Coming off of a flat couple of years, bar code scanners are poised to advance at an 8% annual rate through 2007. That's according to a recent report from the technology research firm VDC.

Worldwide sales of handheld and stationary scanners this year will be $1.4 billion. That number will rise to $1.9 billion by 2007.

A key driver of that growth will be Food and Drug Administration regulations requiring unit-dose bar code labels, says VDC. Those regulations will require much broader use of scanners at health care institutions.

Technology advances such as wireless systems and dual-purpose bar code/ radio frequency identification will also play a role in scanner growth. The adoption of the reduced space symbology in manufacturing, distribution and retail will also spur scanner sales.

The two types of scanners —hand held and stationary—each account for roughly half of total sales today. Handheld sales are pegged by VDC at $709.6 million and stationary scanners at $695.4 million. That mix will shift slightly to handheld scanners by 2007 due primarily to the continued adoption of bar codes by health care, says VDC analyst Taylor Smith.