RACO Industries, a leading integrator of mobility and data management solutions, is forming a strategic partnership with OnAsset Intelligence, Inc., a leading provider FAA compliant wireless package tracking, monitoring, and control solutions, to provide an all-inclusive, asset management solution. The solution features the OnAsset Vision Platform and the SENTRY™ FlightSafe™ product line with RACO’s package tracking applications and will provide its customers with real-time visibility and situational awareness to the location and condition of their high-valued assets.

“Our foremost priority at RACO is to provide the most effective mobility solutions so that our customers can receive a superior level of visibility to their important assets,” said Don Mech, VP of Business Development for RACO Industries. “By combining the capabilities of RACO’s wireless mobility integration with OnAsset’s SENTRY package monitoring solution, our customers will receive comprehensive, relevant and customizable information into their everyday workflow to help reduce costs and improve supply chain efficiencies.”

“We are pleased to combine OnAsset technologies and services with RACO’s comprehensive integration capabilities in wireless mobility applications,” said Nikki Cuban, VP of Marketing and Business Development.  “Our Vision Platform offers our customers the ability to visualize data from many different sources including data from SENTRY devices, warehouse and inventory information, ERP data, and web content in a single user experience.  By working with RACO, we are able to continue expanding our service platform to enable our customers with a transparent supply chain.”

For more information, contact RACO Industries at 1-800-446-1991.
 

We get asked all of the time about justifying the cost of a rugged mobile computer over a non-rugged or a consumer-grade device. Depending on the product, there can be a large cost differences between the two product types. There are three points that we like to make when justifying the cost difference:

1)      Ruggedized mobile computing devices like the Motorola MC55 is designed to resist damage from drops, humidity, misuse and other environmental issues. Consumer- graded devices are not designed this way and after-market cases only provide minimal protection. To put it simply, you drop it….you break it.

2)      Battery life is a very important factor for mobile computing. Ruggedized devices are intended to work for a full eight hour shift with options available to extend this time. This does not just include voice communications – it also includes data transmissions, scanning, image capture and all of the other functions needed for a mobile worker. The battery life for consumer graded devices will die out after only a few hours if used in this way.

3)      The costs for IT to support consumer-graded devices are nearly three times as high due to the increased failure these products. We ask a very simple question…do you want your valuable IT personnel to spend their time on IT projects or troubleshooting broken smartphones? 

For detailed information about the total cost of ownership for mobile computing, view Venture Development Corporation’s white paper. For more information about the value of ruggedized mobile computers, contact a RACO product specialist or visit www.racoindustries.com.

After a long successful run as the market leader for on-demand color label printers, the VP2020 is set for retirement. The recently released VP485 retains all of the great qualities of its predecessor by delivering large volumes of high quality, color labels but with considerable reliability improvements. Loaded with many of the features of the VP2020, the VP485 is faster, lighter, easier to set up and use and less expensive to operate. Typical 4.0” X 6.0” label costs now range between $0.02/label for about 10% color coverage to about $0.20/label for edge to edge, 100% color printing. Other features include separate ink reservoirs to reduce changeover and expense, Bartender Ultralite label design software and an easy to use keypad – all of this in a smaller footprint than the VIP 2020. 

So if your business requires small run, color labels with variable printing or you want to reduce the amount a preprinted labels on your shelf, the VP485 is a great choice. Print 1 or even 10,000 labels. It is your choice of how much you need and when it is needed.

For more information contact a RACO Product Specialist 1-800-446-1991. In the meantime, see the printer in action by viewing the VP485 Product Presentation Video.

Have you ever tried to do a search on your mobile phone for the closest pizza place but get a very slow response or a bunch of useless information? If so, then you have not been using the best search engines designed for mobile phones. Mobile searches through Yellowpages.com, Hotels.com as well as a few others are easy to use and designed for the mobile environment – the search information minimizes the amount of data sent to the mobile phone i.e. graphics, ads, etc. and only delivers the relevant information that was requested.  The results even include a map of the search result and if needed, driving directions from your starting location. All you need is input what you are looking for and where you are and the mobile search engine will do the rest.  

Behind the scenes, the technology that performs the search and provides results is a bit more complicated. Basically, it utilizes a proximity search feature (x/y coordinates) to determine the closest place that you are looking for in real-time. Once that location is determined, the information is then delivered to the mobile device in order of relevance and location closest to the user. These mobile search sites are also designed for the slower transmission speeds of the wireless world and to fit the screen size of the available devices. The results appear within a couple of seconds and formatted so the content is easily viewable.  After all, who wants to waste time on bad searches when there’s a great pizza joint not far from you?

If you are in a business that accepts cash for transactions, you are at risk of losing money due to counterfeit currency. Recent U.S. Treasury estimates believe there is over $70 million in fake money circulating in the United States.  This number is highly likely to grow as printer systems become more available and inexpensive. Also, there is no recourse if your business ends up with a counterfeit bill.  It is illegal to pass on the forged currency and the Treasury Department does not provide ‘financial enumeration.’ In other words, the fake buck stops here.  With you.  Depending on your type of operation, the risk could be quite large. Retail, hospitality/entertainment and banking businesses conduct a large amount of their transactions in cash which increases the probability of receiving phony bills. Counterfeiters also prey on companies who handle large amounts of money, hoping to take advantage of those who would overlook bogus bills. But, there are a few things businesses can do to help reduce the risk of accepting counterfeit currency: 

Learn about the currency identifiers. Authentic US currency incorporate features such as fluorescent and magnetic dyes, security threads, watermarks and special cloth-blended paper. It is important to educate your employees and yourself about these features in the $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills. The $20 bill is the most counterfeited of all of the bills. Although human currency identification is not perfect, it is your first line of defense of accepting a counterfeit bill. For more information, visit The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s website.

 Investigate counterfeit currency detection systems and methods. There are products readily available in the market that aid in counterfeit detection. There a simple, easy to use pens resembling a highlighter that react to the cloth-blended paper used in today’s currency. The pen will create a black mark on counterfeit currency that was printed with a normal copier on inkjet paper. But a bill may pass this test if finer paper similar to US currency is used. For maximum protection, there are counterfeit currency detectors that identify the special inks as well as the infrared security marks that are considered counterfeit-proof. Products like the Cassida 3300 Counterfeit Bill Detector offer one of the most complete defenses against accepting counterfeit money available. The Cassida 3300 is easy to use and processes a bill in less than one second. For more information, visit http://www.racoindustries.com/cassida-3300.htm.

Determine the risk to your business. If your business operates with a high volume of cash transactions, consider investing in automated equipment like the Cassida 3300 . Although the cost is higher than a counterfeit detector pen, the investment can be minimal (less than $500.00) compared to the loss of revenue due to fake currency. If your business operates mainly on credit card of check transactions, an investment in the highlighter pens may make more sense. 

If you suspect a counterfeiter, please take the recommended precautions from the U.S. Treasury Department.

 There are ways to protect yourself from counterfeit bills and the damage it can do to your business.  Compared to being stuck holding the bag (of fake money), the small investment in counterfeit detection equipment can protect you from being ripped off by bad cash.

Mobile POS (Point of Sale), the ability to collect payments via a wireless connection, used to only be available for large retailers who could afford the investment. With improvements in technology and the reduction of costs of the hardware and internet access, medium-sized and small retailers can now inexpensively conduct business in real time. By providing retail employees the ability to track inventory, conduct transactions and process card transactions in a single device, business owners can respond quicker to customer needs while collecting payments quicker.

The components of a Mobile POS application typically include:

• Mobile computer or smart phone with an integrated credit card reader and either a WLAN or WWAN (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) radio. Some ruggedized device examples include an Intermec CN3 or a Motorola MC75.
• Mobile printer (for receipts) like an O’Neil microFlash 2te or a Zebra MZ 220
• Credit card merchant account
• Internet connection via WiFi or WWAN
• Mobile POS application

When integrated, a Mobile POS system will provide secure transactions while giving retailers the ability to move freely to better service their customers. Worker productivity improvements also occur by providing flexibility of where the transaction will take place. Examples include restaurants, nurseries, hardware stores and other retail businesses that can offer their customers the ability to purchase without the need of a checkout line.  RACO Industries offers a wide variety of solutions for businesses looking for a mobile POS solution.