Barcode Guide

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Barcode Guide
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Bar Codes and Variable Data

• Unlimited Applications
• Inventory Control
• Sorting, Tracking
• Verification
• Quality Control
• Automated Warehousing
• Shop Floor Control
• Product Identification
• Addressing

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What is a Bar Code?

• A Pattern of dark and light areas
• Can be bars (Linear) or cells (2D)
• The pattern represents the encoded information
• May contain letters, numbers, characters or a mix

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Why use a Bar Code?

• Accurate
• Eliminate data entry errors
• Errors due to bar codes less than 0.001
• Coded information errors 1 every 10,000,000
  characters
• Manual information errors 1 every 100 characters
• Fast
• Read and decode infinitely faster than manually
• Easy and cheap to produce

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Bar Code Terminology

• Bars and Spaces
• The elements of the bar code. Made up of narrow
  and wide lines
• Human Readable
• The ASCII interpretation of the coded information
• Can be printed near the bar code for verification
• Quiet Zone
• Clear area before and after the printed code
• Allows scanner to calibrate to the image

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Bar Code Terminology

• Quiet zone is required to read data
• Minimum quiet zone can vary with different
  symbology
• Discrete Bar Code
• Unique pattern for each character. Can be
  manually decoded

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Bar Code Terminology

• Continuous Bar Code
• Bar patterns overlap. Each characters symbol
  relates to the ones around it
• Can not be easily manually decoded

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Bar Code Terminology

• Check Digit
• Confirms integrity of the encoded and decoded
  data
• A formula uses the bar code data to generate a
  digit which is then added to the encoded
  information
• The reader calculates a check digit based on what
  is decoded and compares this number to the
  encoded number

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Bar Code Terminology

• Aspect Ratio
• The ratio of Bar Height to Symbol Length
• Code Density
• Number of data characters which can be encoded in
  a linear inch (characters/inch)
• Message Overhead
• Space occupied by start, stop and check digit
  symbols. Increase the size of the barcode

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Bar Code Terminology

• Bar Width
• Thickness of bar measured from the edge closest
  to the start character to the edge farthest from
  the start character
• Bar Length (Bar Height)
• Dimension perpendicular to the bar width
• Bi-Directional
• Symbol type has no defined read direction
• Can be decoded in either direction

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Bar Code Terminology

• Character
• A single group of bars and spaces representing a
  single element of data
• A graphic shape representing a letter, numeral or
  symbol
• Character Set
• Group of valid symbols which can be encoded in a
  given bar code type

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Bar Code Terminology

• Data Identifier
• Message prefixes, conforming to standards that
  are incorporated in a bar code that define the
  category or use of the data that follows
• Decoder
• A device that uses algorithms to interpret the
  signals set by the scanner and generate
  meaningful data
• Scanner
• A device that reads the bar code

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Bar Code Terminology

• Depth of field
• The distance between the minimum and maximum read
  distance from the scanner to the bar code
• EAN
• European Article Numbering System
• International standard for product coding
• UPC
• Universal Product Code
• U.S. standard for retail package coding

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Bar Code Terminology

• First Read Rate
• Percentage of correct readings obtained in one
  pass of the scanner
• Fixed Beam Scanner
• Scanner reading in a fixed plane
• Requires more precise code placement
• Rastering Scanner
• Scan line sweeps along the bar height
• Code placement does not need to be as precise

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Bar Code Terminology

• Horizontal Bar Code (Picket Fence)
• Bars are presented so the bar length is in the
  direction of travel
• Vertical Bar Code (Ladder, Rotated)
• Bars are presented so the bar width is in the
  direction of travel

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Bar Code Terminology

• Inter Character Gap
• The space between two adjacent characters in a
  discrete bar code
• Interleaved Bar Code
• Characters are paired together using bars to
  represent the first character and spaces to
  represent the second
• Increases bar code density
• Misread
• Output of reader does not match encoded data

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Bar Code Terminology

• No-Read
• Absence of scanner output due to no code,
  defective code, scanner failure or operator error
• OCR-A and -B
• Character font set used in Optical Character
  Recognition and automatic identification
• Both human and machine readable
• Defined by ANSI standards

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Bar Code Terminology

• Optical Throw
• Minimum distance from the scanner to the code for
  successful reading
• Read Rate
• Ratio of successful first scan reads to the total
  number of read attempts
• Reflectance
• The light reflected by the white spaces
• This is what the scanner actually reads

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Bar Code Terminology

• Resolution
• The narrowest element division which can be
  distinguished by a particular scanner
• Self Checking
• A code that uses a checking algorithm which can
  be independently applied to each character to
  guard against errors
• Error Checking Correction (ECC)
• A self checking code whose algorithm can fix
  errors in the encoding or decoding of data

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Bar Code Terminology

• Space
• Light element of a bar code
• Usually formed by the substrate
• Stacked Code
• Long symbol is broken into sections and stacked
  on itself similar to sentences in a paragraph
• Code 49 and 16K are examples of this type

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Bar Code Terminology

• Start-Stop Character
• A special character which helps the scanner
  decode the symbol
• Start character is normally at the left end of a
  horizontally oriented symbol, the stop is
  normally at the right
• ISBN International Standard Book Number
• Unique number to identify books, audio and video
  products and software

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Bar Code Terminology

• ISSN International Standard Serial Number
• Unique number to identify serial publications
  such as magazines, newspapers, etc.

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Selecting A Bar Code

• Amount and Type of Characters encoded
• Quality
• Available Space
• Industry Standards
• How and by whom it will be decoded
• Linear codes can be read by a simple scanner
• 2D codes may require a more expensive imager

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Linear Symbologies

• Pros
• Well established, common codes
• Numerous different formats to choose from
• Fast and inexpensive reading and decoding
• Can include human readable interpretation
• Cons
• Limited data capacity
• Can be space prohibitive
• Type of data encoded can be limited by symbol

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UPC

• Universal Product Code
• First widely accepted bar code symbol
• Now a subset of the EAN symbology
• Fixed in length
• Numbers only
• Continuous symbol with four element widths
• Number is unique and is registered to a
  particular product and packaging

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UPC-A

• 10 digits and two overhead digits
• First overhead digit is the type of product
• Second overhead digit is the check digit
• 5 digits identify the manufacturer, 5 identify
  the product

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UPC-E

• Similar to UPC-A
• Zero digits are dropped, making the code smaller

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Other UPC

• UPC-B
• 11 digits 1 Overhead, no check digit
• UPC-C
• 12 digits 2 Overhead
• UPC-D
• Variable length
• At least 10 digits 2 Overhead

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EAN

• European Article Numbering Code
• 8 and 13 are similar to UPC codes with the
  addition of Flag digits
• Flag digits identify the country where the
  product identification number was issued
• Flag digits do not determine where the product is
  manufactured

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EAN-8

• Two Flag digits, five data digits and 1 check
  digit

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EAN-13

• Most common EAN symbol
• Identical to UPC-A except for Flag Digit

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Supplementals

• UPC and EAN 8 and 13 can have a supplemental bar
  code attached to carry additional information
• EAN135
• UPC-A5
• UPC-E5

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EAN-128

• Extremely versatile symbol for package ID
• Application Identifiers determine the purpose of
  the data following (Serial Number, Weight, Box
  Dimensions, etc.)
• Same as Code 128 except for the addition of
  Identifiers

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Code 128

• General purpose alphanumeric and extended ASCII
• Reference symbology for UCC Serial Shipping
  Container Symbol
• Same as EAN-128 without Application Identifiers

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Codabar

• All numeric data
• Four unique stop/start characters to convey
  additional information
• Optional check digit

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Code 39

• Most used symbol for inventory and shipping
• Alphanumeric data set
• Extended Code 39 allows upper and lower case
  characters and punctuation
• Most popular symbol outside of retail (UPC)
  industry

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Interleaved 2 of 5 (ITF)

• Mainly used in the distribution industry for
  coding corrugated cartons
• Numeric only
• Must be an even number of digits
• Continuous bar code, characters overlap

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ITF-14

• UPC Shipping Container Symbol
• Used on cartons, cases or pallets of UPC or EAN
  coded products
• 14 digit ITF symbol
• Indicates the package type, quantity in carton
  and UPC of packaged item

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Pharmacode

• Security Verification System for Pharmaceutical
  Industry
• Insures that leaflet, label, container, carton,
  contents and other packing materials match and
  are correct

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Postnet

• Used by the US Postal Service to sort mail
• Evenly spaced bars of two different heights
• Contains a 5 (zip), 9 (zip4), or 11 (delivery
  point code) digit routing code

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2D Stacked Symbologies

• Pros
• More data in the same amount of space as linear
  codes
• Cons
• Still require larger area for the code
• Require an imager or rastering scanner for
  reading
• Human readable interpretation is not available

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Code 49

• High information density of full ASCII set

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Code 16K

• High information density of full ASCII set
• Double density encoding of numeric data
• Capable of handing extended ASCII

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PDF417

• Easily decoded by CCD or laser scanner
• Selectable levels of error correction
• Able to encode extended ASCII set
• Thousands of characters capacity

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Micro PDF417

• Similar to PDF417
• Smaller data capacity than PDF417
• Limited set of symbol sizes and error correction
  levels

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2D Matrix Symbologies

• Pros
• Extremely small area for amount of data encoded
• Unobtrusive on most products adds aesthetic
  values for consumer products
• Cons
• Expensive imaging scanners required
• Can be slower to decode
• Error correction and detection is essential due
  to the complexity of the code

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3-DI

• Proprietary Code
• Suited for shiny, curved metal surfaces

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Array Tag

• Proprietary Code
• Can be read at distances up to 50 meters
• Primary use is for logs and lumber

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DataGlyphs

• Proprietary Code
• Tolerant to ink marks, bad copies, staples etc.
• Can be used as a logo or tint behind text or
  graphics

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Dot Code A (Philips Dot Code)

• Designed for low precision marking systems
• Up to 12x12 matrix allows up to 42 billion,
  billion, billion, billion (a big number)
  individual items to be uniquely coded
• Used on laboratory glassware and laundry

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MaxiCode

• Originally called UPSCode
• About 100 characters in a 1x1 square
• Can still be read with up to 25 of the code
  destroyed
• Primarily used by United Parcel Service

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MiniCode

• Proprietary code
• Patented method of encoding low resolution
  (tracking/sortation) and high resolution
  (manifest information) data

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Data Matrix ECC 200

• Up to 3116 characters in a 144x144 matrix
• High density, very small code
• Very easy to scan under a variety of conditions
• Being adopted as standard in a variety of
  industry groups

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Aztec Code

• Public Domain
• 12 - 3832 characters, 15x15 151x151
• Easy printing and decoding

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QR Code

• Quick Response Code
• Public Domain code
• Up to 7366 characters
• Capable of handling Japanese Kanji and Kana
  characters

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Snowflake

• Owned by Videojet
• Proprietary, pay per use code

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Composite Bar Codes

• Two Symbols Printed in close proximity
• Data is linked between the two
• Typically one linear and one stacked or matrix
  symbol
• Used in applications that require different parts
  of data to be used at different times

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Bar Code Quick Reference
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Bar Code Quick Reference (Cont.)