Barcodes are everywhere, from the products we buy in the store to the tickets that we get to get into the events. These barcodes play a vital role in today's digital world, tracking inventory, simplifying operations, and reducing costs.
The increased usage of IoT, RFID, and other tracking technologies has given us the ability to track and trace shipments in real time. It will lead to improved customer experience, increased efficiency, cost savings, and improved security. Therefore, the rise of barcodes in 2024 will revolutionize the industry.
Over time, regulatory bodies have standardized the bar codes, and this has resulted in many variations of the bar codes that we see today. However, this can also create confusion regarding their use cases.
What is a bar code?
A barcode is a machine-readable visual code that provides a easy and accurate way to identify objects. A barcode is a pattern of lines or squares that contains information about a product. It is typically black and white or a series of dots. These codes play a vital role in automating day-to-day business operations. Barcodes are scanned at checkpoints using a handheld barcode reader fixed at the POS or mobile devices.
Imagine bar code like a license plate and there is nothing stored in the license plate but it helps to pull the data about the diver and vehicle.
Barcodes Vs QR codes
Barcodes are simple codes that are primarily used at checkout, while QR codes have the capacity to hold the data and are directional. The other plus point about QR codes is that they can hold much more data, such as texts, URLs and contact information. You can scan them from any angle, and that is what makes them a great option for digital and interactive use.
How Do barcodes work?
A barcode is a pattern of lines or dots that a barcode scanner reads. Each number from 0 to 9 is represented by a different set of bars. A barcode with a 10-digit number has ten black-and-white bar combinations.
A barcode scanner uses the light to read the barcode. The pattern is converted into numbers and letter that represent the product details.
The barcode scanner sends the information to the computer for pricing, inventory tracking and related processes to help the retail store run smoothly.
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Types of barcodes
All barcodes are different, and they use different symbols. The symbology determines the number of characters and the characters it can display. The barcodes can be categorized into two types based on their dimensions and the kind of data they encode.
In one-dimensional barcodes, the pattern is the width of the bars and the spaces between them. Barcode scanners read the pattern and compare it to product records. There are several global 1D barcode standards, each with a unique purpose.
1-dimensional (1D) barcodes
1D barcodes are a combination of black and white bars that can store information such as a product's type, size, and color. They are commonly found on product packaging as UPCs, which help track packages through various delivery service providers, including UPS, FedEx, the US Postal Service, and Canada Post.
2-dimensional (2D) barcodes
2D barcodes have more complexity than 1D barcodes. They can have more information than just a text. QR codes are one such example of 2D barcodes. These codes are similar to Aztec codes and are typically used for flight tickets or concerts.
Not all the scanners can read the 2D barcodes, but Lightspeed Retail Pos has several that support 2D barcodes.
How to Make a Barcode?
barcodes are created using a software. The stores decide what information to collect with barcodes and choose the format accordingly.
Use a free barcode generator:
You can use a free barcode generator to print customer barcodes for your business easily. Here is how you can use it.
1. Type the data you want to encode into the barcode.
2. Input the email address
3. Now, you can download the barcode.
Test your barcode:
Once you have generated the barcode, it is time to test your barcode with a scanner to make sure it's correct. This step checks that your barcode works with your sales and inventory system.
Repeat the process for all products:
Stores need unique barcodes for each product type, not for every single item. Otherwise, managing inventory, distribution, and sales tracking can become very confusing.
For example, if you have batch of 100 shaving cream then they would have same barcode and not that every item would unique barcode.
It is essential to repeat the barcode generation and testing process to ensure that every item is correctly coded and identifiable. This systematic approach ensures that your entire inventory is trackable, simplifying the sales process.
Conclusion:
Barcodes can initially appear complex, but once their purpose is understood, their simplicity becomes apparent. If you want to simplify your internal inventory management processes, creating barcodes in-house is a cost-effective and straightforward solution. All you need is a computer, some software or font packs, a scanner, and a label printer.