Datalogic Magellan 8500Xt

Our friends at Datalogic let us know about this new scale they have kicking around, the Magellan 8500Xt, so I thought I’d share it with you guys. This is a combination barcode scanner and scale, kind of like what you see at your local grocery store. Only it’s probably about 10 years younger. Scanner / Scale combos are the tanks of the point of sale industry, so if you buy one, you probably won’t need to buy a replacement.

The 8500Xt improves on the already existing Magellan 8500. In fact, it’s Xt more. I don’t know what Xt stands for. Maybe eXtra Tough. or Xylitol Teleporter. Either way, it’s a bit beefier and does a bit more than rest of the class.

The big feature for this, at least the one I thought really made it worth buying over other scanner / scale combos, is the dual-interval weighing system. For weights between 0 and 12 lbs, the Magellan 8500Xt has a weight increment of 0.005 lbs, much more precise than the 0.010 lbs that seems pretty standard. In fact, it’s twice as precise! You know it’s great, because it rhymes. This really helps for fancy pants delis who cater in only the finest meats and cheeses, because 0.005 lb of gruyere may cost just enough that you don’t want 1.105 lbs to be rounded up to 1.110.

They also have the AllWeighs system, so the weighing platter extends up the side of the unit. This is great for big tilty items, like giant okra, mega celery, or maybe off-balance pets, keeping the weight balanced on things that won’t actually alter the weight of the product.

For the scanning, this guy reads up to 6 sides for products, so you don’t have to do much to get your scan on. It also scans at about 6,400 scans per second, pretty snappy for high-volume reading.