Best Barcode Editing Software – Types of Barcodes You Can Create

Every product we purchase is recorded in a shop or seller’s inventory and this isn’t just about the number of items they sold out. You should know that every manufacturer prepares a barcode that can be scanned for price and other details. This is indeed the setting that we usually observe when we’re purchasing from supermarkets or shopping malls.

But if you’re an entrepreneur and have a small business, do you think having such codes in your products is possible? Well, we have tools, such as Bartender starter edition barcode software from Seagull Scientific and you may produce them for your companies. All you need is to design and print them with color, thermal, and laser label printers.

With this type of editing software, you can easily come up with ideal codes that are specifically tailored to your brand. This means that your products can be more distinguished in the business industry since you’re following such standards. Therefore, let’s find out more about what these barcodes are that you can produce out of this software.

What’s a barcode?

This is usually designed with vertical bars or lines of different heights and thicknesses, as well as, spaces. You can also find here numbers and characters that optical machines scan for a certain value. We scan this because it identifies a certain product so we retrieve information from the codes.

It contains a quiet zone or blank margin at one end of the code. You’ll find a start or stop character. We also have the symbol check character which is a digit to find out if this is correct.

This could be one-dimensional which is the commonly used format since scanners can easily read them. The other type is two-dimensional, such as QR codes. UPC or Universal Product Code is used in the United States, while we have EAN or European Article Number in Europe – see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcode for further reading.

How it works?

A certain pattern of bars is used in encoding information. A scanner will read them as images and once detected, would be translated into readable data. Before a specific machine was used in reading the image but today it’s already possible using our smartphones.

The first stage it has to undergo is data entry which has something to do with product details, such as price, weight, manufacture date, etc. These are encoded through software installed on your computer, where you’ll generate a barcode. 

Symbology is the next step where you’re going to program the encoded data into a desired barcode. Symbologies represent coded language that is verified by the ISO or International Organization for Standardization.

How do barcodes differ?

• Designed in different sizes which only scanning machines can determine.
• Alphanumeric characters used vary in capacity.
• Linearity or length of area to scan.
• Checksum or check digits for verifying data. 

What do these numbers mean?

Be reminded that these numbers are unique and specifically coded for each product. We usually have 12 numbers based on a UPC-A standard coding.

The first number, such as 0,1,6,7, and 8 refers to system identifiers that help in classifying product categories. Items weighed can be identified by 2, while 3 for health-related items, and we have 4 for non-food-related products. Lastly, 5 and 9 are for coupons.

After identifying the first number, you’ll find codes for manufacturers followed by their products. The last digit is usually for checksum.

Advertisement

Why do we use them?

Well, we’re in the digital era, thus, everything is going high-tech. It’s time to move on and live in a world filled with advanced technology. 

If you’re going to a supermarket, then would you choose a traditional or innovative means of calculating your expenditures? With POS using these encryptions, cashiers can minimize errors. This means that there’ll be fewer chances of filing complaints.

Types 

There are several ways of generating a symbology for small businesses. This will also depend on what tool or editing software you’re using. That’s because these tools come with diverse features.

• 128

This is derived from ASCII codes with 128 features, such as 0-9, A-Z, a-z, and other special characters. It comes with a starting, data, mod check digit, and stop characters.

They’re widely used when it comes to packaging, distributing, as well, as shipping items. This powerful set of characters is ideal in numerous trading industries. With this, you can optimize the length through automatic conversion settings – click this for more info.

• Universal Product 

These are originally designed for supermarkets so that the store for fast inventory tracking and receipt printing. We have a total of 12 digits that can be used for coding. Here, each product will be assigned a unique UPC for identification purposes. 

An item can be assigned through GS1 or the Global Standards Organization which was previously called Uniform Code Council. You can apply directly if this is what you need using your editing software since it would be in the feature.

By the way, you may also use this tool to create labels. You just need to set things up using the software, design them based on your preferences, and print everything.

• Quick Response

QR is the most popular nowadays because it can be used in a wide range of applications. For example, if you’d like to pay online, you can scan this two-dimensional image, instead of your cash or VISA card. Even new packaging of products today is already printed with this, though most of the scanning devices aren’t upgraded so they can’t read them yet.

Since this is trending, most manufacturers and businesses are also finding a way to incorporate the QR into their systems. Thus, we can say that it’s a part of their marketing strategy as well. That’s because you find relevant information about a certain product by scanning this image.

Accessibility is one great feature that every consumer wants. Let’s say that it can lead you to a wide range of applications, too. This is why, it would be great if we could also incorporate this since we have editing software to use.