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A barcode is a scanned representation of data presented in the form of series of bars and spaces. A number of barcode standards have been developed to make organizations to perform more efficiently and accurately. Barcodes facilitates to run business operations easily, enabling the automation process in the routine tasks improving work efficiency and productivity.

• Ease of use and accuracy:
  Barcodes help to run business operations easily and accurately, without hindrances. Barcodes are commonly referred in performing the activities like label printing, video stores, work in progress, warehouse automation, point-of-sale, time and attendance, useful in Universal Product Code (UPC) etc. Barcodes are provided with appropriate hardware & software aspects that help to maximize the performance.
• Quick and effective performance:
  Barcodes helps to perform the functions quickly and effectively by coding the data into the series of black and white lines, which can be applied to packages, cartons, identification cards, and bottles. Barcodes are used to implement the Auto ID Data Capture (AIDC) systems that improve the speed and accuracy of computer data entry operations.
• Improves productivity & increase profitability:
  Barcodes improves the productivity by performing various routine activities. Using barcodes, task becomes automated, enabling personnel to perform tasks where the human element is needed, which in turn improve the human resource management. Bar coding enables companies to save the cost, which paves the way to increase the profitability by reduction in errors, improved workflow management, and easy & accurate data entry operations.
• Document management and other applications:
  Bar-coded sheets in document management tool for the separation and indexing of documents can be used in batch scanning applications. Barcodes are used as very common application in numerous ways, which involves, timely feedback operations, tracking of an item movement. Including rental cars, airline luggage, nuclear waste, mail and parcels, used on automobiles, tickets, price tags, and to develop matrix codes.

Barcodes have become an essential part of modern business. With the widespread use of barcodes, the technology behind barcodes is constantly improving to meet the new requirements. Barcodes are business-friendly, as they are relatively low cost and extremely accurate compared to manual data entry.

Source: Systemid.com

Now-a-days, barcodes are found any where, because there are various types of products, as a result many barcodes have to be used. Automate data collection is the main reason to use barcodes. Each barcode has some amount of information about products which is needed, and that information is needed to decode. Different types of device are used to read these barcodes.

There are many types of barcode labels, such as linear symbologies and stacked and matrix symbologies, composite symbologies, etc.

Linear barcode symbologies: They are most familiar and this is the most used barcode format. They have a series of parallel lines and spaces of changing width. More than 100 types of this particular type of barcode are there, 20 of them are accepted world wide. Codabar, code 39, code 128, EAN, Telepen and UPC are some of them.

Matrix symbologies: If there is a need to encode more information into much smaller spaces then it leads to creation of the stacked and matrix barcode symbologies. Aztec code, code 16k, code 49, Maxi code, super code and USS code are examples of matrix symbologies.

Composite symbologies: Composite symbologies are combinations of one dimensional and two dimensional symbologies. Composite code C, GS1 and MicroPDF417 are examples of composite bar code labels.

These are the types of labels, which can be used on different types of products. Every barcode has some information, which can be read by a type of product to know about the product. They are cost effective and as well as useful.

Barcode technology is widely used in the industries, because of its advantages such as quality and output. For getting an effective barcode one has to go with the equipment that results in many advantages like error free, developing and printing the high quality barcode labels. One has to check whether the barcodes are in co-ordinance with the standards of the required field. Inventory tracking can be done in a good manner, if the barcode scanning system is appropriate. The Barcode equipment will contain the following:

Barcode printers: Some of the labels of the barcode are being printed using the printers called as the barcode printers. They use the technologies of thermal transfer or the direct thermal technology. Many types of printers are available in the market like the desktop printers, wireless printers. For getting the quality barcodes some of the companies are producing the different types of printers.

Barcode software: The main function of this software is to create and generate the barcodes. Depending on the operating system of the company, the barcode software must be selected. The general example of the software is the barcode generator which has been associated with the wide variety of the functions of the system.

Barcode decoders: They are used for reading and translating the codes present on the barcode to common text, which can be read by all. The receiver function is the main part of the decoder and it is always included in the company’s automated system. Some of the decoders are used for the inventory control, processing the sales information, product distribution. Most commonly used decoders are the laser diode scanners and the VLD scanners.

Barcode scanners: For the payment or the processing process these scanners are used. We can generally see them at the billing counters. The information will be sent through the scanner and gets stored in the system and once the scanning process is process over the information is available at any time. Different types of scanners are laser, symbol code scanner, counter top scanners.

Barcode verifiers: These are used for verifying the barcode and check the barcodes whether they are compatibly designated with the symbology. They are used for checking whether the high output is obtained or not. They also check whether they are in the accordance with the company’s standards.

Barcode equipment is very necessary in today’s competitive market.