There are some interesting parallels between the Digital Link Sunrise 2027 and the launch of the UPC in American retail in 1974. Who won? We all did. Substantially improved control over incoming and outgoing inventory and item pricing greatly benefited retailers and their supply chains. Consumers also won. Mabel, the checker, didn’t always accurately remember the price on each item and made her share of keying mistakes. The UPC made the frontline faster and more accurate. Improved inventory control meant the store almost always had what the customer wanted. Everybody gained, but as always, change is not painless. Retailers had to buy scanners and install the infrastructure to support them. Mabel lost her job and her social contact with her favorite customers.

Digital Link is no different.  It does more and does it better: more precise product recalls and real-time expiration dates; recipes, nutritional and allergy information on groceries; contraindications, side-effects and dosing information on drugs, user guides and assembly instructions for anything requiring assembly and devices, re-use, recycle, and sustainability data…the list continues to grow as new applications are discovered. And of course, the pain: retailers must upgrade to more expensive 2D scanners.

What’s the Same

Once again, the playing field is almost level. There is excitement about substantial benefits to both sides of the equation—retailers and consumers—but mostly history repeating itself. In 1974, retailers had to install scanners, and all consumer items required UPC symbols.  2027 will be similar. A rising tide lifts all boats. It will touch almost everyone.  In a few years, it will be the new normal. This is not banality, it’s good. Very good. Fifty-two years ago, the adoption of barcoding improved critical processes across manufacturing, distribution, retail sales, and inventory management. Digital Link does more and does it better. And that’s not different! That’s barcodes doing what they have done for over five decades. They evolve. They find new ways to serve. They remain relevant.

What’s Different

What’s different is how the idea of Digital Link came about. The inspiration for the barcode originated in the United States in 1949, the brainchild of Norman Woodland and his colleague, Bernard Silver, who patented the concept in 1952. It was a solution without a way to make it work. The missing piece was the scanner, which took another two decades to develop.

The development of Digital Link was entirely different. The development of the World Wide Web, first proposed at CERN in Switzerland in 1989, provided the essential foundation. Without that, Digital Link would be just an impossible idea. Soon thereafter, a group at the Rutherford Application Lab in the UK proposed the idea of searchable data in web content. Link types were being explored in the development of HTML 3.0 in 1995. Digital Link has global parentage, including the development of an international standard ratified in August 2018 by GS1 Global in Brussels.

The UPC was entirely an American idea, but Digital Link was an international collaboration.

Same Difference

When Global Link is launched in 2027, the difference will be its sameness to legacy barcodes: it absolutely must work right. And that comes down to the same two principles:

  • Print quality
  • Data structure

Contact us, or schedule a free 15-minute consultation here.

Recommended Posts

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