SEMINAR ON

BARCODES
 What Is a Barcode?
• Optical machine readable
representation of data.
• Represents data in widths and
spacing of parallel lines.
• Structured to contain a specific piece
of information.
• A predefined format of dark bars and
white spaces.
H • In 1948 Bernard Silver, a graduate from
Drexel Institute of Technology and his friend
i Norman Joseph Woodland first worked on a
project using UV ink.
s • Woodland further worked on this project
and formed his first barcode from sand on
t beach,which was inspired by morse code.
• On 20 October 1949 Woodland and Silver
o filed a patent application for "Classifying
Apparatus and Method", in which they
r described both the linear and bullseye
printing patterns, as well as the mechanical

y and electronic systems needed to read the

code. The patent was issued on 7 October
1952 as US Patent 2,612,994
H Bull’s eye barcode symbol
i
s • Inautomated
1932, Wallace Flint suggested that an
retail checkout system might be
t • feasible. 
David Collins after receiving his master's
o degree from MIT in 1959, started working at
Sylvania and developed a system for
r automatically identifying railroad cars using
blue and yellow reflective stripes attached to
y company identifier and a four-digit car
the side of the cars, encoding a six-digit
 Initial uses of Barcodes
• Computer Identics installed their first two
systems in early 1969, one at a General Motors
factory in Pontiac, Michigan, and another at a
distribution center at the General Trading
Company in Carlstadt, New Jersey.
• In 1972, a Kroger store in Cincinnati began
using a bull’s-eye code.
• In Troy, Ohio. On June 26, 1974, the first
product with a bar code was scanned at a
check-out counter. It was a 10-pack of Wrigley's
Juicy Fruit chewing gum. Today, the pack of
 Barcodes basics
r codes provide a simple and inexpensive method of encoding
information that is easily read by inexpensive electronic read
r coding also allows data to be collected rapidly and with extr
uracy.
r codes can be thought of as a printed type of the Morse code
h narrow bars (and spaces) representing dots, and wide bars
resenting dashes.

e to the design of most bar code it does not make any differen
u scan a bar code from right to left or from left to right.
 Barcode symbol’s
characteristics
• Magnification
• Bar height
• Quiet zones (light margins)
• Colours
• Substrate
• Bar widths and print quality
 Types of barcodes
1.Linear or one dimensional
barcodes.
example - Upc,codabar,code
39

2. Matrix or two dimensional barcodes.

example - EAN, Aztec code
Anatomy of barcode
 Number system character: This number is a
UPC system number that characterizes
specific types of barcodes.
Three guard bars:They are located at the
beginning, middle and end. The beginning
and ending guard bars are encoded as a
"bar-space-bar" or 101. The middle guard
bar is encoded as "space-bar-space-bar-
space" or 01010.
Manufacturers code: Five digit number
specifically assigned to the manufacturer of
the product.
Product code: Five digit number that the
manufacturer assigns for a particular
product.
Check digit: The check digit is an "old-
programmer's trick" to validate the other
digits (number system character,
 Codes of the Number System Character:
0 - Standard UPC number.
1 - Reserved.
2 - Random weight items like fruits, vegetables, and
meats, etc.
3 - Pharmaceuticals
4 - In-store code for retailers.
5 - Coupons
6 - Standard UPC number.
7 - Standard UPC number.
8 - Reserved.
9 - Reserved.
Where is the price?
The price is kept in the store's centralized computer database. The item
record is "keyed" by manufacturer code and product code (same numbers
as on the barcode). When the item is scanned by the employee, a
computer program reads the barcode. It then converts the "bars and
spaces" into the manufacturer and product "digital number". Using the
manufacturer and product "digital number", the program reads the store's
"item database". It then retrieves the price from the "item database" for
that item.
 Barcode standards

 Universal product code (UPC): The Universal Product

Code (UPC) is a barcode symbology (i.e., a specific type of
barcode), that is widely used in Canada and the U.S for
tracking trade items in stores.

 European article number (EAN): An EAN-13 barcode (original

European Article Number) is a bar coding standard which is a
superset of the original 12-digit Universal Product Code(UPC)
system developed in the United States.

A UPC barcode is also an EAN-13 barcode with the first digit

set to zero.
 Bar code scanners
A device used to extract information optically from a Bar Code
Bar Code symbol consists of series of vertical dark bars separated by light s
When illuminated reflected light is detected by electro optical sensor
The intensity of reflected light from the dark bars is less than that of spaces
Reflected light is converted into electrical voltage

signals

Analog voltages are digitized into raw data

The decoder converts this data into the character data

representation of the symbol’s code

 Types of scanners or
readers
CONTACT READERS
1.Must touch or come in close proximity of symbol
2.Good where the label cannot be placed in an easy-to-view position.
3.Normally hand-held/stationary units.
4.Common type is pen/wand reader
5.A high-density resolution wand used to read a low-density symbol
might see an ink spot as bar or an ink void as a space.
6.A low-resolution wand may not be able to recognize a narrow bar
of high-density symbol.
7.Positioned angle of wand to the surface and movement speed
across the symbol are key parameters.
NON-CONTACT READERS
1.Reader need not come in contact with symbol
2.Scan distance may be from 6” to several feet depending upon
symbol size and scanner design
3.Hand-held, fixed beam readers
Fixed beam slot scanner
CCD Scanner
 Bar code printer and
generator
A barcode printer (or bar code
printer) is a computer peripheral
for printing barcode labels or tags
that can be attached to physical
objects.
arcode generator:
here are various softwares available for generating bar codes. Depending upon the
e one can use any of these available softwares.
x:
arcode Studio 2 by Shortcut Software is a comprehensive program for barcodes. I
helps you create, export, import, print and archive 17 different types of barcodes.
Applications of barcode
 INVENTORY CONTROL
Portable readers
 WORK-IN PROCESS TRACKING (WIP) COMPANY
INVENTORY
Raw materials
WIP (Components, Assemblies, Semi finished Products)
Finished Products

 SHIPPING
 ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE (EDI)
Direct communication between computers of two companies
(Manufacturer & Vendor)
Industry-wide EDI standards
Reduces cost and saves time of business transaction
 RETAIL APPLICATIONS
Super markets
Counter-mounted Bar Code scanners
Universal Product Code (UPC)
Price and description information
 WARE HOUSING
 HEALTH CARE APPLICATIONS
Drugs, devices, instruments
Identification of expiry date
Blood banking
Blood group
Expiry date
Donor traceability

 At the turn of the century, many artists started using barcodes in

art, such as Scott Blake's Barcode Jesus.
 Benefits of barcodes
Tracking sale of items.
 This technology also enabled the profiling of
individual
consumers, typically through a voluntary
registration of discount cards.
 the scanners are relatively low cost and extremely
accurate compared to key-entry, with only about 1
substitution error in 15,000 to 36 trillion characters
entered. The exact error rate depends on the type of
barcode.
Thank
You…