What are barcodes?
Barcodes – or, more properly, Universal Product Codes (UPCs) - are simply a very fast way of transferring printed data to a computer via an interface. If you look carefully at an individual barcode, you’ll notice a row of twelve digits just below the vertical stripes. The product tracking system would work equally well if the system operator typed this string of digits into the system through a keypad. However, it’s much quicker to use a scanning device to input the data.The familiar barcode stripes are simply a binary representation of the twelve digit code. When passed over a beam of laser light, the black stripes don’t reflect light and are recorded as “ones”, the white stripes bounce light back to the scanner and record as “zeros”. Of course, if the barcode image has become faded or wrinkled, and so unreadable by the scanner, the system operator or checkout assistant can still enter the data using the twelve digit number.
Where do barcodes come from?
The first link in the chain is an organisation known as GS1. This not-for-profit organisation controls and issues the unique company reference which forms the first six digits of the twelve digit number. A manufacturer wishing to use barcodes as part of its product labelling applies to this organisation and pays an annual fee for the privilege of obtaining and using its unique code.The next five digits of the code – the item code - are controlled by the individual manufacturer and denote information specific to that particular product. The final digit of the code is merely a check digit which is calculated from the first eleven digits of the code by a set algorithm. If the system detects an incorrect check digit, it assumes an input error and prompts the operator to re-enter the item.
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| Image Credits: http://www.gs1uk.org/ |
Printing barcodes
Once issued with their unique code, and having allocated its own internal item code, the manufacturer will need a means of printing the code onto product labels. A number of manufacturers, such as QuickLabel, provide specialised label printers designed for the job. These are generally high definition thermal transfer printers capable of producing fade resistant images with the crisp print quality required for reliable data transfer.What are the benefits of barcodes?
It’s fair to say that barcodes have revolutionised retailing. Not only do they speed up service for the customer, they allow the retailer or warehouse to keep a close eye on stock control, simplify sales and accounting records and even facilitate the now familiar customer loyalty schemes offered by many retailers.The future of barcodes
So far, we’ve only considered the “black and white stripe” barcode known as the “1-D” type. More modern incarnations of the barcode – the 2-D type – are capable of carrying nearly 100 times more information. The added complexity of the “two dimensional” image will, however, need a more sophisticated image scanner to read the data properly.Incredibly, 2014 sees the 40th anniversary of the barcode, one of the first really important everyday applications of the IT revolution. The first item to be scanned by barcode was, for the record, a packet of chewing gum. It’s now in a museum – deservedly so!
Brian WilliamsAbout the Author:
Brian Williams is a marketing director with 14 years’ experience across the retail industry. He has been responsible for the implementation of a sales and stock control systems with a major avionics supplier and maintains a keen – and practical – interest in light aviation. A native Scot, he now lives in the Midlands and fights a losing battle to keep fit by playing squash. Regularly but very badly.
