"For 20 years, this city has been trying to solve the problem that when parking agents make a mistake, we bill the wrong people and a lot of the fines never get collected," Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg told The New York Times. "Using the technology is an idea whose time has come. Finally, I think, we've got it right."
Streamlining the Ticketing Process
When issuing citations, New York City police and traffic enforcement officers now use the handheld computers to scan 2-D bar codes on vehicles' registration stickers, instantly and accurately capturing information about the vehicles such as models, years, identification numbers and drivers' addresses. Then, they print traffic citations on site via portable thermal printers clipped to their belts. Connected to the computers via wireless LANs, the printers support 4.41-inch-wide direct thermal rolls. They can print 644 6-inch citations on a single charge.
After issuing tickets, officers transmit ticket information from their handhelds to the city's finance department, which collects payments. New York City expects the new system will help it reduce parking citation errors from 13 percent to less than 1 percent and, as a result, help it collect nearly $17 million in additional fines.
The handhelds are secured by biometric signature verification technology to prevent fraud. This technology analyzes the shape, speed, stroke order, off-tablet motion, pen pressure and timing information during the act of signing. It increases data security and ensures that only proper police or traffic enforcement officers can write citations.
Boston suburb Chelsea, Mass., already has realized the benefits of using handheld computers with integrated thermal printers to issue parking citations. After implementing their use in February 2002, the city's revenue increased from approximately $1.6 million in fiscal year 2001 to approximately $1.8 million in fiscal year 2002.
Manufactured by Salt Lake City-based mobile computing provider Radix International Corp., the Radix Rx1 handheld computers with 3-inch wide integrated FWP-30 thermal printers ensure parking tickets are processed more quickly and accurately than handwritten tickets. Police and parking enforcement officers input vehicle information into the handhelds, and print poly-thermal paper parking citations on site via the integrated printers. Officers then place the citations inside orange waterproof envelopes and place them on vehicles' windshields. The envelopes look the same as ones previously used with handwritten tickets, so motorists instantly recognize when they've received parking citations. The envelopes also protect citations from harsh weather and serve as return envelopes for motorists mailing payments to the city. After completing their shifts, officers upload information from their handhelds to the city's processing center. Previously, it took three to four days to send handwritten tickets to the processing center for manual data entry and verification.
Marlborough, Mass.-based municipal computer services and products provider Municipal Management Associates Inc., which spearheaded implementation of the Chelsea system, plans to improve its parking enforcement software. Soon, parking enforcement officers in Chelsea will be able to use their handheld computers to capture and later retrieve images of vehicles' rears, clearly showing vehicle makes, models, years and license plates. They also will be able to capture images of expired parking meters or "No Parking" signs that later will help resolve motorist appeals and complaints.
Other municipalities and higher-education institutions nationwide, including the city of Los Angeles and Texas A&M University, use handheld computers with integrated or portable thermal printers to issue parking citations and increase their revenues. "It's a very, very large market," says Brandon Kent, vice president of sales and marketing at manufacturer Telemark ATM Solutions, Sturgis, Mich. "It's a really good example of how technology is driving the marketplace."
The parking enforcement market is a prime target for distributors because many of them provide clients with parking ticket books, or have existing relationships with colleges or municipalities, Kent says. Distributors can partner with equipment and paper manufacturers to provide clients with handheld computers, portable printers, ticket-writing software, paper rolls, ink cartridges and more.
Providing an Array of Solutions
Other industries increasingly are using computers with integrated or portable thermal printers. "The hardware and software is becoming more cost-effective," Kent explains.
Many moviegoers are familiar with stand-alone, customer-activated automated box office machines located in theater lobbies. Customers can purchase tickets and concessions online for theaters nationwide, and validate their purchases by swiping their credit cards through the machines. The machines then print tickets and receipts on high-speed thermal printers. Customers also can use the machines to purchase tickets and concessions on site.
Tourist bureaus also use stand-alone computers linked to MapQuest® with thermal printers to provide directions to clients, Kent says. "You use a touch screen to select somewhere you want to go, like a museum, and it prints out directions from your location to the museum on a preprinted thermal roll that has the city seal on it," he says. Shopping malls and theme parks use similar machines to provide directions, he says.
In 2002, Boston's Fenway Park installed a touch-screen computer with a thermal printer at each of its eight entrances. The computers enable baseball fans to print prepaid tickets they've purchased via the internet without having to wait at the "Will Call" window. The St. Louis Cardinals and other teams use similar devices.
Prescription medical software companies serving doctors' offices are expanding their product offerings to include portable thermal printers, Kent says. Doctors can use handheld computers to access patient files and write prescriptions, then print the prescriptions on handheld wireless thermal printers. The printers can use blank or preprinted rolls and can print prescriptions with security features such as thermochromic ink, Kent says. These handheld computers are secured by biometric signature verification technology to prevent forgeries. Perhaps most importantly, the software formats doctors' handwriting so it's legible--helping to prevent pharmacy errors.
Many banks and credit unions use rolls instead of cut sheets to print deposit receipts. "Instead of getting a cut sheet back, essentially you get what looks like a pay-at-the-pump gas station receipt," Kent says. "It's just starting to penetrate the banking market, but credit unions have really jumped on board with it because it eliminates" a lot of manual auditing.
Other users of computers with integrated or portable thermal printers include car rental firms, automated airline check-in machines, coin sorting machines, bottle collection machines, insurance claims agents, water delivery companies, toll plazas and more. "Some distributors don't realize they're sitting on top of a roll product opportunity," Kent says. "We'll talk to 20 or 30 distributors at a table-top show and within the next two to three weeks, every one of them comes across an opportunity."
