What is bar coding?

Bar coding is an automatic identification technology with many applications. The most visible and familiar bar codes are the symbols found on many product labels or printed on the products themselves. Each symbol consists of a series of parallel, adjacent dark bars and white spaces. Bar code computer software packages allow the user to vary the width of the bars and spaces to represent data such as the item’s identity, date received, price and so on.

To read the code, a scanning device producing an infrared or visible light is moved across the symbol. The device registers the widths and patterns of the bars and spaces and transmits them to reading equipment that translates the code into words, numbers, or other forms of information. This information can be displayed on computer monitors, such as those at a supermarket checkout counter. Data can also be transmitted to a storage location, such as a mainframe computer holding inventory records, or used with other applications.

What are the advantages of bar coding?

A well-chosen bar coding system can improve many operations by providing:

-More accurate data. Bar coding is far more precise than manual data entry.

-Faster, more efficient data input and handling. Data moves directory and immediately to a register or to storage. Eliminating manual systems saves money.

-More flexibility. A wide variety of code types, materials, and production methods are available.

-Better customer service. Complying with customer requirements builds good business relationships. Standardizing computerized information also facilitates the use of data transfer media such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).

How has bar coding developed?

Bar coding began with the effort to automate retail checkout counters. In 1932, Wallace Flint described an automated supermarket checkout counter in his master’s thesis. His system was not economically practical, but interest in retail automation began to grow. The first patent for an automatic price reading system was granted in 1949. By 1970, the grocery industry was working together to select a standard code and symbol, leading to the development of the Universal Product Code (UPC). European grocers adapted a similar code in 1976.

Today, improved computer software and hardware have made bar coding increasingly practical and economical for many industries. Numerous codes have been developed and standardized. Groups such as the Automatic Identification Manufacturers, Inc. (AIM) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) continue to coordinate efforts to produce more accurate, uniform, versatile, and easily used codes.

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