The Necessity of Barcode Printers in Modern Times

A barcode is a machine-readable representation of information in a visual format on a surface. Barcode is widely used to implement Auto ID Data Capture (AIDC) systems that improve the speed and accuracy of computer data entry.

A barcode printer is a computer peripheral for printing barcode labels or tags that can be attached to physical objects. Barcode printers are commonly used to label cartons before shipment, or to label retail items with Universal Product Codes.

Desktop barcode printer has become a commonplace tool for entering product information at retail chains and shopping complexes. Industrial barcode printers are used in manufacturing facilities and large warehouses helping in inventory management and sales process automation.

The most common barcode standards are UPCs and EANs.

Universal Product Code Bar Code - The standard bar code printed on retail merchandise. It contains the vendor's identification number and the product number which is read by passing the bar code over a scanner.

European Article Numbering is the European standard for barcodes. There are two different versions of EAN bar codes, EAN-13 and EAN-8, which encode 13- and 8-digit numbers, respectively. A special EAN-13 bar code with a 5-digit supplemental code is used on books to encode the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and the price. This bar code is called ?Bookland?.

Traditional one-dimensional bar codes use the bar's width to encode a product or an account number. Two-dimensional bar codes, such as PDF417, MaxiCode and DataMatrix, are scanned horizontally and vertically and hold considerably more data. PDF417 is widely used for general purposes. MaxiCode is used for high-speed sorting, and DataMatrix is used for marking small parts.

Barcode Printers employ two major printing methods ? Direct Thermal (DT) and Thermal Transfer (TT).

Direct thermal printers use a print head to generate heat that causes a chemical reaction in specially designed paper that turns the paper black. Direct thermal printers are generally less expensive, but they produce labels that can become illegible if exposed to heat, direct sunlight, or chemical vapors. Barcode printers require regular cleaning of the ribbon and the print head. Specks of dust may cause distortion of the bar codes. The outputs of these printers using ANSI software need to be continuously checked in order to check for system malfunctions.

Thermal transfer printers also use heat, but instead of acting directly on the paper, the heat melts a waxy or resin substance on a ribbon that runs over the label or tag material. The heat transfers ink from the ribbon to the paper. Thermal Transfer requires the use of a heated ribbon to produce long-lasting images of data onto a label and/or tag, whereas Direct Thermal process prints the image directly on the label/tag.

Direct thermal and thermal transfer barcode printers can print bar code labels on variety of media. The range of bar code printers vary from light duty printers to rugged and high speed industrial printers for meeting diverse requirements. In industrial printers, the range varies from medium to heavy duty to extra heavy duty printers. These printers can be integrated to existing applications / ERP for on demand label/tag printing.

Industrial barcode printers are used in large warehouses and manufacturing facilities. They have large paper capacities, operate faster and have a longer service life. For retail and office environments, desktop barcode printers are most common.

http://www.pointofsalecomponents.com provides the great collection of all your retail and inventory management needs. Whether you're looking for barcode printer and decoders, bar code labels, bar code label printers, bar code label software, bar code labels or barcode scanners, we have it.

Image Processing & Bar Codes - Selecting The Right Bar Code With Image Binarization

Documents that are scanned for image processing or storage are often captured at 8 bits per pixel. These are referred to as grayscale images in that 256 levels of gray are able to be represented in the image. The capability to represent shades of gray is required to faithfully capture photographs and graphics but is not normally needed for text. Consequently, scanned images are often binarized. This process involves the selection of a threshold value and then changing all pixel values below that threshold to black and all pixel values above the threshold to white. This compresses the image by only requiring 1 bit per pixel instead of 8 bits per pixel. For example, an 8.5 inch by 11 inch document scanned at 200 samples per inch, has its storage requirement drop from 3.6 megabytes to 450 kilobytes. Binarization also occurs when documents are transmitted by fax as images are created that are represented with 1 bit per pixel as well.

Given a proper threshold, binarized images that contain text can normally still be read by either human eye or OCR algorithms. Indeed, some OCR algorithms begin the OCR process by binarizing the image as the text is typically dark against a lighter background. However, if bar codes are present within the binarized image, they can by altered enough by the binarization process to cause difficulty for a decode algorithm. The image to the left (http://www.omniplanar.com/_upload/CodePics/Code39-GreyscaleWeb.gif) shows part of the start pattern of a Code 39 linear bar code. The top portion shows the image represented as 8 bits per pixel, while the lower portion shows a binarized version using a threshold of 100. Note that the smooth transitions from white to black in the grayscale image have been transformed into ragged edges that have plus or minus one pixel variability. As a result, the width of each bar or space can vary by plus or minus 2 pixels. Given that the information in linear bar codes is contained in the widths of the bars and spaces, decode problems can result depending on the size and type of the original bar code symbol. The remainder of this article will focus on two issues that should be considered to improve the read rate of binarized bar codes: sample density and symbology type.

Sample Density

Sample density is the number of samples per unit area that an image is captured. Typical sample densities used for document processing range from 200 to 300 samples per inch (dots per inch or DPI). Fax transmission can vary from 100 up to 400 DPI. In bar code decoding, a more important parameter to consider is the samples per module, where the module size is the size of the smallest feature of the bar code. This distance is also referred to as the X dimension. This parameter includes both the sample density of the image capture device along with the size of the bar code being scanned. If a bar code decoding software toolkit requires a minimum of 1.6 pixels per module for linear bar codes in a grayscale image. From above, if the width of a bar or space can vary by 2 pixels after binarization, one can see that problems can exist in the short widths at this low sample density. Consequently, it is recommended that a typical value of 4 pixels per module for bar codes that will be binarized. For a document scanned at 200 DPI, this requires a minimum module size in the printed bar code of .020 inchs or 20 mils. Increasing the samples per module beyond 4 is also recommended for images that will go through multiple binarization processes such as documents that will be faxed multiple times.

Symbology Type

The choice of symbology used to encode data should also be considered carefully. Linear (or 1D) bar codes can be broadly classified into two distinct groups: wide/narrow codes and multiple width codes. In a wide/narrow code, each bar or space can only be either narrow or wide. The wide to narrow ratio, which gives the size ratio between the two widths, typically ranges from 2 to 3. Popular symbologies that use only 2 widths include Code 39 and Interleaved 2 of 5. Multiple width codes have more than 2 possible choices for the widths of bars and spaces. Popular symbologies that employ more than two possible widths include UPC and Code 128, both of which allow a bar or space to be either 1, 2, 3, or 4 modules. Given the same samples per module, wide/narrow symbologies typically survive the binarization process with higher read rate performance than their multiple width counterparts. This is simply due to the fact that in the presence of edge variation due to binarization, it is easier to determine if a run is X or 3X wide (where X is the length of a module and an assumed wide to narrow ratio of 3) or if it is 1X, 2X, 3X or 4X as is the case with multiple width symbologies. The table below classifies some popular linear symbologies into the two classes mentioned above.

Wide/Narrow

Codabar
Code 39
Interleaved 2 of 5
Patch Code

Multiple Width

Code 128
Code 93
RSS
UPC

While wide/narrow symbologies are preferred in applications where binarization will occur, they do not normally have as high a data density (data stored per unit width) compared to multiple width symbologies with the same X dimension. This can be an issue where limited space on the document is provided for the bar code symbol.

2D Symbologies

2D (or two-dimensional) matrix symbologies are typically presence/absence codes. They use a regular grid of possible cell positions, and the presence or absence of a cell in a grid location encodes the data. Two-dimensional symbols have much higher data density than 1D codes as information is stored in both dimensions of the symbol. In addition, they normally provide error correction to provide redundancy in case some cell data values can not be determined. When a 2D symbol is binarized with sufficient samples per module (the size of a grid position), they tend to do better than linear codes as the edge information is not as critical: it is the position of the center of the cell that is more important. Decoding software may require a minimum of 2.75 pixels per module in a grayscale image for reliable operation. If additional samples per module beyond 2.75 is provided, performance continues to improve and is a good choice for images that will undergo multiple binarizations. A sample density of 5 pixels or more for 2D matrix symbologies gives good read performance after binarization. Popular 2D Matrix codes include Data Matrix, QR Code, and Aztec Code.

PDF417 is often referred to as a 2D symbology. However, it is not a true matrix code. It is a stacked linear code, consisting of multiple rows of short linear codewords. It allows bars and spaces to have up to 6 different widths and as such it can be adversely affected by binarization at lower samples per module.

Summary

In applications where scanned documents containing bar codes are to be binarized, read rate performance can be improved by using linear symbologies that employ only wide/narrow choices for bars and spaces along with at least 4 or more pixels per module. Two-dimensional matrix codes are a good choice when binarization is used with a minimumof 5 pixels per module, and they provide the added benefit of increasing data density of the bar code symbol.

With over 17 years of experience in the bar code industry, Bob Dunphy has been Principal Engineer at Omniplanar, Inc (http://www.omniplanar.com) since its inception. He has designed numerous CCD camera systems as well as high speed processing platforms.

Choosing The Right Bar Code Reader

The importance of a bar code reader in this day and age cannot be denied. A lot of practical and pragmatic applications for a bar code reader have been rendered essential by the changing times. Whether you’re running a commercial establishment, a public or private library, a company that employs a lot of people, or a school that is attended by numerous students, a bar code reader would do wonders for your daily operations.

A bar code reader would greatly help you in organizing your database, maintaining a good record of your inventory, monitoring and tracking the movement of items and people, and ensuring the security of your premises. These far-reaching benefits of using a bar code reader and simply fantastic!

But not all barcode readers are built alike. A bar code reader may come in many forms, and some are just better than others. Well, at least for particular needs, that is. Much care and deliberation should be invested in the choice of the right bar code reader for your enterprise.

Here is a guide that would hopefully help you in choosing the perfect bar code reader for your needs:

* Know the reason why you need a barcode reader. Is it to keep watch of the items used for your trade? Is it to reduce staff time in automating certain processes? Is it to monitor the entry and exit of people to and from your premises? It is to track the movement of items to and from your storage facility? The choice of a bar code reader greatly depends on the purpose for its usage.

* Check the numerous features of various barcode readers in the market today. A bar code reader is available in three forms. First, we have the laser-based bar code reader which makes use of light emitted from the bar code reader itself to identify and verify the barcodes of a particular item. Second, we have a charged coupled device (CCD) bar code reader which makes use of light emitted from the numerous light sensors in the barcodes which the bar code reader would gather and decode for identification and verification. Third, we have a camera-based bar code reader which takes a picture, literally speaking, of the barcodes, and identifies and verifies the same through the varying hues and contrasts of the bars of the latter. Each kind of bar code reader is good for particular industries. A laser-based bar code reader is perfect for monitoring the entry and exit of people to and from your premises, for example. A CCD bar code reader is perfect for tracking the movement of your company’s supplies and tools, as well as permanent identification tags for employees and students. And a camera-based bar code reader is perfect for monitoring and regulating the movement of more sensitive items in your inventory.

* Canvass. A better price for a bar code reader would always save you some cash for other investments. There will be barcode readers offered at lower prices from some sources, so it would be best to seek these out first and foremost.

* Choose a credible and reliable company. A bar code reader company with an established track record of excellence would be a safer bet. A bar code reader would be a longtime investment, so might as well get things right the first time around.

A bar code reader would serve your business for a long, long time. Choosing the right one, therefore, would be the essential first step for a rewarding partnership that would render the processes in your enterprise more convenient.

Ewen Chia is the owner of BarCodeReader.info providing excellent bar code reader information, news plus completely *free* barcode fonts!  http://www.BarCodeReader.info

Investing On A 1D Bar Code Reader

Whereas 2D bar codes offer more security and safety for their subjects, 1D bar codes, as read by 1D bar code readers, are more practical for wide scale operations. The reason? Bar codes with single layers are more affordable to produce than the double layered inscriptions of 2D bar codes. Hence, there is a large demand for 1D bad codes and 1D bar code readers in today’s busy times.

A 1D bar code reader is an essential, and preferred, tool for retail establishments where items pass through a counter several times a minute. A 1D bar code reader is also the device of choice for establishments that seek to monitor the ingress and regress of people, when such establishments are not considered as high security areas.

Why Are There 1D And 2D Bar Code Readers?

Though a universal type of bar code would greatly help a variety of industries, the various types of bar codes today, which are not limited to 1D and 2D bar codes alone, have provided a wider selection for different enterprises with distinct needs.

The creation of 1D and 2D varieties of barcodes stemmed from the attempts of bar code manufacturers to improve on the existing formula. But each improvement served a specific purpose distinct to its kind, hence, such was retained. Today, there are a lot of 2D bar code readers for 2D bar codes and 1D bar code readers for 1D bar codes. This is a sign of a very healthy industry!

Kinds Of 1D Bar Code Readers

A 1D bar code reader can come in many forms. Portable 1D bar code readers are the most commonly used in many establishments. Since a 1D bar code reader is generally manufactured for a market that experiences brisk operations, it is easy to assume that the sheer transportability of these portable 1D bar code readers make them more appealing to their target audience.

A 1D bar code reader can also come in the form of scanner-type 1D bar code readers. These are seldom used, however, as their more mobile counterparts are more appropriate for the market that 1D bar code readers seek to cater to.

The Road Ahead For 1D Bar Code Readers

It is understandable that people would feel hesitant about investing on a 1D bar code reader, mainly because of fear that the 1D bar code design would soon become obsolete. These fears are quite unfounded.

There will always be a need for a 1D barcode reader because there will always be a market for 1D bar codes. As we have mentioned earlier, a good number of establishments actually prefer 1D bar codes and 1D bar code readers because they are more resilient and responsive to businesses with busier processes. This accommodative nature of 1D bar code readers should assure everyone that they are here to stay and investing on them would be a prudent choice.

This, of course, is aside from the fact that 1D bar code readers are cheaper than other types of this device.

Ewen Chia is the owner of BarCodeReader.info providing excellent bar code reader information, news plus completely *free* barcode fonts! ==> http://www.BarCodeReader.info

Bar Code Software

Barcode software comes in various styles. It is used to create professional barcode labels. It can be uploaded on a computer like any other software program and possesses a myriad of features. The barcode software can print barcodes on any installed printer with graphics capability. Such software often consists of a menu that displays different options in a user-friendly language. Modern software is very easy to use, giving the user the option to decide a label's appearance, including the type and size of text, bar codes and graphics. Dialogs, another important feature of many barcode software programs, offer many options to design labels and print barcodes.

Many barcode software programs available in the market offer tool tips. These are basically quick hints that help in modifying and printing multiple label designs. Similarly, high precision on-screen design mode provides an accurate real-time view of a label. Print preview mode displays exactly how the labels look before they can be printed. Perhaps the best part of barcode software is that it usually comes with an array of font capabilities. It solely depends on the imagination of the user to put these fonts to the most flexible use with maximum speed. Several printer drivers have the option to support font downloading.

Software consists of a toolbox that provides access to an extensive series of barcode components. The rich text option allows for multiple typefaces and styles. Graphics can be easily imported or exported in barcode software. That makes logos, pictures and company images easy to adapt. Barcode software is programmed to be latched onto all kinds of laser, ink-jet and dot-matrix printers. This software also provides access to countless high-quality symbols. They also allow serialization sequences. We can choose the sequence from a variety of character sets. Modern software is armed with the option of customizing a user’s own features.

Bar Code Labels provides detailed information about bar code labels, bar code label printers, bar code label software, bar code label makers and more. Bar Code Labels is the sister site of Bar Code Software.

Bar Code Equipment

Barcode equipment is an all encompassing term. It may include automation products such as Barcode Fonts, latest ActiveX Controls, .NET forms controls, class libraries, components, encoders and barcode hardware including barcode printers and scanners. We will briefly touch upon some of these categories, which add to up what we call Barcode equipment.

Modern barcode fonts are used with a variety of alternative operating systems like TrueType, BDF, FON, PCL LaserJet soft fonts, PostScript et al. Modern fonts also come in several font formats and font tools. Macros and source code in a barcode font helps in the integration of fonts with a given application. These fonts can range from data matrix to the True Type barcode font packs offered by various companies these days.

Some barcode components like ActiveX Control and DLL do not make use of fonts. These components create barcodes as graphic images. They also support several linear and two dimensional barcode symbologies. ActiveX control is basically a trouble-free drag-and-drop control used as a barcode add-in for Microsoft Access and Excel.

Likewise, with .NET barcode web component, we can create images that are then saved to a disk. These controls are simple and compatible with most of the development environments. They permit the creation of barcodes, which are then printed. These barcode controls do not make use of any fonts and function only as smart graphic images.

The Barcode Label Software is very simple to use. It can print barcodes, texts and graphics on a standard laser or inkjet printer. This is in addition to labels that are etched by thermal transfer barcode printers. This software employs the effortless WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) layout and options such as print preview make this labeling software very easy to use.

Barcode scanners and printers also fall in the category of barcode equipment. In the present times, we have thermal barcode label printers and new generation Barcode wands to print and read barcodes in addition to the conventional contraptions.

Bar Code Labels provides detailed information about bar code labels, bar code label printers, bar code label software, bar code label makers and more. Bar Code Labels is the sister site of Bar Code Software.

Durable Barcode Labels

One of the prime features of high-quality barcode labels is durability. Durable barcode labels are vital for any industrial application and are integral for equipment marking and security. These are important for cassettes, plates, slides, vials, and laboratory and medical items.

Durable barcode labels can withstand abrasion, corrosion, moisture, heat, solvents, and UV light. Accuracy, clarity, consistency, easy identification, flexibility, high quality, legibility retention, and reliability are the major advantages of durable barcode labels. Warehouse barcode labels, work-in-process barcode labels, utility asset labels, barcode labels for industrial use, asset tags for property identification, and polyester barcode labels are some examples of durable barcode labels.

Durable barcode labels are available in a range of adhesive backings and are generally categorized into aluminum barcode labels, polyester barcode labels, and ceramic barcode labels. Aluminum barcode labels are able to resist wear and tear and harsh chemicals. Polyester barcode labels have permanent industrial adhesive bonding, which ensures dependability. Ceramic barcode labels are coated with ceramics and have a stainless steel base. This type of label can withstand extreme temperature and strong acids. Durable barcode labels are also made from materials like polypropylene, polycarbonate, photo anodized aluminum, and stainless steel.

Quality of label stock, ribbon, printing technology, and barcode label programs employed are the primary factors, among many others, that determine the durability of barcode labels. Since they have the capability of printing long-lasting images on a range of materials, thermal-transfer printers are generally used to produce scratch-resistant, durable barcode labels. Sometimes laser printers and matrix impact printers coupled with the right media and ribbon technology are employed to print durable barcode labels. Many sophisticated barcode label systems and barcode label programs are available now to ensure the durability of barcode labels. However, the cost to generate durable barcode labels is exceptionally high.

Bar Code Labels provides detailed information on bar code labels, bar code label printers, bar code label software, bar code label makers and more. Bar Code Labels is affiliated with Bar Code Software.