What Do You Need to Know About Bar Codes? Five basic facts you need to know
1. The standard UPC bar code is a one dimensional (or 1D) bar code that is made up of black bars and white spaces of varying widths that can be read by a laser. This type of bar code can only hold approximately 20 digits.
2. Bar codes are read by optical scanners called barcode readers, or more commonly now just called scanners. They are also read by smartphones with barcode reader apps. The bar code scanner decodes the message in the bar code and sends that information to the computer.
3. There are many different types of bar codes but they all have two main components: data and a checksum. The data is the part that contains the information about the product and the check sum provides error checking for the data. If a scan fails to read, it is likely because there was a problem with the check sum’s ability to verify that all of the data was read correctly.
4. There are three types of start/stop characters in a 1D barcode: Code A, Code B and Code C. Code A has four bars on each side, Code B has four bars on one side and two on the
What Do You Need to Know About Bar Codes?
Five basic facts you need to know:
1. Bar codes have been around for nearly 30 years.
2. Bar code applications are virtually limitless, ranging from retail stores to manufacturing plants to mail order houses.
3. There are many types of bar codes developed for specific industries and applications.
4. The most common type of bar code used today is UPC (Universal Product Code).
5. Standard laser printers and scanners cannot print or read bar codes in the PDF417 format.
Retailers were first to use bar codes as a way to automate point-of-sale transactions, but now manufacturers and distributors are using bar code technology to track shipments, parts, inventory and assets in a variety of application areas: manufacturing, distribution, warehousing, logistics, healthcare and transportation. Bar codes help companies streamline their operations by eliminating manual tracking methods such as clipboards and spreadsheets that are both expensive and slow.
What Do You Need to Know About Bar Codes?
Five basic facts you need to know
Bar codes are one of the most common ways to encode information. In a previous post we discussed how QR codes can be used for a number of applications such as storing URLs, phone numbers and other contact information. However, there are other types of barcodes that are used for different purposes. The most common type of bar code is the Universal Product Code (UPC), which is used on products for sale in North America. This type of bar code is known as a linear or 1D bar code because it consists of a single line of varying widths or heights. These symbols can typically be read by laser scanners, camera phones and some newer smartphones with cameras.
If you dig a little deeper, you will find that not all bar codes are created equal. There are actually several different types of bar codes that have been developed over the years. In addition to the simple UPC, there is also the GS1 Databar and the Code 128, both of which offer different benefits in certain situations.
GS1 Databar was developed by the Uniform Code Council (UCC) in 2005 as a response to limitations with UPC-A symbols and to increase efficiency within
I. WHAT IS A BAR CODE?
A bar code is a machine-readable representation of data.
II. WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF BARCODES?
There are many different types of bar codes, but the most common is called UPC/EAN (UPC = Universal Product Code; EAN = European Article Numbering System). The UPC/EAN code is a 12 digit number that represents the individual product. There are two parts to this code: the first 6 digits represent the manufacturer and the last 6 digits represent the product itself. The actual number encoded in each digit of a bar code is known as either a “wide” or “narrow” bar. The widths of these bars are critical for reading and decoding them in machine readable form.
III. HOW DO I READ A BARCODE?
Most people think you have to have some kind of laser scanner to read a bar code, but that’s not true! Any time you purchase something at your local supermarket, you are reading a bar code without even realizing it. The cashier tells you the price and then scans the barcode with an electronic scanner. You can see this information on their screen or at the end of your receipt. If you don
1. Bar codes are not a new technology. They have been around since the 1960’s, and now there are over 5 billion bar code scans per day in the world.
2. Bar codes are not all the same. There are over 25 different types of bar codes. Some are more popular than others, but each one is unique with its own characteristics and advantages.
3. Bar codes can be scanned by several different devices including dedicated hand-held scanners, mobile phones and even web cams.
4. Bar codes can be printed on a wide variety of materials from paper to plastic cards to metal tags and everything in between.
5. Almost anything can be encoded using bar codes – from numerical data to data about an object to pictures or even voice recordings!
A bar code reader is a device that “reads” (scans) the bar code and converts it to a machine-readable form. It consists of a light source, a lens and a light sensor translating for optical impulses into electrical ones. Additionally, nearly all bar code readers contain decoder circuitry analyzing the bar code’s image data provided by the sensor and sending the barcode’s content to the scanner’s output port. Bar code readers can be differentiated by technologies as follows: laser scanners, CCD readers, camera based readers, pen wands.
Bar codes are graphic symbols designed to be scanned electronically so that information about the object on which they appear is recorded in a computer system. The bars represent numbers or characters in coded form. The numbers represented by the bars are converted into keyed entries into computerized systems.
There are two main types of bar codes: linear (1-D) and matrix (2-D). Linear barcodes are made up of lines of varying widths or varying spacing between them, whereas matrix codes often appear as squares or hexagons with dots at their corners. The dots in matrix codes can also be arrayed internally within the symbol in two dimensions.
The most common type of linear symbology is UPC/E
1) Bar Codes are a Scanner’s Languag
They are not designed to be read by humans. They communicate information to a scanner.
2) Bar Codes Identify Products
A bar code is an identifier which allows a product to be scanned at the point of sale and the price looked up in an electronic product database. It is also used for many other purposes including tracking, warehousing and distribution.
3) Bar Codes Explain What You Sell
A bar code is an easy way to identify what you sell. For example, if you sell books, you can use an ISBN number that identifies the book title and author. If you sell your own products, create a unique identifier for each item you sell. That way when someone scans the barcode, they can quickly see what it is.
4) Bar Codes are Used in Several Ways
Bar codes can be printed on labels, cards or directly on your products for identification purposes. You can also use them to track inventory or maintain customer loyalty programs.
5) How To Generate Your Own Barcodes
You can easily generate barcodes using our free online barcode generator or buy barcode software for your computer that will let you make them whenever you need them