Buying Advice for Retail Price Computing Scales

Retail price computing scales allow you to enter the Price per Kg or the Price per 100g of a product, to then weigh the item(s) and calculate and display the proportionate price. They are stand-alone machines designed for manual key-entry operation.

TRADE APPROVAL:
All weighing scales used for selling products to consumers in the UK must be trade approved. Beware of cheaper scales sold by overseas sellers on some trading platforms such as eBay and Amazon which may not be approved and result in confiscation by your local authority and disruption to your store. All retail scales sold by TecStore are trade approved for UK retail use and are certified/marked accordingly.

PLU's:
Scales with PLU (Price Look Up) functions allow you to store the price of your most popular items, thereby saving time and preventing errors. You simply enter the PLU code of the item (eg. 1 = Bananas, 2 = Apples, 3 = Grapes) and the store price per kg will be retrieved.

Indirect PLU's means you enter the PLU number on a numeric keypad. Direct PLU's means there is a dedicated button (which can usually be labelled) for a particular PLU. Some scales support both Direct and Indirect PLU's so you have a few buttons for your most popular items and additional items are accessed through the numeric keypad.

TARE:
Scales with the 'Tare' feature allow you to deduct the weight of the container from the price calculation by pre-weighing the empty container. That can be a bag, box, carton, jar, bowl or similar item.

POWER:
Scales can be either mains powered or mains and battery powered. The latter operate from an internal rechargeable battery. Some scales with battery operation have an 'auto-sleep' function which prolongs battery life when the scale has not been used for a while. Turning off any backlight on the operator/customer display can also yield longer durations for battery operation.

DISPLAYS:
All trade approved scales will have both an operator display and a customer display so both the cashier and the consumer can see the weight and the unit price. The customer display can either be integrated into the base of the scale at the rear or side, or on some scale models can be pole mounted so it is closer to eye level. Some scale models with a Pole Display may also have the operator display on the reverse of the customer display.

CAPACITY:
Retail scales are available in various capacities such as 3kg, 6kg, 15kg or 30kg. The lower capacity scales have more divisions so have higher accuracy and can weigh in 1g/2g accuracy, which is required if you sell light weight items such as sweets, spices or saffron. The higher capacity scales tend to have less divisions so weigh to 5g/10g accuracy. Some scales have 'dual range' which means they operate at higher accuracy for lower weights and at a wider range for heavier items. In practice it is unlikely for the average consumer to be able to carry more than 6kg items so we recommend wherever possible you choose a lower capacity scale that will give you best accuracy. If you are weighing products for wholesale trade then we advise you to consider our range of bench or platform scales for larger capacities.

FORM - FLATPLATE OR SCOOP:
Scales are available with an easy to clean stainless-steel flat plate. Some models have a bowl-shaped stainless-steel scoop. If you choose a flat plate scale, you may use a bag or empty container if your items may roll. You may also use the 'Tare' function to deduct the weight of any empty container. Scoops can either be freestanding with a flat bottom, or fit onto a cross frame that is fitted to the scale or be stabilised by rubber feet. There are generally 3 types of scoop: an oval shaped scoop approximately 18" diameter which is commonly used for fruit and veg, an oval shaped scoop approximately 12" diameter that is suitable for sweets and smaller items, and a rectangular shaped shallow scoop referred to as a fish pan for fishmongers.


For further assistance on choosing a suitable price computing scale for your retail business please contact us and we will be happy to assist.

Also see:
Label Printing Scales