Code 39
Code 39 is one of the most popular barcodes on the market today. An exception is UPCs, their usage in the retail industries are very large. Code 39 is a discrete, self-checking, variable-length code. The use of its symbologies is very common in industries like electronics, healthcare, and government. Code 39 encodes 43 different upper cases alphabetic, numeric, and graphic characters plus space. Additionally, it can encode all 128 ASCII characters. The first five bars of the code match the last five. Based on this feature, you can distinguish them with ease from the other types of codes. It is worth keeping in mind that Code 39 is a low-density code that takes more space than a compact one, such as Code 28. That is why it may not be suitable for the labels of a small size. That is to say, these specific characteristics make them advantageous for particular uses and industries.
Code128
Code 128 is one of the most popular highest-density linear barcodes. They represent a good solution for products where a big amount of data is incorporated in a small amount of space. Being more compact and flexible, Code 128 serves as a good replacement for Code 39 and Interleaved 2 of 5 in warehouse and distribution applications. This is due to the continuous, self-checking and bidirectional features. Moreover, the Health industry, blood banking, and electronics manufacture are some of the fields that widely apply it. Barcode 128 classifies as a variable-length barcode. It can incorporate not only text, numbers, and a multitude of functions, but also the entire set of ASCII 128 characters. The entire code offers a total of 107 different printed “patterns”. Each character in a Code 128 symbol begins with a bar and ends with space. Based on this feature you can recognize them at a glance. Over time, manufacturers improved Code 128 to specific industry standards which makes it resistant to complex product identification.
Interleaved 2 of 5 barcode
The Interleaved 2 of 5 barcodes is an important symbology for the shipping and warehouse industries. Typically, it is printed in a low density to make it easy to scan or “read”. It is a high-density number-only barcode. The Interleaved 2 of 5 barcodes became very popular in the industry because data is encoded in both the bars and the spaces between the bars. In this way, it achieves a higher density by taking twice less space than a Code 39 barcode. The data interweaves both between the bars and the spaces. That is to say, this is where the name of “interleaved” comes from. Besides, unlike other barcodes, Interleaved 2 of 5 may also contain a frame, in the industry, retailers call it “bearer bar”. Because of the big label sizes and high speed, conveyor systems scanning may not work properly on them. But bearer bars are the perfect addition that prevents it from happening. One more industry where Interleaved 2 of 5 labels with bearer bars have a wide application is for the security badge label where the space limits are a concern.
Universal Product Code(UPC)
UPCs are 12-digit numbers used in the retail market. Originally, manufacturers created them for grocery stores to get a quick receipt and inventory tracking. Each unique product requires its UPC number from GS-1. After receiving the number, products then get their UPC barcodes. UPC barcodes have a worldwide significance at retail point-of-sale for scanning and labeling consumer goods. There are two types of UPCs. The UPC-A variation encodes 12 numerical digits, while UPC-E is a shorter version that encodes only 6 numerical digits.
International Article Number(EAN)
All booksellers, retailers, distributors, wholesalers, and universities should have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN). It assures effective traceability to the goods they are selling. The ISBN is a machine-readable identification of books, e-books, CDs, DVDs, and Software. Similar to UPC barcodes from the retail market, the ISBN is a standard that establishes a unique identifier on a publication or edition from a specific publisher.
Bookland EAN or EAN-13 is the type of barcode that you can remark on the back part of the books. The EAN consists of the ISBN tailored specifically for books. Manufacturers created their numbering system specifically to suit the book industry requirements. Even though the EAN barcodes have a lot of similarities with all those from the retail store, they are completely distinctive.
Note: For a monthly publication, it is necessary to have an International Standard Serial Number!
Two-Dimensional barcodes
PDF417
PDF417 codes are 2D barcodes that have a large application on products that require storage for a large amount of data. In industry, you can see them on products like photographs, signatures, text, fingerprints, numbers, and graphics. They can hold over 1.1 kilobytes of machine-readable data. This feature makes them much more powerful than other 2D barcodes.
QR Codes
QR (Quick Response) Codes have a large usage in tracking and marketing, such as magazines and business cards. They have a high-fault tolerance, fast-readability, are free to use, and are flexible in size.
A key feature of QR codes is that any smartphone can read them. Everything you need is a simple barcode reader application. After taking a picture of the “matrix”, your smartphone translates the code and shows you all the information the barcode contains. It is a fast and convenient solution that gives you a lot of information about the product, for example, who else sells it in your area or the product price. However, a laser scanner can not read them.
Visually, all types of 2D barcodes consist of different patterns of dots, squares, circles, hexagons, and other geometric shapes. But most of the time, they are square-shaped. Their capacity to incorporate a huge amount of data in a small amount of space is giving them more popularity in the industry.
Unlike linear barcodes, two-dimensional barcodes have an error correction feature. This specific feature lets you scan the barcode even though it has slight damages.
Data Matrix
Data Matrix codes are 2D barcodes used to label small items, goods, and documents. Similar to QR codes, they have high-fault tolerance and fast readability. Data Matrix can store about 2000 characters.