| Symbology | Continuous or discrete | Bar widths | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.P.C. | Continuous | Many | Worldwide retail, GS1-approved – International Standard ISO/IEC 15420 |
| Codabar | Discrete | Two | Old format used in libraries and blood banks and on airbills (out of date) |
| Code 25 – Non-interleaved 2 of 5 | Continuous | Two | Industrial |
| Code 25 – Interleaved 2 of 5 | Continuous | Two | Wholesale, libraries International standard ISO/IEC 16390 |
| Code 39 | Discrete | Two | Various – international standard ISO/IEC 16388 |
| Code 93 | Continuous | Many | Various |
| Code 128 | Continuous | Many | Various – International Standard ISO/IEC 15417 |
| Code 128A | Continuous | Many | Various – only a CODE 128 character set, not an own symbology |
| Code 128B | Continuous | Many | Various – only a CODE 128 character set, not an own symbology |
| Code 128C | Continuous | Many | Various – only a CODE 128 character set, not an own symbology |
| Code 11 | Discrete | Two | Telephones (out of date) |
| CPC Binary | Discrete | Two | |
| DUN 14 | Continuous | Many | Various |
| EAN 2 | Continuous | Many | Addon code (magazines), GS1-approved – not an own symbology – to be used only with an EAN/UPC according to ISO/IEC 15420 |
| EAN 5 | Continuous | Many | Addon code (books), GS1-approved – not an own symbology – to be used only with an EAN/UPC according to ISO/IEC 15420 |
| EAN-8, EAN-13 | Continuous | Many | Worldwide retail, GS1-approved – International Standard ISO/IEC 15420 |
| Facing Identification Mark | Continuous | One | USPS business reply mail |
| GS1-128 (formerly named UCC/EAN-128), incorrectly referenced as EAN 128 and UCC 128 | Continuous | Many | various, GS1-approved -is just an application of the Code 128 (ISO/IEC 15417) using the ANS MH10.8.2 AI Datastructures. Its not an own symbology. |
| GS1 DataBar, formerly Reduced Space Symbology (RSS) | Continuous | Many | Various, GS1-approved |
| HIBC (HIBCC Health Industry Bar Code) | Discrete | Two | Healthcare[28] – is a datastructure to be used with Code 128, Code 39 or Data Matrix |
| ITF-14 | Continuous | Many | Non-retail packaging levels, GS1-approved – is just an Interleaved 2/5 Code (ISO/IEC 16390) with a few additional specifications, according to the GS1 General Specifications |
| Latent image barcode | Neither | Tall/short | Color print film |
| Pharmacode | Neither | Two | Pharmaceutical packaging (no international standard available) |
| Plessey | Continuous | Two | Catalogs, store shelves, inventory (no international standard available) |
| PLANET | Continuous | Tall/short | United States Postal Service (no international standard available) |
| POSTNET | Continuous | Tall/short | United States Postal Service (no international standard available) |
| Intelligent Mail barcode | Continuous | Tall/short | United States Postal Service, replaces both POSTNET and PLANET symbols (formerly namedOneCode) |
| MSI | Continuous | Two | Used for warehouse shelves and inventory |
| PostBar | Discrete | Many | Canadian Post office |
| RM4SCC / KIX | Continuous | Tall/short | Royal Mail / Royal TPG Post |
| JAN | Continuous | Many | Used in Japan, similar and compatible with EAN-13 (ISO/IEC 15420) |
| Telepen | Continuous | Two | Libraries (UK) |
Linear Barcode (1D) Types
Code 39 Barcode Symbology
Code 39 (also known as Alpha39, Code 3 of 9, Code 3/9, Type 39, USS Code 39, or USD-3) is a variable length, discrete barcode symbology.
The Code 39 specification defines 43 characters, consisting of uppercase letters (A through Z), numeric digits (0 through 9) and a number of special characters (-, ., $, /, +, %, and space). An additional character (denoted '*') is used for both start and stop delimiters. Each character is composed of nine elements: five bars and four spaces. Three of the nine elements in each character are wide (binary value 1), and six elements are narrow (binary value 0). The width ratio between narrow and wide can be chosen between 1:2 and 1:3.
The barcode itself does not contain a check digit (in contrast to—for instance—Code 128), but it can be considered self-checking on the grounds that a single erroneously interpreted bar cannot generate another valid character. Possibly the most serious drawback of Code 39 is its low data density: It requires more space to encode data in Code 39 than, for example, in Code 128. This means that very small goods cannot be labeled with a Code 39 based barcode. However, Code 39 is still widely used and can be decoded with virtually any barcode reader. One advantage of Code 39 is that since there is no need to generate a check digit, it can easily be integrated into existing printing system by adding a barcode font to the system or printer and then printing the raw data in that font.
Code 39 was developed by Dr. David Allais and Ray Stevens of Intermec in 1974. Their original design included two wide bars and one wide space in each character, resulting in 40 possible characters. Setting aside one of these characters as a start and stop pattern left 39 characters, which was the origin of the name Code 39.[1] Punctuation characters were later added that deviated from this pattern, expanding the character set to 43 characters. Code 39 was later standardised as ANSI MH 10.8 M-1983 and MIL-STD-1189.[2] MIL-STD-1189 has been cancelled and replaced by ANSI/AIM BC1/1995, Uniform Symbology Specification - Code 39.[3]
Source: Wikipedia
EAN-13 Barcode Symbology
An EAN-13 barcode (originally European Article Number, but now renamed International Article Number even though the abbreviation EAN has been retained) is a 13 digit (12 data and 1 check) barcoding standard which is a superset of the original 12-digitUniversal Product Code (UPC) system developed in the United States.[1] The EAN-13 barcode is defined by the standards organizationGS1.
The EAN-13 barcodes are used worldwide for marking products often sold at retail point of sale. The numbers encoded in EAN-13 bar codes are product identification numbers, which are also called Japanese Article Number (JAN) in Japan. All the numbers encoded in UPC and EAN barcodes are known as Global Trade Item Numbers (GTIN), and they can be encoded in other GS1 barcodes.
The less commonly used EAN-8 barcodes are used also for marking retail goods; however, they are usually reserved for smaller items, for example confectionery.
2-digit (EAN 2) and 5-digit (EAN 5) supplemental barcodes may be added for a total of 14 or 17 data digits. These are generally used for periodicals (to indicate the serial number), or books and weighed products like food (to indicate the selling price), respectively.
Components
The GTIN-13 encoded in the bar code has four components:
- The GS1 Prefix, the first three digits, usually identifying the national GS1 Member Organization to which the manufacturer is registered (not necessarily where the product is actually made).[2] When the EAN-13 symbol encodes a conversion of an ISBN, the GS1 Prefix will be either 978 or 979. Likewise the prefix will be 979 for ISMNs (whose prefix is shared with ISBN) and 977 for ISSNs.
- The Company number, consisting of three to eight digits depending on number of GTIN-13s required by the manufacturer to identify different product lines (in ISBN and ISSN, this component is used to identify the language in which the publication was issued and managed by a transnational agency covering several countries, or to identify the country where the legal deposits are made by a publisher registered with a national agency, and it is further subdivided any allocating subblocks for publishers; many countries have several prefixes allocated in the ISSN and ISBN registries).
- The Item reference, consisting of two to six digits (in ISBN and ISSN, it uniquely identifies the publication from the same publisher; it should be used and allocated by the registered publisher in order to avoid creating gaps; however it happens that a registered book or serial never gets published and sold).
- The Check digit, a single checksum digit. The check digit is computed modulo 10, where the weights in the checksum calculation alternate 3 and 1. In particular, since the weights are relatively prime to 10 the EAN system will detect all single digit errors. But, since the difference of consecutive weights is even, the EAN system does not detect all adjacent transposition errors.
The complete number is used as a reference key to look up information about the product line held on a database; the number is never normally broken down into its components within users' systems.
GS1 Prefixes
Further information: List of GS1 country codes
The first two or three digits of the GTIN of any product identify the GS1 Member Organization which the manufacturer has joined. Note that EAN-13 codes beginning with 0 are rarely seen, as this is just a longer form of a 12-digit UPC and is represented by the same barcode.
The 200-299 country code is worth a special mention; most GS1 member organizations define this as being available for retailer internal use (or internal use by other types of business). Some retailers use this for proprietary (own brand or unbranded) products (although many retailers obtain their own manufacturer's code for their own brands); some retailers use at least part of this prefix for products which are packaged in store, for example, items weighed and served over a counter for a customer. The barcode may encode a price, quantity or weight along with a product identifier (in a retailer defined way); the product identifier may be one assigned by the Produce Electronic Identification Board or may be retailer assigned. Retailers who have historically used UPC barcodes will tend to use GS1 prefixes 04 (for products) and 02 (for store packaged products) in a similar way.
Source: Wikipidea
What is Barcode?
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data relating to the object to which it is attached. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or one-dimensional (1D). Later they evolved into rectangles, dots, hexagons and other geometric patterns in two dimensions (2D). Although 2D systems use a variety of symbols, they are generally referred to as barcodes as well. Barcodes originally were scanned by special optical scanners calledbarcode readers; later, scanners and interpretive software became available on devices including desktop printers and smartphones.
The first use of barcodes was to label railroad cars, but they were not commercially successful until they were used to automatesupermarket checkout systems, a task for which they have become almost universal. Their use has spread to many other tasks that are generically referred to as automatic identification and data capture (AIDC). The very first scanning of the now ubiquitous Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode was on a pack of Wrigley Company chewing gum in June 1974.[1]
Other systems have made inroads in the AIDC market, but the simplicity, universality and low cost of barcodes has limited the role of these other systems until the first decade of the 21st century, over 40 years after the introduction of the commercial barcode, with the introduction of technologies such as radio frequency identification, or RFID.
Source: Wikipedia
What is Polyester material?
Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include naturally occurring chemicals, such as in the cutin of plant cuticles, as well as synthetics through step-growth polymerization such as polycarbonate andpolybutyrate. Natural polyesters and a few synthetic ones are biodegradable, but most synthetic polyesters are not.
Source: Wikipedia
Source: Wikipedia
What is PP material?
Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications includingpackaging and labeling, textiles (e.g., ropes, thermal underwear and carpets), stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes. An addition polymer made from the monomer propylene, it is rugged and unusually resistant to many chemical solvents, bases and acids.
Source: Wikipedia
Source: Wikipedia
Suggestions for TT Printing (Thermal Transfer)
Adjustment of Print-head Temperature / Print Speed
Since thermal transfer printing involves imaging through tiny heated pins contacting a ribbon onto a label, the print head temperature has a dramatic effect on symbol quality. If the heat setting is too high, the bars will print too heavy. Conversely, if the setting is too cool, the bars within a symbol will print too light. The heat setting can be adjusted either as a printer function or through a software setting. Adjustment control will vary between software and printers.
Symbol Orientation
It is highly recommended that barcode symbols be printed in the direction of the printer. Barcodes printed with bars perpendicular to the print direction tend to yield dimensional errors.
Printer Maintenance
The quality of printed symbols tends to degrade as deposits build up on the thermal print head. Regular cleaning of the print head and guide surface in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendation is highly advised.
Thermal Print heads eventually wear out to the point where one or more dot elements fail to heat properly. When this occurs, the printed symbol may no longer be scannable. Obviously, if printed symbols are routinely checked by a barcode print verifier, print head wears will be easily detected. Another procedure we recommend is to print a symbol with a horizontal bar going across the top of the label. Any defective element module will be easy to recognize.
Source: Bar Code Graphics, Inc.(http://www.barcode-us.com/upc/printingTips.html)
Direct Thermal Printing
Direct Thermal Printing (DT)
Direct thermal printing does not require barcode ribbon in the printing process.Direct thermal barcode label will change color (usually black) when contacted with head element of the direct thermal printer. A disadvantage is durability, because another heat source can ruin or obscure the printing of the direct thermal barcode label, or it may fade completely over time.
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| Direct Thermal Printing |
Thermal Transfer Printing
Thermal Transfer Printing (TT)
Thermal transfer printing melts a coating (ink) of barcode ribbon with the heat element from print head so that it transfer the ink and stays glued to the label on which the print/heat is applied.Thermal Transfer printed barcode label has the advantage of a much longer readable life and does not fade with time or heat. (Subject to the matching of the thermal transfer ribbons & barcode label material).
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| Thermal Transfer Printing |
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