Previous episodes of Fun With Barcodes have tried to include barcodes where the design license has, in some cases, killed the barcodes and in other cases, made them more interesting but still work perfectly. A nod of recognition and respect to Bigelow Tea who consistently wins in the latter category.
The theme of this episode is:
What Were They Thinking? These Will Never Work
The first is the validation barcode on the back of a gift card. When you purchase a gift card for someone, this is the barcode on the back that must scan at the register to activate the gift card.
This Datamatrix symbol is applied to an electrical cable, presumably to identify it for some important reason—which it will never fulfill in its present form.
This QR Code sits uncomfortably close to a Code 128—so close that the quiet zones on both symbols overlap each other. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the designer decided to truncate them both, although there is plenty of space on the label. The truncation did not hurt the Code 128, but the QR is effectively DOA.
Finally, here is a topic that has become redundant—sadly. Plenty of space on the label for a full 100% magnification UPC, but it has been “improved” down to 55% with an X dimension of .007”. Near impossible to print or scan.
Have you run across any interesting, impossible, “what were they thinking” barcodes? Share at our fun site https://barcodesgonewild.com/
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