Scanning & Decoding Tube Racks Direct from Low Temperature Storage easy-to-follow guide to assist scientists and technicians scanning and decoding sample tube racks direct from low-temperature storage, especially when withdrawn from vapour phase liquid nitrogen tanks. The remove ice, blotting and scanning protocol is demonstrated to take less than 30 seconds per rack. The tracking and tracing of samples is well known to be improved by integrating tube rack scanners to record movements of 2D-barcoded tube racks throughout the laboratory process. This reduces the accidental loss of samples when transferred from rack to rack - a common cause of errors even in modern sample management systems. However scanning sample tube racks, directly retrieved from low temperature storage, can be problematic.