RTINNOVATIONS 37
ELIMINATING MULTI-
PACK DOUBLE SCANS New packaging material prevents scanners from reading the barcodes on individual cans or bottles
A brand new packaging material designed to stop the widespread problem of “double scanning” in multipacks is about to launch on the market. The use of a chemical additive stops today’s highly
sensitive barcode scanners registering the wrong barcode, preventing the till system from mistakenly undercharging customers by registering the barcode of a single can or bottle in a multipack rather than the barcode for the whole product itself. UK retailers and brands currently have to resort to
supplying two separate sets of cans and bottles to avoid double scanning – those for individual sale which all have barcodes and those for multipacks which do not. However, this is expensive and adds to stock control complexity.
The new material is the brainchild of beverage, food and consumer goods multi-packaging provider Hi-Cone, which said it is discussing the commercial rollout with several customers in the fast moving consumer goods industry.
www.hi-cone.com
CLOUDKEY ELIMINATES
CREDIT CARD DATABASES “Distributed key” technology stores personal information locally, locked with secure cloud keys
AppMobi has unveiled its secure patent-pending cloudKey authentication technology and its immediate integration into appMobi’s 1Touch “single touch” payment system. The “distributed key” technology allows a user’s credit card
information to be stored only on the user’s device, not in an online database. The company said this approach eliminates online database security risks. But the integration with the 1Touch payment system also
offers users a streamlined way to transact mobile and online purchases with a single touch. 1Touch is designed to facilitate transactions involving digital or real goods and services, on any web browser, and the transactions fl ow through the same shopping carts and payment gateways. And it offers integration with payment gateway such as PayPal,
Authorize.net, and even direct carrier billing. 1Touch with cloudKey is being offered for use by web and mobile app developers who seek to offer their users a highly secure and streamlined e-commerce experience.
www.appmobi.com
RESEARCHERS DEVELOP ERASABLE E-PAPER Display technology may offer solution for printed posters and signs that can be used up to 260 times
Researchers at the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan have created a new e-paper that can be printed and erased up to 260 times.
The system can be printed with a thermal
printer similar topaper used for fax machines, costs as little over £1 per A4 sheet to produce and doesn’t require a backlight.
Its developers are hoping it can be commercialised as a viable alternative to traditional advertising and point of sale or information purposes, as it can be erased at the fl ick of a switch and reprinted on again and again, even though higher cost e-ink displays offer the opportunity to change imagery on the fl y.
Work is currently ongoing to
improve the resolution of images that can be displayed. But if the technical reproduction issues can be overcome, its developers hope its promotional and environmental impact could be far- reaching.
www.itri.org.tw/eng
JULY/AUGUST 2011 RETAIL TECHNOLOGY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40