This Week’s Product Pick

PrintekMobile (Benton Harbor, MI) presented its LCM series of portable two-inch direct-thermal printers. The two devices, LCM20 and LCM25, feature high-speed fixed-head thermal mechanisms that deliver superior quality text and graphics, according to the vendor, as well as simple drop-in paper loading with 124-ft. roll capacity. Print resolution was given as 203 dpi with print speed up to 2 ips. The small size and weight of the new devices (LCM20 at 12 oz. and LCM25 at 16 oz., both with battery and media) suit applications such as mobile ticketing, utility billing, and in-vehicle receipts. For connectivity, versions are offered with RS-232, IrDA, and Bluetooth. Strong case design eliminates hinge stress and mounting configurations include belt-clip, wall, cart, and vehicle. LCM series printers have multiple power-saving modes, can be shut down remotely, and the built-in voltage converter boasts an efficiency of up to 94%--the perfect match for low power battery applications. Both the LCM20 and LCM25 come standard with rechargeable batteries. Options include direct plug-in to an AC outlet or hard-wiring to DC source. PrintekMobile also offers thermal media for the LCM printers, including linearless labels in any length and color, with or without perforation. “PrintekMobile printers are designed to withstand challenging work environments,” stated Chris Yeager, Marketing Manager. “They also come with superior customer service--before and after purchase.”

LCM Series From PrintekMobile

Worth Your While

VARTECH 2010
BlueStar
August 29-31
Cincinnati, OH

NACS Show
National Association of Convenience Stores
October 5-8
Atlanta

CTIA Enterprise & Applications
CTIA-The Wireless Association
October 6-8
San Francisco

Poll-A-Rama
Tri-Technical Systems
Dubuque, IA
October 13-14

Pack Expo International
Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI)
October 31-November 3
Chicago

AIM Expo
Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility
November 1-3
Chicago

Customer Engagement Technology World
(Formerly KioskCom & The Digital Signage Show)
November 10-11
New York

RSPA Inspire 2011
Retail Solutions Providers Association
Maui, Hawaii
January 23-26, 2011

ProMat 2011
Material Handling Industry of America
Chicago
March 21-24, 2011

ALLIANCES

Web Services Wooed by Processor

Pivotal Payments (Melville, NY) has joined forces with StoresOnline (Orem, UT) to offer an integrated package of payment processing and e-commerce for SMB merchants. This agreement will make credit, debit, and loyalty card services from Pivotal Payments fully compatible with the StoresOnline shopping cart. In addition, Pivotal Payments, which describes itself as one of North America’s fastest-growing payment processors, will extend pricing discounts and 24/7 customer support.

“We always seek to provide our clients with real value and the ability to choose payment processors who can meet their current and future needs,” commented Jeffrey Korn, SVP of StoresOnline. “Pivotal Payments’ special partner pricing and simple system were just right for us.” Added David Nault, Director of Business Development for Pivotal Payments, “We designed an easy-to-use and affordable payment acceptance solution which will give their merchants the chance to grow their e-commerce business.”

StoresOnline sells its proprietary software and training services which allow entrepreneurs and small businesses to market and sell their products, accept orders, analyze marketing performance, and manage pricing and customers over the Internet. The company also provides site development, web hosting, and search engine optimization (SEO). Earlier this month, Pivotal Payments announced similar partner plans with Pinnacle Cart, the flagship product from Desert Dog Marketing (Phoenix), another e-commerce supplier for the SMB. Again, special pricing has been promoted--including, in this case, three months of free gateway services from Pivotal Payments as the welcoming gift.

Jeffrey Korn, SVP of StoresOnline

Seminal Season for Semtek

Semtek (San Diego), one of the hard-charging players in payment technology, will supply its end-to-end security services and infrastructure to RBS WorldPay, the U.S.-based transaction processing entity founded by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. This new multi-year agreement calls for Semtek’s Cipher Decryption Service (CDS) to be installed on RBS WorldPay’s host systems to capture and transmit card data that has been encrypted in multiple formats. “RBS WorldPay intends to provide the merchant community with the most flexible and effective means of continuous security for payment card data,” commented Ian Drysdale, SVP of RBS WorldPay. “With Semtek’s large and growing installed base of merchants, we have a proven solution and a highly strategic partner whose product road map will benefit us for years to come.”

Further, ViVOtech (Santa Clara, CA) has become the first non-VeriFone licensee for Semtek’s Cipher Hidden Encryption for customer-facing POS devices. (Based on the AES standard, Cipher Hidden Encryption, or CHE, “hides” encryption from all systems to preclude modifications or disruptions.) Under Semtek’s recently announced global open-licensing program, POS manufacturers may integrate Cipher Hidden Encryption into their products, thus activating Semtek’s Cipher Decryption Service on payment processor hosts and gateways. ViVOtech will outfit its ViVOpay line of contactless and near-field communication (NFC) payment terminals

“Semtek‘s technologies, including its device-level encryption services, and large network footprint for decryption services, will enable ViVOtech to offer end-to-end encryption to its clients on a global scale quickly and efficiently,” relayed Mohammad Khan, President and Founder of ViVOtech. “We are very pleased to be the first to take advantage of Semtek’s open licensing model and offer an effective end-to-end security solution to merchants.”

Ian Drysdale, SVP of RBS WorldPay

[Editor’s Note:  Simultaneously, ViVOtech has announced its agreement to implement technology for end-to-end encryption from Voltage Security and RBS WorldPay has completed certification with Aldelo Systems. RRN.Com readers should expect no shortage of news in this area, as all segments of the payment processing community look to embrace as many partners as possible, and something approaching uniform architecture gets built layer by layer.]

Join the Party at No Charge

Subscribe Today! Email:

Do you need to reach the POS & Auto ID resellers who really drive business—in the most targeted editorial environment, and on the most cost-effective basis?

E-mail Michael Kachmar for advertising information,
or call 973-270-3284

Did you miss one of our issues and suddenly realize your competitors know more than you do?

Hurry ! Use the links below to catch up :

Week of August 16

Week of August 9

Week of August 2

INTEGRATION

Easy Reader From Cognex

Talk about backward compatibility. Cognex Corporation (Natick, MA), one of the primary developers of machine vision sensors and systems, has launched 1DMax, its new linear, omnidirectional, barcode reading algorithm. It joins 2DMax for two-dimensional symbologies such as Data Matrix and QR codes, introduced earlier. Both tools bring unsurpassed read rates despite code quality, size, marking method, and surface material, according to Cognex, with 2DMax targeting hard-to-read direct part marking and high-speed printed applications in particular.

“Fast, reliable reading of codes is high priority for manufacturers,” cited Carl Gerst, Business Unit Manager for Industrial ID at Cognex, which offers both handheld and fixed reader hardware. “If a barcode reader doesn’t have the right technology to keep up with the variety of different codes found in real-world scenarios--everything from uneven lighting, poor print quality, noise backgrounds, and scratched codes--it can mean time, cost, and frustration for any manufacturer. That is why higher technology image-based readers are rapidly replacing laser-based readers in a wide range of manufacturing and logistics applications.”

Cognex also announced that it has passed the milestone of signing its 400th channel partner, The Electrical Equipment Company (Richmond, VA), which distributes electrical components and industrial automation apparatus throughout the Southeastern U.S. The Cognex partner program consists of two levels: Cognex Automation Solution Providers, called ASPs, represent locally based suppliers of its machine vision products, while Cognex Partner System Integrators, or PSIs, furnish full system integration services. “Our unique global partner network works in parallel with the Cognex direct sales and support organization to help us deliver the exact type and level of service that each of our customers prefers,” said Peter Neve, VP of Global Marketing for Cognex.

Image-Based Solutions for Manufacturing and Logistics

A Sense of Where You Are

In an interesting example of Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), Pitney Bowes Business Insight (Troy, NY) has introduced its Geosk Platform, the geospatial industry’s first cloud-based portal for location-based marketing, business analysis, and risk management calculation. Intended as the one-stop shop for your geospatial needs, Geosk Platform will blend databases from Pitney Bowes and third-party providers such as Ordnance Survey and TomTom. It supports leading geographic information system (GIS) mapping applications, MapInfo Professional Version 10.5 in particular, integrates with leading customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

“As the industry’s largest geospatial data resource, Geosk will revolutionize the way organizations search for, access, share, manage, and use location-based data worldwide,” explained Scott Robinson, Director, Global Data Products at Pitney Bowes Business Insight. “Location-based data is constantly changing and being updated, making it critical for organizations to capitalize on this information as swiftly as possible in order to remain competitive.” As potential candidates for the new offering, Robinson listed companies in financial services, public sector, insurance, retail, and telecommunications.

To deliver its Geosk Platform, Pitney Bowes Business Insight has drawn upon WeoGeo (Portland, OR), which has pioneered SaaS for “digital geo-assets.” PBBI’s Geosk Library and Geosk Marketplace are custom implementations of WeoGeo products and will utilize the typical online mixture of free and fee-based content and access. In general, WeoGeo’s SaaS solutions are deployed on Amazon Web Services, helping to ensure reliability and scalability, according to WeoGeo.

South End Peninsula, Stamford, CT, Home of Pitney Bowes Corporate

Code Corner

OKI Data Americas (Mount Laurel, NJ) unveiled its SignDirector solution to help retailers react quickly to the marketplace by printing signs on-demand at the store-level. With this web-based tool, compatible with OKI’s digital color printers, retail headquarters may control in-store signage regionally and nationally, to better manage brand consistency, pricing, and promotions. Store personnel simply log into the company’s portal and select the signs needed by name or thumbnail and click to print. This managed print service (MPS) eliminates the need to outsource or print and ship signs and allows promotions to be localized and quickly updated. Further, by reducing print errors, stores can more accurately budget their printing costs and eliminate paper waste. Headquarters can also track which signs are printed through status reports, allowing oversight and evaluation of merchandising activity and support. SignDirector will be made available under flat-rate, full-site license that supports all store sites through OKI Data America’s authorized partners. “This solution is ideal for corporations that want to streamline processes and better manage in-store promotions across all locations to increase efficiency and time to market,” observed Terry Cruikshank, Senior Manager, Industry Marketing at OKI Data Americas. “SignDirector gives headquarters full control over in-store signage and reduces outsourcing and eliminates wasted signs through its electronic distribution. Additionally, the solution simplifies the printing process for store employees, therefore overall productivity increases.”

INSTALLATIONS

Hypercom Coasts in Costa Rica

Hypercom Corporation (Scottsdale, AZ) has been chosen as payment technology provider by Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, now known as BNCR, one of the largest financial players in that country. The multi-million-dollar, four-year roll out will see Hypercom shipping 13,000 Optimum terminals through its partner, Evertec Latin America, which will add transaction services. Devices involved include the countertop T4210 (dial) and T4220 (Ethernet with dial) as well as mobile M4230 GPRS, M4240 Bluetooth, and M4100 Blade.

“BNCR is one of the electronic payment leaders in Costa Rica, and their selection of Optimum is a major endorsement that recognizes the product’s competitive advantages and strengthens our footprint in Central America,” asserted Jorge Bonilla Lorenzo, Director de Banca de Medios Electronicos de Pago at BNCR. In total, BNCR runs more than 165 branch offices, with 4,800 employees handling 1.5 million customers throughout Costa Rica. For its part, Evertec supplies 16 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America with processing and outsourced services from its base in Puerto Rico.

Hypercom’s Optimum T4200 and M4200 product families (think “T” for tabletop and “M” for mobile) share the same 32-bit processor, platform, user interface, and software toolkit. The battery-powered M4100 Blade weighs in at 7 oz., measures only 4.9 in. x 2.7 in. x 1.2 in., and accepts 200 transactions between charges. Targeted at hospitality and delivery, it incorporates GPRS and Wi-Fi communications with high-contrast, full-color touchscreen for signature capture and PCI and EMV security compliance.

Hypercom’s Optimum M4100 Blade

[Editor’s Note:  Hypercom also rolled out its HyperSafe Secure EFTSec Server 2.0 point-to-point data encryption service for Tier 4 merchants. Significantly, EFTSec 2.0 carries no per-transaction fees for retailers, processors, gateways, or resellers, according to the company.]

IBM Wants Fries With That

IBM (Armonk, NY) will develop the new cashless payment solution for 1,300 McDonald’s owned and franchised restaurants across the U.K. and Ireland. The new system will help McDonald’s cater to the growing number of customers using credit and debit cards and will be operational by the end of the year, according to Jonathan Glencross, Retail Client Executive, IBM U.K. and Ireland. Under terms of the three-year agreement, IBM will provide business and technology consulting services to integrate and maintain the system, which is being designed and built around the McDonald’s POS terminal.

Not surprisingly, IBM StorePay will be used for payment transactions on handheld chip-and-pin devices in the restaurant, with IBM SureSwitch enabling authorization and settlement. As benefits, McDonald’s said it expects to improve security for customer card payments with improved anti-temper and fraud detection and to run day-to-day operations more efficiently by centralizing business processes onto one database. Upon completion of the new system, IBM will host and support McDonald’s entire payment platform from its U.K. Infrastructure Management Center.

IBM also announced its purchase of Datacap, Inc. (Tarrytown, NY), one of the few document capture and enterprise content management (ECM) players truly interested in resellers (and not to be confused with Datacap Systems, the manufacturer of integrated payment processing hardware and software based in Pennsylvania). IBM intends to integrate Datacap within its ECM business, which functions as part of IBM’s Software Solutions Group, and now finds its play significantly strengthened in paper-intensive industries such as healthcare, insurance, government, and finance. Datacap’s software enables image and data entry automation for most types of documents and forms, including medical claims, tax returns, invoices, and shipping manifests. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ireland Got Its First Mickey-D’s in 1977 on Dublin’s Grafton Street

Key Advertiser Links

Be sure to visit these vendors for the latest in channel products and offers for resellers.

POS & Auto ID Distribution
BlueStar
ScanSource

POS & Peripherals
Logic Controls
Pioneer POS
Posiflex Business Machines
POS-X

POS Systems - Hospitality
PAR

Barcode & Mobile Printers
Datamax-O'Neil
Godex International

Barcode & Transaction Printers CognitiveTPG

Cash Drawers
APG Cash Drawer
MMF POS

Data Collection Terminals
Datalogic Mobile
Janam Technologies

Data Collection Software
Wavelink

Integrated Payment Solutions
Datacap Systems

Receipt Printers
Bixolon America
Citizen Systems America
Epson America
Star Micronics

Screen Protection
3M Optical Filters

Video Surveillance & Access Control
ScanSource Security

HELLO GOODBYE

Hughes Makes Cut at Avery Dennison

Avery Dennison Corporation (Pasadena, CA) has stamped Darrell Hughes as its new VP and GM for Fasson Roll North America. Hughes brings more than 20 years of business management and product development experience to his new position. He most recently served as President and GM of SABIC Innovative Plastics, Specialty Film and Sheet Business. SABIC Innovative Plastics embodies the $6-billion division of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, and was formerly GE Plastics, which was acquired in 2007.

“Darrell’s business development and market strategy experience provide an exceptionally strong point of leverage for Avery Dennison as a developer of innovative packaging solutions that address the needs and insights of our converter customers and their customers,” stated Don Nolan, Group VP, Roll Materials.

As VP/GM, Hughes has been charged with increasing sales and profitability of the North American Rolls Materials business through innovation and new products, differentiated service programs, and value-added selling initiatives, according to the company. Under the Fasson brand name, this operation supplies pressure-sensitive and non-adhesive coated papers, films, and foils. These products are widely used in brand identity, barcode labeling systems, product identification, and other applications by label converters and consumer packaged goods companies.

Darrell Hughes, VP and GM of Fasson Roll North America, Avery Dennison

Vocollect Likes Sound of Pajer

Vocollect, Inc. (Pittsburgh) has called upon Joe Pajer to serve as CEO/President, granting the former COO full executive leadership. Roger Byford, the co-founder of Vocollect, will continue in his role as Chairman of the Board and Chief Technology Officer. In making the announcement, Byford pointed to the company’s continued top-line growth and expansion, including the addition of more than 100 new customers in the first half of 2010, due in part to strategic initiatives that were undertaken in 2009 under Pajer’s directive.

“This appointment is a reflection of the strong leadership and visionary guidance Joe has brought to Vocollect since he first joined the company in November 2008 as President of our Supply Chain Solutions Division,” declared Byford. “Since that time, through Joe’s efforts, Vocollect has made significant strides in expanding its overall market leadership and global footprint. We are tremendously excited to have someone with Joe’s expertise leading the company.” No other management changes are being announced at this time, Byford added.

“I’m honored to be named CEO of Vocollect at this extraordinary time,” said Pajer. “Voice technology is expanding globally, to new vertical industries, beyond large warehouses and across the workflows within the warehouse. Vocollect is the leader in all of these areas. I am looking forward to continuing that leadership--creating significant value for our customers and changing the way distribution centers and warehouses operate across the globe.”

Joe Pajer, CEO/President of Vocollect

Channel Factoid

The number of mobile payment users worldwide will exceed 108.6 million in 2010, jumping 54.5% from 2009, when there were 70.2 million users, according to Gartner. Asia/Pacific leads implementation of such technology, surpassing 62.8 million in 2010, up from 41.9 million. Next comes EMEA (Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) with 27.1 million, up from 16.8 million, followed by Latin America with 8.0 million, up from 5.1 million. The so-called developed world trails behind: Western Europe, 7.1 million/4.5 million, and North America, 3.5 million/1.9 million. According to Sandy Shen, Research Director at Gardner, strong demand for mobile payments in developing markets is being driven by the unbanked and under-banked populations that do not have ready access to the banking infrastructure or computers, while the developed world lags behind due to the plentiful choices of payment instruments that consumers already have. In total, worldwide mobile payment users will represent 2.1% of all mobile users in 2010. In terms of penetration, the developing world again leads, with the greatest levels of mobile payment users among total users: Asia/Pacific, 2.6%, and EMEA, 2.1%. In comparison, for North America, percentage of mobile users tapping payments for 2010 will be 1.1%.

STANDARDS

Getting Fresh at GS1 US

GS1 US (Lawrenceville, NJ), the non-profit standards group for Auto ID in all its manifestations, has issued the call for volunteers for its Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI), dedicated to help the produce industry maximize so-called traceback procedures and practices. Volunteers are sought in four areas: Implementation Working Group, Master Data Working Group, Industry Communications Working Group, and Technology Working Group. In addition, volunteers are invited to participate in PTI-designed pilot projects, or to work with PTI to develop case studies of pilot projects their companies have completed.

All working groups will report to the new PTI Leadership Council, which will replace the current Steering Committee structure. Meanwhile, GS1 US has joined the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA), the Produce Marketing Association (PMA), and the United Fresh Produce Association (United Fresh) as one of the PTI administering organizations. Indeed, volunteers must be members in good standing of GS1 US, CPMA, PMA, and/or United Fresh. Interested parties should contact Marlo Bodinizzo of GS1 US via e-mail at mbodinizzo@gs1us.org by September 27. Every effort will be made to accommodate all volunteers.

“GS1 US exists to help bring communities together to harness the power of standards to solve value-chain problems, so supporting the PTI is a logical extension of our work in retail and more recently in the foodservice industry,” indicated Sabina Saksena, GS1 US SVP, Community Insights and Strategic Partnerships. She also noted that “the PTI is being watched as the model to follow by the rest of the fresh food industry, and we are committed to its success.”

Volunteers Wanted for Produce Traceability Initiative