Businessman holding QR code business card with personal data. Modern technology concept.

Those of you who have been barcoding your products for a while can go ahead and roll your eyes, but remember, here is where you started. Barcoding is like life—you can’t skip any steps. Everybody starts at the beginning, so for you newbies, here is where you start.

Barcode Standards

How will your barcodes be used? If you are installing an internal system just to keep track of items in a closed loop system, skip down to the section on Barcode Design Software. But if you are marking items that will be shared with trading partners, you need to be concerned with compliance to standards so everybody gets barcodes and the data they contain in accordance with agreed upon formats. If you are not sure what those standards may be, ask your trading partners or the trade association that represents your industry. There are trade associations for virtually every major industry and if there are barcode standards in place, they can point you to the specifications and standards that will define how the barcode is structured, which symbologies you can use, and any other details that will impact how your barcodes must be designed and printed.
GS1  is probably the largest barcode standards organization in barcoding, and they publish the standards for barcodes in several major industries includingGS1  health care, retail commodities where UPC is used, packaging, logistics and many others. Because there are so many users, GS1 also acts and as the number bank for UPC, now known as GTIN12 which stands for the Global Trade Identification Number for the 12 digit barcode. To get a GTIN12 number you must apply and pay a fee to GS1. There are GS1 affiliates on all continents in GS1 logoover 100 countries including 41 European nations, 21 Middle East and Africa nations, 21 nations in the Americas and 29 nations in the Asia Pacific region . To apply for a barcode number at GS1US click here.

There are also independent GTIN12 reseller from who you could purchase the rights to use a barcode number for your product. This is not advised. In addition to distributing the essential numbers GS1 is responsible for ensuring that they have not accidentally been released to someone else.

Barcode Design Software

Where do you plan to print your barcodes?  If you are using a third party printer make sure they understand that they are responsible for the readability of your barcodes. To do this effectively, you should have a printed barcode policy that clearly states the minimum acceptable grace level for your barcodes. It is also highly recommended that you require your printer vendor verifies your barcodes and proves that they did by sending periodic verification reports using an ISO compliant barcode verifier.

If you intend to print your own barcodes you will obviously need a printer such as a Zebra or similar barcode label printer. You will also need label design software. A printer and the design software is not a place to skimp. You get what you pay for and a high quality, new printer and good barcode software will be easier to use and produce a high quality result. Choose a printer with enough print width to handle your label barcode and any other necessary information, and high enough resolution (dots or pixels per inch).

There are many barcode design software apps available. To begin, choose one that is compatible with your Apple or Windows computer. Make sure the software has the latest version of the symbology (barcode type) you intend to print. We recommended that you consider what type of barcodes you may be migrating to or adopting in the future and buy software that includes it. You will be responsible for the quality of your barcodes–actually you are also responsible even if somebody else prints them. We highly recommend you buy an ISO compliant barcode verifier and here again, make sure it will verify the barcode symbologies you think you and your trading partners will be using in 5 years.

 

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3db Barcode Testimonial

Our company (an advanced software company) recently worked with Barcode Test to source a barcode verifier.  Not long ago, we were awarded a contract requiring products to be marked with IUIDs in accordance with MIL-STD-130.  For that standard, marking labels must pass a verification test that evaluates many variables (contrast, size, clarity, syntax, modularity, and more).  After a thorough search, we reduced our options to a select few.

In our search for a verifier, the Axicon line caught our attention.  Barcode Test is our regional reseller for this product.   From the beginning, they were very prompt with their responses.  We ended up having a quick call with John Nachtrieb to go over our needs.  John was extremely easy to work with and provided a lot of great information.  He was very knowledgeable on the matter and was quick to offer up a demo unit (free of charge).

Upon receiving the demo verifier and testing it, a few questions arose.  John joined a call with us and answered all our questions.  Ultimately, the Axicon verifier wasn’t the best fit for us, so we shipped the demo back.  John was completely understanding.  A few weeks later, Barcode Test reached back out with another possible verifier for us to try.  While they didn’t sell that brand, they just wanted to help us find the best option that met our needs. They even offered to send us the unit that they have in-house to see if it worked to our liking. 

Barcode Test is truly a great company to work with.  Their service and willingness to help the customer are far beyond what you typically get from other companies.  They are experts in barcode quality assurance and seem willing to help in any way they can (even if that means not getting a sale and recommending another option that better fits the customer’s needs).  If anyone is in the market for barcode verification/scanning services or products, I would highly recommend giving Barcode Test a call.

Regards,

Production Manager