does anyone use a regular scanner for gift batch data entry in hosted RE?

Lisa Suenaga

We used to use a bar code scanner which is now obsolete and finicky to populate the constituent ID. (Sometimes its faster to look up the record by the name/address) Since moving to the hosted environment, merging all of our foundations into one database, and also changing print/mail house vendor--who told us that scanners can now read text and hardly anyone uses bar code scanners anymore (that they've worked with...)
QUESTION: has anyone used a regular (non-barcode) scanner to scan constituent IDs, and/or alpha numeric text (appeal and package codes) through gift batching?   

They are also using test and control codes so its very time consuming to select from the long list of package codes. RE System requirements only mentions bar code scanners so we don't want to research/obtain a regular scanner if its not even going to work.

Would like to hear if anyone has experience with a regular scanner...if not, what are the recommended scanners as we need to get several.

Rachel Rosen

Hi Lisa! In Batch, you can use the Gift Barcode field to scan information from phonathon forms, appeal cards, renewal notices, and reminders into a gift batch. Barcodes are used most commonly with Membership Scanning and Appeal Cards within The Raiser's Edge application. Barcodes contain key pieces of information that allow the program to pull up a record when a card is scanned. 


Blackbaud system requirements mention the "3 of 9 barcode font" in association with printing barcodes and being able to scan documents for data/gift entry. The 3 of 9 barcode font is a TrueType font used in many applications to create barcodes for scanning. If it is present on your workstation, it can be customarily found under the C:\\Windows\\Fonts folder. I believe you can still purchase a scanner through Blackbaud, but it might be even easier to search online, as 3 of 9 font scanners are quite popular (they're still the ones used in many grocery stores, too). 


We also have additional information on the Knowledgebase. Here's one article that discusses for phonathon forms and appeal cards: https://kb.blackbaud.com/articles/Article/41489 


Hope that helps!

John Heizer

A document scanner, as opposed to a barcode scanner, can take the image of document and store it in a variety of formats.  The scanning software (or add-on sofware) can then take that image and perform optical character recognition on it to make the text searchable.  While there may be very high-end document scanning software that could then take that text and apply it to data entry forms (such as an RE Batch) I'm not aware of anything like that for us mere mortals.


Barcodes are FAR from obsolete. If using a document scanner was practical for data entry then organizations like FedEx and UPS would be using them instead of barcodes.  If you're only using the barcode for the Constituent ID, then yes, it's probably easier to just print the ID on the form and type it in.  But if you print RE's barcode on the forms then it can be a great help in entering large numbers of Gifts in Batch.  Depending on your particular situation it may not increase data entry speed by a large factor, but it will greatly increase data entry accuracy.


USB barcode scanners are now very inexpensive (under $20).  They act, essentially, like a 2nd keyboard connected to the computer.  Whatever is scanned the computer sees it just like it was typed.  Almost anything you might buy at amazon.com should work.  Buy one, try it.  If you don't like it, return it (although it may not even be worth the return postage) and try another one.

Lisa Suenaga

Rachel Rosen:

Hi Lisa! In Batch, you can use the Gift Barcode field to scan information from phonathon forms, appeal cards, renewal notices, and reminders into a gift batch. Barcodes are used most commonly with Membership Scanning and Appeal Cards within The Raiser's Edge application. Barcodes contain key pieces of information that allow the program to pull up a record when a card is scanned. 


Blackbaud system requirements mention the "3 of 9 barcode font" in association with printing barcodes and being able to scan documents for data/gift entry. The 3 of 9 barcode font is a TrueType font used in many applications to create barcodes for scanning. If it is present on your workstation, it can be customarily found under the C:\\Windows\\Fonts folder. I believe you can still purchase a scanner through Blackbaud, but it might be even easier to search online, as 3 of 9 font scanners are quite popular (they're still the ones used in many grocery stores, too). 


We also have additional information on the Knowledgebase. Here's one article that discusses for phonathon forms and appeal cards: https://kb.blackbaud.com/articles/Article/41489 


Hope that helps!

thanks Rachel. I was aware of the Blackbaud standards but was looking for other experiences and options which it looks like John answered. Appreciate the response.

Lisa Suenaga

John Heizer:

A document scanner, as opposed to a barcode scanner, can take the image of document and store it in a variety of formats.  The scanning software (or add-on sofware) can then take that image and perform optical character recognition on it to make the text searchable.  While there may be very high-end document scanning software that could then take that text and apply it to data entry forms (such as an RE Batch) I'm not aware of anything like that for us mere mortals.


Barcodes are FAR from obsolete. If using a document scanner was practical for data entry then organizations like FedEx and UPS would be using them instead of barcodes.  If you're only using the barcode for the Constituent ID, then yes, it's probably easier to just print the ID on the form and type it in.  But if you print RE's barcode on the forms then it can be a great help in entering large numbers of Gifts in Batch.  Depending on your particular situation it may not increase data entry speed by a large factor, but it will greatly increase data entry accuracy.


USB barcode scanners are now very inexpensive (under $20).  They act, essentially, like a 2nd keyboard connected to the computer.  Whatever is scanned the computer sees it just like it was typed.  Almost anything you might buy at amazon.com should work.  Buy one, try it.  If you don't like it, return it (although it may not even be worth the return postage) and try another one.

Thanks John for your valuable insight and information. I will share this with my coworkers. Appreciate it!

John Heizer

Lisa Suenaga:

 

John Heizer:

A document scanner, as opposed to a barcode scanner, can take the image of document and store it in a variety of formats.  The scanning software (or add-on sofware) can then take that image and perform optical character recognition on it to make the text searchable.  While there may be very high-end document scanning software that could then take that text and apply it to data entry forms (such as an RE Batch) I'm not aware of anything like that for us mere mortals.


Barcodes are FAR from obsolete. If using a document scanner was practical for data entry then organizations like FedEx and UPS would be using them instead of barcodes.  If you're only using the barcode for the Constituent ID, then yes, it's probably easier to just print the ID on the form and type it in.  But if you print RE's barcode on the forms then it can be a great help in entering large numbers of Gifts in Batch.  Depending on your particular situation it may not increase data entry speed by a large factor, but it will greatly increase data entry accuracy.


USB barcode scanners are now very inexpensive (under $20).  They act, essentially, like a 2nd keyboard connected to the computer.  Whatever is scanned the computer sees it just like it was typed.  Almost anything you might buy at amazon.com should work.  Buy one, try it.  If you don't like it, return it (although it may not even be worth the return postage) and try another one.

Thanks John for your valuable insight and information. I will share this with my coworkers. Appreciate it!

 

I was doing barcoding for RE long before RE had built-in barcode functions.  You can read more (somewhat outdated) about my experiences at http://zamtech.info/html/barcoding_menu.html

Lisa Suenaga

thanks again!