Posts Tagged ‘Barcode 3 Photo’
Barcode 3
Barcode 3
Working in the Automatic Identification and Data Collection industry, there is one question I get over and over regarding barcodes. It comes from people using a Code 3 of 9 barcode font for Microsoft Office applications. That question is “I’ve built my Code 3 of 9 barcode using a font in Microsoft Word, but my barcode scanner will not read it. Why?”.
Before I answer, you need to understand a couple things.
- Code 3 of 9 is most commonly called Code 39. The “of” in between the 3 and 9 is dropped. From this point on I will refer to Code 3 of 9 as Code 39.
- Code 39 always starts and ends with an asterisk (*). No ifs ands or buts about it, Code 39 must begin and end with an asterisk.
I’m not going to go into the history or the encodation algorithm of Code 39 because that’s not what this article is about. If you want to know more about those topics you can search the web and find hundreds or thousands of articles.
When you build a Code 39 barcode in a Microsoft Office application you need to install a Code 39 font. A Code 39 font is just like any other font you can get for Office. There are many free Code 39 fonts available for download. Just search for them. Once you’ve found one just install it on your computer like any other font. After the font has been installed, it will be available to you in the font selector of Office applications. Just select the Code 39 font and you’re ready to start building your barcode.
You can now type your desired barcode numbers and you’ll see the actual barcode being built instead of the human readable numbers. But here’s where you need to be careful. As I mentioned above, a Code 39 always starts and ends with an asterisk. The asterisk is known as the Code 39 start and stop characters. I cannot stress this enough. This means the first thing you type on your keyboard when you start building your barcode is an asterisk. The last thing you type after you’ve entered all your data is an asterisk. If you do not put the asterisk at the beginning and end of the barcode, the barcode scanner will not read it. There will be no way you can get the scanner to read it, no matter how hard you try or how many times you call the technical support group for your barcode scanner manufacturer. The asterisks must be in the barcode. The scanner will not output the asterisks when it reads the barcodes, it simply uses them to understand that this is a Code 39 barcode.
The technical support group that I work in gets this exact question on a daily basis. No matter what we tell the customer they don’t believe us until we make them a sample and prove it to them. If you plan to build Code 39 barcodes using a barcode font, do not forget to add the start and stop asterisk characters! You will save yourself a lot of time, hassle and paper.
By Bill Field
Article Source: ezinearticles.com
Barcode 3 Photo
Barcode 3 Photo
Product barcodes are a bigger part of our everyday life than we realize. The most common relevance to our lives is in the grocery store. When we purchase something, a barcode scanner reads the information encoded on each package.
Each barcode contains information such as the product name and price. This scanning process not only adds the short description you receive on your bill, it also is processed by the stock system control.
The inventory records in the central database are simultaneously modified to record the purchased item when the stock control system tallies the purchase regardless of what is actually sold.
The inventory control occurs without the need of manual counting or recording when the inventory information is correctly entered into the system in the initial setup.
Think about a real-life situation where you would use this system. Say you are a small business owner keeping track of inventory by hand. Ordinarily you would add up your sales at day’s end and then get your records up to date.
But this is a process that consumes too much time and isn’t very reliable. By utilizing a bar code system you can instantly update your stock control databases in every instance where an item is added or taken off.
Different bar codes are generated by this system for items that need a barcode. A one of a kind barcode for each item is created by this software and the barcode printer prints the code label that is placed on the item.
The three most popular types of bar code scanners currently used are:
1. Wand Scanners – These are the easiest kind of bar code scanners. This scanner needs to have physical contact with the bar code in order to scan. The light from this pen-shaped scanner reflects off the bar code, recording information which the system will then decode, and the product will be recognized.
The cheapest kind of bar code scanner is the wand system and it works very well most of the time. Comparing the wand system to other scanners; it will cost one tenth as much as the laser gun scanner and one fifth as much as a CCD scanner.
There are limitations to wand scanners, however. The wand needs to be held at a fairly specific angle when pointed at the barcode in order to the barcode in order to scan properly, but there is also a certain range of speed that must be adhered to.
In addition, the resolution of the barcode being scanned must match the resolution of the wand. If any of these criteria are not met, the wand scanner will not read the barcode properly. This is important to remember when in the market for such a scanning device.
2. The CCD (charged coupled device) scanner is a big improvement on the traditional wand scanner. Unlike the wand scanner where the user must run the scanner across the entire barcode in order for it to register the information, with the CCD scanner, the user simply has to touch the scanner anywhere on the barcode label.
Once the CCD scanner touches the barcode, it captures an image of the barcode, converts it to digital format, and decodes the information in a fast and easy process.
Considered the most user-friendly of all the different kinds of bar code scanners, the CCD reader is designed in measurements from two to four inches in width.
When comparing it to the wand, the CCD reader is costly as it averages around four times the price. At only one third the average cost of a laser scanner, the CCD reader is a good deal when compared to that.
Fixed Focus Optics, or FFO, is a new advancement in barcode technology that is comparable to CCD. This reader doesn’t require any contact, and can read a barcode from lengths of up to twenty inches away.
Two-dimensional barcodes are becoming more commonplace, and will continue to grow in the future, and the FFO scanner has the ability to read them.
3. Laser Scanners -In order to properly read and record bar codes, some applications that are higher volume and more technologically advanced will use a laser scanner. A beam of light is used to quickly scan the bar code label when a laser scanner is used.
These scanners are not portable, as it is not necessary to touch the label with the scanning unit. Scanning is virtually automatic, as the scanning is triggered by simply holding the object in front of the scanner.
This system can be effectively used in numerous situations. One possibility is conveyor systems – because the scans are high speed, the laser scanners can be embedded inside of a conveyor system. When items pass, the scan will automatically take place.
Alternatively, in a retail situation, a clerk can move objects from one side of the scanner to the other, and the system will easily keep pace. These laser systems are unprecedentedly faster and more accurate than any other solution.
Irrespective of what your perfect scanning system is at present, you ought to make sure that you purchase a stock control system that enables you to exploit future advancements in bar code technology.
This will enable you to keep your system updated without having to change the whole system at a later stage.
By Rick Hendershot
Article Source: ezinearticles.com
