Article 2: Sabarcodes.co.za
BARCODES FOR PRODUCTS – UNDERSTANDING THE TECHNOLOGY If you are running any type of business-be it a grocery store, a restaurant, computer hardware store, medicines or book store in the retail channels (i.e., shopping mall, shops, stores or online), you are certainly going to need a barcode prescription for your business product. One of the ways to label these products is by using barcodes also known as Zebra tags. Every product nowadays bears barcodes on them. They represent a column wise pattern. The column is divided in different line sectioning. Every line consists of a number ranging from 0 to 9. This specifies the product stock and helps the shopkeeper to maintain the inventory of that particular item. There are also dates mentioned on the barcodes which helps the shopkeeper to identify the expiry date of the product. Now let us discuss about the four steps involved in getting a barcode for your product. Firstly, to get a barcode number allocated to your product, you need to understand few basics. Infact, no two products can have similar barcode number worldwide. The global distributor and barcode organization called GS1, issues unique numbers to all the products. You need to apply to GS1 in order to receive barcodes for products. Usually, you will receive more than one barcode number. Those numbers are forever allotted to you and you have the discretion to allot any number to any product. After receiving your unique barcode numbers, convert them into an actual image- the series of black & white bars. For conversion of barcode numbers into an image, you can either use barcode “fonts” or use software designed for the purpose. The software solution will always create higher-quality results than the fonts. Barcode Software varies in price & features. Choose only that software which is compatible & outputs a variety of graphics formats. Next step is to print the barcode into your existing labels or packaging. You may use DTP software for printing but keep in mind and be aware not to change the barcode image in anyway. Never resize a barcode image after creation. Finally, do more and more testing in order to avoid any confusion. You need to test the barcode and check that it scans properly using variety of barcode scanners. Besides, test it using various scanners to make sure that your system is really unique & top-class. Every country contains its own division of GS1 providing EAN-8, EAN, UPC and many other types of barcodes. Resellers can be found online across every nook & corner of the world. UPC numbers are 12 digits long originally from USA. Online Barcodes have fairly become standardized all over the world so numbers from any GS1 or reseller can be used in any country. Resellers often sell barcode services such as ISBN barcodes (for books), ISSN barcodes (for magazines and newspaper) and printed labels in addition to equipment as specialized barcode printers and scanners. Many organizations such as Sabarcodes.co.za specialize in providing unique GS1-registered barcode numbers to small and medium sized businesses in South Africa.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dave Hawkins is an expert when it comes to new age barcode technology. He also likes to write many interesting articles and blogs on the topic, helping people understand the basics of these systems and adapt them in their business/professional life. For barcode registration and other information, he recommends SABarcodes.co.za as the most trustworthy website. .