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It’s been almost 30 years since the first grocery store used bar codes to scan in items for check out. Bar codes have changed our lives, how we buy things and how we manage our business’s.
There is a certain mystery surrounding bar codes which intimidates many people. There’s no need to be scared by bar codes. Let's eliminate that fear right now. Bar
codes generally don't contain descriptive data, (just like your name, social security number, birthday or where you live).
A bar code is a self contained message composed of bars and spaces. You can’t read a bar code by youself, you need a scanner. In it’s simplest form, bar codes are read by sweeping a
small beam of light across the bars and spaces. A computer will then translate the bars and spaces into numbers. The data in a bar code is just a number which the computer uses to
look up associated descriptive data and other information.
For example, bar codes found on food items at grocery stores don't contain the price or
description of the food item; instead the bar code has a "product number" (12 digits) in it. When read by a bar code reader and transmitted to the computer, the computer finds the
item record(s) associated with that item number. In the computer is the price, vendor name, quantity on-hand, description, etc. The computer does a "price lookup" by reading the bar
code, and then it creates a register of the items and adds the price to the subtotal of the groceries purchased. (It also subtracts the quantity from the "on-hand" total.)
Bar codes have brought speed, accuracy and reliability that was never before present in business. A & D Labels can help you print the bar codes you need. Whether it’s a UPC bar
code for you product or a variable imaged bar code for inventory control. For more information visit “What’s in a Bar Code” or “Types of Bar Codes.”
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