mil; Code 128 - 4.0 mil Data Matrix - 6.0 mil; QR Code - 6.8 mil | Code 39 - 4.0 mil; Code 128 - 4.0 mil Data Matrix - 6.0 mil; QR Code - 6.7 mil | Code 39: 4.0 mil; PDF417: 6.6 mil; QR / Data Matrix: 7.5 mil |
| Working temperature | 0 to 50 ° C | 0 to 50 ° C | 0 to 50 ° C |
| Protection class | IP42 | IP42 | IP42 |
| Average retail price | 65 USD | 65 USD | 75 USD (with stand) |
As you can see, the main characteristics are almost identical, as well as the price. Similarly, the situation will be with wireless models for EGAIS , and with combined (presentation) scanners .
How to choose a scanner for EGAIS
The choice is wide, but the rule is only one - the scanner should read PDF417. Manufacturers have taken care to make such models with an optimally low price - it is worth paying attention to them first of all.
When choosing equipment, we recommend giving preference to reliable manufacturers who offer models with decent technical characteristics to the market. If you buy more than one scanner, but automate the retail network, equipment sellers can offer you to test the scanner in action (evaluate ergonomics, quality and speed of reading, etc.).
When choosing a scanner for EGAIS, pay attention to the warranty conditions from the manufacturer, they can be different (1 year, 3 years or 5 years). And also, we recommend paying attention to the quality of the scanner and its design.
We hope that this information will help you better navigate the mass of variegated information from various sources, understand that the recommendations of the governing bodies and equipment sellers are just recommendations, not limitations. In subsequent articles, we will reveal in more detail the topic of data collection terminals for EGAIS , talk about erroneous opinions about CheckMark2, and touch upon the objectivity of recommendations related to this topic.Summary
In this article, we touched on the main points:
- scanner for EGAIS - this is any 2D scanner
- “for EGAIS” clause in the scanner model indicates its market positioning by the supplier, no more
- we examined the models of hand-held wire scanners from leading manufacturers, designed with a focus on the Russian consumer and the requirements of our market, and traced the identity of the parameters