Talk:Barcode/Archive 1

Reword Symbologies section
Symbologies section, Continuous vs. discrete should maybe be reworded? "Abut" is a word I did not know existed (until now :). It's a bit hard to understand for a non-english speaker. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Brainheart (talk • contribs) 17:11, 21 October 2004 (UTC)

Redirects
a lot of the links on this page should have their redirects (back to barcode) removed. If the articles don't exist, they should just not exist, instead of redirecting back to barcode. — Preceding unsigned comment added by WhiteDragon (talk • contribs) 20:54, 18 February 2005 (UTC)

Open source decode software
Is there open source software to decode 1D barcodes? The page mentions encoders, but decoders would be interesting as well. hbf 15:24, 21 May 2005 (UTC)

Image vandalism
Image needs fixing — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ksg (talk • contribs) 15:32, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

Decoding with cameras
Some more information about decoding barcodes using camera input, so this can grow into a real article

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Cheezycrust (talk • contribs) 15:28, 1 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Scanbuy - decoding using a camera phone, pda or webcam (they have patents pending)
 * Wired article - talks about other companies that offer this service
 * Delicious Library - a book, movie, CD... cataloging program that can use webcam input (includes a screenshot)

DavidCary
 * (moved to article) — Preceding unsigned comment added by User: (talk • contribs) 22:29, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

Article needs major rewrite/revision
This article is lacking some standard encyclopedic information like 'History of Barcodes', 'Uses and applications' etc. and the images are not used to good effect as well. Some of the article comprises of information that should go to the Barcode reader article.

Some sections like Types of Barcodes and references are quite comprehensive though, but that isn't generally (much) useful for someone reading this article just to get an idea about what a barcode is.

The external links section looks like something that needs to be trimmed every once in a while because of recurring linkspam. Sheehan (Talk) 14:23, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Reduces shoplifting?
"This greatly helps in keeping track of the large number of items in a store and also reduces instances of shoplifting."

How do barcodes reduce the instances of shoplifting? Is maybe someone confusing barcodes with RFID tags? Yelocab 17:15, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

OK, I'm thinking maybe the author meant that it reduced the instances of shoplifting in the form of switching price tags???Yelocab 19:06, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Changed to fraud as it helps prevent this Gnevin 23:22, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Interleaved
What is interleaved?? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.203.94.172 (talk) 10:47, 3 May 2003 (UTC)


 * I see that interleaved 2 of 5 uses a kind of interleaving. Does that answer your question? Is there anything confusing in the article? --DavidCary 22:29, 1 December 2005 (UTC)


 * I've added a short explanation for interleaving, and fixed the link for interleaved 2 of 5, which used to point to plain old boring 2 of 5, despite there being a specific entry which is of much better use. Not too sure if the explanation is Ok - it's a simple idea, but strangly hard to explain without an example. chapper80 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chapper80 (talk • contribs) 01:17, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

2D barcodes
Do you think a seperate article is needed for 2D barcodes? --WhiteDragon 01:14, 30 Apr 2004 (UTC)


 * no, they are also barcodes. I have clarified the issue of 2-D barcodes since they were perhaps not well understood by the previous authors. Sbwoodside 22:37, 19 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * I say Yes, although they are based on the same technology (using black and white to create 0's and 1's),

you cannot use a 1D scanner on a 2D barcode. The inherent 2D design is an improvement of the original concept and should have 1D as part of its history. There are multiple 2D symbologies, and I feel enough difference to warrant its own page. Joseadamflores 08:29, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

So, is a matrix code just one type of 2d barcode, or are all 2d barcodes also matrix codes? This is not very clear, as the matrix code stub more or less dupiclates the 2d barcode section of this article. Either this article needs a lot more work, or we need a proper 2d barcode/matrix code article to help clarify things.Zubari 19:09, 2004 Oct 2 (UTC)
 * Matrix codes are a subset of 2d barcodes, which are a strict subset of barcodes. So {matrix codes, stacked codes} are members of the set "2d barcodes", I think that those are the two main types of 2d codes. I didn't noticed the matrix code article before; it should more accurately be called "matrix barcode". Sbwoodside 21:33, 2 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Red dotted barcodes on royal mail letters
Does anyone know how to decode these it looks like some sort of RM4SCC (Ive started a page on that) but what does it mean ? why is it so long ? --Dacs 22:59, 17 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Could you show us a picture of one of these barcodes? --68.0.120.35 16:14, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

External links removal
I suggest that we seriously reduce the external link section. We can link to pages in DMOZ and the Google Directory that list barcode-related sites. The current long list of external links is totally subjective and prone to linkspam. If we list one person's barcode generator, how can we prevent listing all of them? Wikipedia isn't Google. If people want to find free barcode software, they can use Google to search for it.

Before making such a big deletion, I am inviting comments, and will abide by the consensus. Jehochman 16:52, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

Voting
I vote to delete virtually all external links, moving any that should be references to the References section. Jehochman 16:52, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
 * I could see how the external link section could get out of hand. Right now it covers a lot of useful ground. I vote keep. TomCerul 17:00, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

I vote to keep the external links because there are many informative sites there. user: wyndworks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wyndworks (talk • contribs) 15:39, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

Link rationalization
I am sorry if I've deleted your favorite link. This is not an ideal solution. I'd prefer to get rid of most of the external links, but since there is no apparent support for that, I've just done my best to edit the lists, keeping those links that are useful, and removing those that aren't. I did visit very link before editing to see what was on the target page.

I've removed obvious commercial promotion, links to inferior quality resources, and links to resources that are not unique. Example: If a barcode free barcode font is available on 50 different web sites, do we allow all 50 to list? Of course not. People who want free barcode fonts can easily find them through Google. Jehochman 06:49, 12 December 2005 (UTC)


 * Hi, I'm new to Wiki but intend to plug a few gaps which I have noticed in the barcode sections. Before I do this could I get some clarification on this issue of external links. I have an open source barcode creating project which I intend to expand until I can no longer find any more symbologies I can legally include. I believe it already includes more symbologies than any other open source project. Take a look at http://rjstuart.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/zint/index.html. My main motivation behind the project is purely as a distraction (I work in a hospital and find it a good way to unwind), but my hope is that it could become a one-stop resource for programmers to show how a variety barcodes can be generated in practice, and hopefully to allow them to cut and paste chunks of code into their own applications. Obviously there are programs already linked to on Wikipedia which do some of what my program does, and there are some things which my program does which are not covered by programs already linked to. So what rules should I follow if I want to add external links to my code? --Hooper114 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hooper114 (talk • contribs) 19:47, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

How are they made
how are barcodes made? there made from machines and i think its cool how they know how to make new barcodes because its to confusing to me. Smoothie123 15:58, 27 April 2007 (UTC)smoothie123


 * Machines (printers) print bar codes. People or computer programs tell the printer what to print based on the rules of the code and the data desired.  The rules are generated by a person based on his/her ability to invent them, hopefully, but not always, based on printer tolerance and wand or scanner accuracy’s.   Machines (wands or scanners) then read the barcode, hopefully based on the rules used to invent the code.  This last step can easily be ignored, due to poor documentation, lost history or bad intuition, resulting in read failure.  Intuition alone does not work with bar codes because machines do not “see” or “think” like people.  The obvious failed in 1970 when the inferior Delta B code was invented as an improvement over the superior Delta A code. UPCMaker 13:54, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

At last, a printed reference on barcodes!
We would do well to include a citation to David Weinberger's book:. See pages 107-111.

The irony is that some of Weinberger's own sources are the same self-published web sites we've been resorting to here, for lack of anything better! Here are his references on barcodes: Weinberger has some additional references on the adoption of the Universal Product Code in supermarkets during the 80s. EdJohnston 22:07, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
 * http://www.basics.ie/History.htm
 * An excerpt from this article is provided as History.htm on the above web site.
 * http://www.adams1.com/pub/russadam/history.html
 * http://bellsouthpwp.net/l/a/laurergj/upc/index.html. George Laurer was the inventor of the UPC. This web site also has a pointer to his self-published book, "Engineering was Fun", which includes a chapter on the origins of the UPC.
 * http://www.uc-council.org/upc_background.html

Missing information
This page is great on the technical detail, but some crucial things are missing (which should probably come before the technical detail): — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tarquin (talk • contribs) 18:58, 6 July 2003 (UTC)
 * what are they used for?
 * who devised them, and when?

how are barcodes made? how does the soft ware know how to make different bar codes with many lines? it really interesting but confusing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Smoothie123 (talk • contribs) 15:54, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

I hope I won't be considered a vandal for removing the "how are barcodes made" section. It simply contained no information and only served to confuse and to lessen the value of the article as a whole. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.197.132.232 (talk) 13:41, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

Openbarcodes Project
Somebody has removed the link to the Openbarcodes project twice, without explanation except to say that the page was a "Spam link to useless site", which it clearly is not. I think the link is legitimate but I am happy to discuss it here. The Openbarcodes site is rather ugly and the English is poor but the content is excelent. It has GPLed fonts for multiple bar codes (including EAN13), generators in Visual Basic, Excel Macros, Openoffice Macros and other programming languages (also all GPLed) along with detailed technical information about how the bar codes work. I have spent hours looking for free barcode software and fonts and this is the best I found by a long margin. I am not aware of anything else comparable. I think the page meets all the requirements for a legitimate and relevant link. I can't see how it can possibly be "spam" when the content is GPLed. What does everybody else think? --DanielRigal (talk) 16:40, 11 December 2007 (UTC)


 * The link was removed again with a comment that fails to explain the nature of the objection. The comment is "This link is useless and available all over the web. This looks like a daily problem". I don't understand this. The page has useful barcode fonts and software on it (which I have used and which do work). As far as I am aware there is no other GPL or FOSS sources of barcode fonts and software which is as comprehensive, and I have spent a lot of time looking! If I am wrong then all anybody has to do is demonstrate that other, better, sources exist. There is also information about the encodings, although I agree that this is available elsewhere. I have invited the person responsible to discuss their objections here. In the meantime, what does everybody else think? I won't keep adding the link back if there is a consensus that it is bad but I would like to hear it from more than one person and I would like to know why. --DanielRigal (talk) 16:01, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Well, here's my opinion. I haven't deleted this link, but after looking this site over, I think I would delete it if it appears again. I don't see that this link enhances the article in any way. The English is atrocious, the site is badly organized, and there isn't really any information there that illuminates the article. It's clearly a hobby site created by one person, and as such, it doesn't qualify as a resource for a Wikipedia article. Wikipedia isn't the venue to generate publicity for such a site. =Axlq (talk) 16:38, 17 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Thanks for replying. At last we can discuss this. The English is only bad because the author is French. As far as I know this site is the only one with a significant collection of bar code software implementations which are open source. I feel that this makes it de-facto notable because it is the best source for anybody looking to obtain bar code software source, whether to use or to learn from. I am completely unconnected with the site itself. I am simply somebody who found it after hours of searching and being messed about by web sites which claimed to offer "free barcodes" but didn't. This was the only site which delivered what it promised and, unless there are any better sources, I think it is a worthwhile site to link to. I see that the reverter has done so again and has not bothered to explain himself again. Even if he was right to remove the link, I regard this as impolite and unhelpful. I will not put the link back for the time being. I would like to hear more people's views. --DanielRigal (talk) 17:03, 17 December 2007 (UTC)


 * The article already links to The Open Directory Project (dmoz.org) page on barcodes, which contains many related links, so there is no need to highlight one specific site in this article. I notced the Openbarcodes Project wasn't listed there, so I submitted it. That's a more appropriate place. =Axlq (talk) 03:53, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

"Two types" of barcode scanner?
The article cites two types, COM and USB, with an advantage of USB being that the text (returned by the barcode reader) is simply entered into an active textbox in the app which has focus. I use a barcode scanner which plugs inline with a PS/2 keyboard, and works the same way. It does not require a custom-coded COM interface, but neither is it USB. Perhaps "Serial" is a better way to describe the "USB" type. Haakondahl (talk) 10:42, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Messy lead section
The lead section was exceptionally messy when viewed in either Firefox or Opera (web browser). In Internet Explorer it was a bit better—probably "as intended" by someone—but still too messy I think. If someone could fix the second point that would be a great help, and maybe some discussion is warrented for the third. Quietbritishjim (talk) 13:58, 13 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I removed the tag that forced the TOC to the right hand side. This tag seems like a bad idea even on a page with no right-hand images; on a page like this one that does, it seems like a _really_ bad idea.  This made a signifcant improvement.
 * (not in IE) The two side-by-side images are alongside the image before them instead of beneath it. I fiddled around but I can't figure out how to fix it (removing the "FixHTML" template, whose function I don't understand, didn't seem to make any difference to the preview so I left it in place).
 * In my view there are too many right hand images, even if the previous point was fixed. I think the first one and the two side-by-side should stay, and the other two deleted or moved elsewhere in the article.

Giant billboard barcode
I took this picture File:Shibuya-giant-barcode.jpg of a giant barcode in Japan. People may point their cellphone's camera at it to access the website whose URL is coded in the barcode, even from across the street. Please include it in the article if you find it could illustrate another use of barcodes. Nicolas1981 (talk) 11:53, 27 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Did it, with an even bigger barcode. Nicolas1981 (talk) 11:25, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

Vandalism
yet more vandalism gone... fun fun fun. keep a look out ppl. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Haggis (talk • contribs) 10:24, 15 December 2004 (UTC)

Jordin Johansin isn't an inventor. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.65.96.202 (talk) 23:16, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Table headings
The table titled "Linear barcodes" has two columns each headed with the alternatives that the column can contain (Cont/Disc; Two/Many). This is meaningless and unhelpful. What is the information given in the columns? The columns need to be renamed accordingly. &mdash; 217.46.147.13 (talk) 12:33, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

The term used by ISO
I found that the term used by ISO is not consistent

http://www.iso.org/iso/search.htm?qt=barcode&searchSubmit=Search&sort=rel&type=simple&published=on

http://www.iso.org/iso/search.htm?qt=bar+code&searchSubmit=Search&sort=rel&type=simple&published=on

so that the section of Standardization is added --222.64.213.156 (talk) 09:17, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

2 improvements
One there should be a disadvantages part of this page, I work in a chemical store at UConn this semester I had to do a physical inventory of the entire building, I cant tell you how bad the bar code system was with damaged tags, also I notice that few if any libraries use bar codes, but many do use RFID tags, bar codes can only store numbers, not other information, so they require a dedicated network to link the number with information, RFID tags can store important information independently of a network which makes them more universial

On a separate note I think there should be a "popular culture" section, Bar codes are often seen as exemplifying modern impersonality. They are often depicted as being tattooed onto people in a kind of future dystopia, It might be kind of hard to pin but I'm sure there are some pictures or something, just a thought —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.120.182.253 (talk) 06:46, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

To or Many ?!
What the hack is this good for if the same row show also entries like "one" or "tall" ? cu AssetBurned (talk) 09:09, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

Built-in software
"Most mobile phones have built in software for 2D barcodes"

Is it really true? What is the use? With so many different formats for the 2D barcode, it will be real messy. At least the manuals do not mention them! Ck.mitra (talk) 04:44, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Last line 2nd paragraph
Look at the source, the costs listed don't match the cited material. it should read 1/2 cent and 7 cents, instead it reads 70 cents I would change it but for some the protections of this won't let me. Wikipedia is cool but I think this permissions thing defeats the point. Soyloquequieres (talk) 05:38, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Recommendations for Good article status
1. Get rid of the red links. There aren't that many. Either create an article with a bit useful information and a reference for each wiki link, or leave it as normal text until someone else gets around to creating the article and linking it.

2. Move the lists in the 'Types of barcodes' section into their own pages. Give instead a link to that page and a couple of brief examples for each type. (Shortens the article, adds readability)

3. Change passive voice sentences into active voice sentences as is appropriate for a technical article.

Otherwise, I believe this article is pretty much there. I'm looking forward to the nomination phase (and approval ofcourse). Daydreamer302000 (talk) 07:54, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Disappearing text on Google
Has anyone noticed? What does this mean? 89.249.0.170 (talk) 07:59, 7 October 2009 (UTC)


 * It's just a Google Doodle Easter egg. To quote from Wikipedia's Google page, "Google also routinely modifies its logo in accordance with various holidays or special events throughout the year, such as Christmas, Mother's Day, or the birthdays of various notable individuals." Editors of Wikipedia, prepare for the flood of hits on this page today, thanks to Google's logo and "I'm feeling lucky" feature! We need to watch out for vandalism because there are going to be an unusually high number of hits for this article today. —Lowellian (reply) 08:23, 7 October 2009 (UTC)


 * make sure that noone adds the google logo to the article. its the logo of a website, it has no notability whatsoever and doesnt belong in an encyclopedia. LightSpeed (talk) 08:59, 7 October 2009 (UTC)


 * I really wonder... why some people just like to make a mountain out of a molehill? To quote amongst other things, Nikola Tesla and Fourth of July were all featured on Google's frontpage before... why did it took so long for the ANON IP to noticed this? Sheesh! --Dave1185 (talk) 10:45, 7 October 2009 (UTC)


 * It's not very nice to sheesh at people like that.
 * I think what she/he is asking is what does Google's barcode mean. What does it spell out? Is there perhaps someone here who is good at reading barcodes?
 * 193.150.248.6 (talk) 11:05, 7 October 2009 (UTC)
 * First off, this is an article discussion page and not a forum page, so if you wanna talk about something that was posted on Google and not related in anyway to the article page here, then you should damn well know that this is hardly the place to do that. Or else, what's MySpace, FaceBook and Twitters for? Sheesh! If you can't get your bearing and you need one, this is hardly the place to get it too. kapish? --Dave1185 (talk) 13:45, 7 October 2009 (UTC)
 * According to it just encodes the word Google  Captain n00dle  T/C 11:10, 7 October 2009 (UTC)
 * I have one issue in the USE section related to the Google comment, it is inappropriate and it is injecting advertisement for Google into this page. Googles replacement for the 57th celebration would not be characterized as a "USE" of a barcode.  This should be removed or moved to a trivia section. Svenelven (talk) 15:44, 7 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Is Google's doodle really worth mentioning in the article? As the person before stated are all google's doodles mentioned in their articles?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.5.185.254 (talk) 17:27, 7 October 2009 (UTC)
 * It's not. See WP:Recentism Relaxing (talk) 17:32, 7 October 2009 (UTC)
 * These people failed to see the irrelevence, even after my mention was made publicly clear per my above statements. Correct me if I'm wrong but those irrelevences, as I've said before, are best left on social networking or forum pages, Wikipedia is hardly the right (or the left one) place to raise such notes. --Dave1185 (talk) 17:58, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Certain questions not addressed
Whilst there was a lot of great info in this article, I feel that it seems to flit between extremely basic and extremely technical information, and leaves a lot of questions unanswered for the average reader who is simply interested in learning a bit more about the technology. For example:

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.161.67.166 (talk • contribs) 03:05, 3 August 2006 (UTC).
 * 1) Does the barcode itself actually store data about the item - or is it purely a reference code for an external database?
 * 2) Approximately how much information can be stored in an average barcode? Is there a bits-per-inch estimation?
 * 3) If I was looking to implement barcoding in my business or hobby, how would I decide on a format?


 * Barcodes are just short pieces of information. How they are used is up to the application. In most applications they would be used as an ID code to look up the information in some sort of database.
 * There is no "average" barcode. The articles on the individual types of barcodes should include how much information is encoded. e.g the UPC barcode used worldwide on product packaging "encodes twelve decimal digits".
 * If you were a business, you probably wouldn't be the one making that decision. You would buy a system from a supplier and let them handle it. For a hobby, that's entirely different. I suggest you start by looking at what barcode readers are available and what codes they can read.
 * --Imroy 09:13, 3 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Some barcode symbologies can encode alpha-numeric characters, some are numeric only. Most 1D barcodes store a number that is used in a relational database to lookup other information assigned to that number.  So the only information stored in most 1D barcodes is a type of item, or unique identifier number.  2D barcodes on the other hand can store much more data in a fixed space.  It is possible to encode much more information in 2D barcodes than a 1D barcode occupying the same space.
 * A 1D barcode encodes the data using a series of line and spaces of different thickness. Different symbologies use different combinations to encode data. A linear measurement is not an accurate measure of data, because the data is encoded depending on the ratio thinnest line and space and the thickest line and space. So long as that ratio is maintained it does not matter how wide the thinnest line or space is so long as the other lines and spaces are proportional to them.
 * Most businesses use barcodes for inventory control. You scan X number items in when you receive a shipment, and deduct 1 from your inventory when ever you sell it.  Barcodes are also used for shipping and recieving.  You pack a box of goods to be sold at a retailer.  You assign a Unique ID number, and relate it to the contents of the box. Electronically you notify the store that will sell your goods of all of the shipments you sent.  When the store receives the box they scan the barcode with the UID and they will know what the content of the box is, how much it sells for, and who to send the check to.

As far as a hobby goes, I have seen several artists make "Barcode Art". Otherwise, I see no real reason to incorporate barcodes in to hobbies.
 * Joseadamflores —Preceding undated comment added 07:59, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Might also be fun to briefly mention controversy in conspiracy-nut circles about this being the "mark of the beast" due to the three guard bars resembling the bars for "6" (so, it is claimed, there is a "hidden" 666 in each barcode). Some people out there think barcodes will be stamped on their hands and foreheads as part of a new cashless society because of this (at least, this was the case in the 1980's when it seems such interest peaked). Went so far as to claim that there was a big computer in Europe used to track people with this technology, knick-named "The Beast" by its creators. Probably could be linked with an interesting psychology article on why people feel the need to believe the world is a sinister place and how they are an elite who have been smart enough to figure it all out (life can be bad enough as it is without having to invent more of it, to cite D.Adams). Quite a few books were published in the 80's and presumably are not sold anymore (as nothing happened as predicted - or were they simply amended to have later dates for their "prophecies" than the first editions?) [PEC] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.92.114.154 (talk) 00:04, 7 October 2009 (UTC)


 * Something which I've take for fact for a couple of years, and now (trough google's barcode-doodle day) find is not addressed in the WP article. I still occasionally spot the assertion that the guard bars encode the number 666. (BTW, "conspiracy-nut circles"? what, you mean bible readers? layman trying to decode binary codes? or greedy novelists targeting gullible bible readers ;))
 * Anyway, given the cultural (or should I say religious) significance, I at least expected a mention in the trivia section or so.. Even more I expected a line or two since I just tried for the first time, and I cannot make 101 or 01010 into a six in either UPC, EAN or even by interpreting as plain binary! Perhaps some novelist would care to explain.. *grin*
 * In closing, from what I glanced at WP, the encoding process is hardly a 1 number on 1 symbol translation anyway.. there goes the credibility of 'quite a few books'.. which, in my mind, would make it worthwile to mention on WP. Mpe (talk) 21:11, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Johanson
I've removed the reference to Jordin Johanson working on the barcode with Silver and Woodland. It was added by an IP on 7/7/08 revision history. A search throws up nothing more than a bunch of mirrors (and an associated content mention as of today) which makes me think that it was nothing more than unnoticed vandalism. The patent, minus Johanson, can be seen here feel free to revert if this is an error. --ImGz ( t/c ) 20:56, 7 October 2009 (UTC)
 * It looks like this info has been added as far back as 07 revision history. Also by an IP is this edit to User talk:Karpenko's talk page which says the mention of the name was an experiment. --ImGz ( t/c ) 21:48, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Links
Words occuring in this article should link to the proper wiki page if there is one. Example: Drexel should link to Drexel University: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drexel_University Lacho.k (talk) 22:53, 7 October 2009 (UTC) Lacho

Benefits of using barcodes?
Apart from reliability, the current benefits section doesn't actually give benefits of using barcodes. The bullets all relate to the benefits of having point-of-sale management data. I think this should be changed to talk about things like the speed and reliability advantages of automatically inputting or outputting data using bar codes, versus manually processing it or using some other marking technology (RFID, magnetic strips, etc.) It could also give a cost comparison between the technologies. I've not changed anything, since I'm not personnally aware of a verifiable source of this kind of information. JRI 12:13, 4 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Barcodes work because a scanner bounces a light (usually a visible laser) off of it and the black lines (low reflectance) and the white lines (high reflectance) back to a photo detector that registers the highs and lows as 0's and 1's. The computer then displays the ascii equivalent on a screen for us to understand.  While the transaction doesn't quite work at the speed of light, it is much faster than having someone read a product number and manually type that number in.  Point of Sale benefits greatly from Barcodes, but inventory control is also a big factor in business barcoding.  Not to mention that the shipping industry uses barcodes to help route your package to your door.  If they didn't, they wouldn't be any faster than the post office.

Joseadamflores 08:16, 30 March 2007 (UTC)


 * The US Post Office uses postnet bar code. 173.9.10.235 (talk) 20:07, 3 November 2009 (UTC)

Uncomfortable
i didn't like the line about barcodes being an "essential" part of modern civilization...... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.135.200.59 (talk • contribs) 19:51, 21 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Then you don't understand that every product you purchse from a major retailer requires barcodes to automate everything from shipping and recieving of the product to the inventory of and sale of each individual item. Having someone manually track and enter the information that is now encoded in barcodes would add significant labor thus increasing the price of the products we purchase. Joseadamflores 07:12, 30 March 2007 (UTC)joseadamflores

How about changing 'essential' to 'integral' or similar? Kalleguld (talk) 08:37, 11 June 2010 (UTC)

Railroad freight-car bar code history
Railroad freight-car coding used horizontal arrays of comparatively-large retroreflective colored panels, and apparently worked beautifully, at first. Unfortunately, the panels became dirty, and reading reliability apparently declined so badly that the scheme was abandoned. There is no facility for washing freight cars, so the scheme became sad history. I remember seeing these, and they were quite attractive-looking. They might have used eight, possibly a few more colors. Regards, Nikevich (talk) 06:33, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

Should mention that RFID is likely to replace barcodes as a natural evolution
Should mention that RFID is likely to replace barcodes as a natural evolution —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jmgomez (talk • contribs) 22:47, 7 October 2009 (UTC)


 * Do it if you can find REALLY GOOD sources for it. I do not believe it is true, because, RFID is so much more expensive technology, compared to barcodes. -Yyy (talk) 09:20, 8 October 2009 (UTC)


 * Yrs trly is a retired life-long electronic technician. The cost of printing a bar code is not likely to ever be the same or greater than that of the cost of an RFID tag any time soon, although in a few decades, it might be practical (although still incrementally more costly) to print an entire tag. I'm not playing favorites, just well aware of the technology; I rather like RFID, and fare cards that use it (I do) are peachy. (Our local bank stopped issuing RFID-enabled debit cards, though. I received one that was totally dead.)
 * Checkpoint™ and Sensormatic™ are two anti-theft systems that have done quite well to minimize the cost of the "tag" on the merchandise. Each Sensormatic™ capsule contains a strip of "metallic-glass" hybrid magnetic material for geeks to have fun with. (It's the shiny, springy one.) Regards, Nikevich (talk) 06:26, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

Intro has been modified and sounds poorly written and sounds like an add from a competitor. Also reference [2] is broken. specifically "It costs under 0.5¢ (U.S.) to provide a barcode. It wasn't until late 2008 when the barcode began getting its first significant challenge in the retail industry from radio frequency identification or RFID specifically passive Radio Frequency Identification RFID in 2011 costs about 5¢ to 15¢ per tag.[1]. RFID is seen as the clear replacement to bar code since it is an order of magnitude more productive allowing scans of thousands at a time[2]. In 2010 a Korean company successfully printed a chip and inlay onto paper substrate and predicted a 3 cent tag by 2012[3]"128.250.5.247 (talk) 13:25, 10 March 2011 (UTC)

The actual development shows that RFID is partly beeing replaced by 2D Codes like DataMatrix and QR-Code. In industrial applications such codes can be printed serialized. These applications use industrial ink-jet printers with a 300 or 600 dpi resolution. The price for cosumables is one US$ 40 cartridge for 100.000 to 200.000 codes (2011). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.219.57.241 (talk) 19:37, 21 May 2011 (UTC)

"Use" section
I rewrote the "use" section from a list into prose, as per the directive of the little message above it (what are those called?). I just want to draw attention to the fact that it could still use some work; pretty much all I've done is arrange the original listed items into paragraphs with some conjunctions. Zhoulikan (talk) 05:48, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

Coke can error
The barcode on the Coke can is shaped like a Coke bottle, not like a can. Was unable to find edit text to correct this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.21.54.229 (talk) 14:53, 16 April 2012 (UTC)

Spelling
Isn't it spelled in two words: bar code ? the free dictionary (Călușaru&#39; (talk) 12:09, 10 February 2013 (UTC))
 * It's spelled both ways: bar code and barcode. Glrx (talk) 15:59, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

John Esserian
In 1970 John Esserian demonstrated a working bar-code system. See: various puiblication references in: http://www.aidc100.org/files/Memoirs-Esserian.pdf For historical completeness I should think Esserian's development should be mentioned in this article. Frankatca (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 02:07, 26 January 2014 (UTC)

Chewing Gum
Why exactly do we care if the first article scanned was a packet of chewing gum, a car's half-axle, or a shipment of cocaine? Not to mention the purported name of the clerk and the time of the day. Sounds like completely useless trivia to me, however it appears three times in the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.228.32.196 (talk) 18:07, 23 March 2014 (UTC)

I do care enough to be happy that the information appears once, and to have the names of those who did it: it personalises a moment in history, and I'm glad of that. But, yes, more than once would be overkill. AdventurousMe (talk) 00:36, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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Bill Nye for National Science Foundation
Suggested file to add to this article. &mdash; Cirt (talk) 16:57, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

First sentence of "Use" section
Does the first sentence of the "Use" section really need a citation? I think that the fact that most products available at a grocery store have barcodes is self-evident, so I don't really see the need for the citation needed tag. Does anyone mind if I take that off? JMike93 (talk) 20:47, 4 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Grabbing the nearest barcoded thing next to me (a PC magazine) I see that it has an EAN 2 barcode, pretty similar to the UPC. Which is most popular world-wide? I've no idea. Do pencils in India and Nigeria have barcodes? No idea. I think the claim "most items ... now have UPC barcodes" does indeed need evidence. Batternut (talk) 21:07, 4 March 2016 (UTC)
 * I see your point, . I missed that the last part of the sentence specified that most products have UPC codes specifically. EAN is definitely the most popular worldwide, in any case. IF the UPC part is removed, the claim becomes "Most items other than fresh produce from a grocery store now have barcodes," which is probably the point the original author was trying to make, and is more accurate. JMike93 (talk) 21:48, 4 March 2016 (UTC)

Tax forms 2D
The use of 2D barcodes on state tax forms in the US is proliferating, for various associated purposes. The article has so much scope to cover that I don't know how much it should be saying about this general subject of evolving official uses. But it might be appropriate to mention the specific example of use on submitted US state tax return printouts, and say what specific 2D coding is in use.-71.174.176.65 (talk) 22:07, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

Spelling should be "bar-code"
The Oxford English Dictionary does not have a listing for "barcode" but instead does for "bar-code" (See http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/15349?redirectedFrom=barcode#eid28012377). I recommend the spelling be universally adopted as per the OED. Thoughts on this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Edwinhermann (talk • contribs) 02:53, 3 May 2016


 * Searching on google (FWIW, their stats are pretty fictional!), "bar-code" gets 15m hits but "barcode" gets 71m hits. However, just searching books produces hit-counts (or hitcounts?) of 131k for "barcode" and 228k for "bar-code". Narrowing further to books printed since last January, "bar-code" gets 35 hits, "barcode" gets 71. I'd say that "barcode" is overtaking "bar-code". Batternut (talk) 06:32, 3 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Oppose. Barcode is common. Google("bar-code") produces first hits using "barcode" rather than "bar-code". GS1 uses "barcode", and secondary source GS1 is a better authority than tertiary OED. (GS1 also uses "bar code" which I consider more common than "bar-code".) Glrx (talk) 17:12, 7 May 2016 (UTC)

666 Outrage - Date?
This smacks very much of an internet-era moral outrage -- can we find any solid contemporary evidence of this controversy dating back to the early days of the bar code? Eg: a news report from a bona fide newspaper / a pastor's sermon in his local mag / etc. AdventurousMe (talk) 00:38, 10 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Yes, in fact the solid evidence was mentioned in the linked source. A book in 1982 titled The New Money System 666 by Mary Stewart Relfe sparked the debate. I added this information to the article. We could consider adding additional sources if needed, as mentioned in the original source. Relfe's "discovery" is repeated in many publications touching the mark of the beast within fifteen years of her publication, including Bob Fraley's 1984 book The Last Days in America and Terry Cook's 1996 book The Mark of the New World Order. Antiaverage (talk) 16:05, 23 September 2016 (UTC)

Barcode history
Barcodes were introduced in the UK by J Sainsbury in 1971, well before the UPC came into being. In an article in the Sainsbury house journal of August 1972 an article describes the system which by then had been implemented in about one hundred stores and was being extended into all 250. This happened over the following two years and the system was a resounding success. A derivative is still current (2015). The hardware was supplied by the Plessey company, and was originally a reading pen, keyboard and a tape recording device, housed in a trolley. It was powered by two lead-acid batteries. Further developments followed, firstly a shoulder-bag unit, then a hand-held unit as battery technology improved. The system software was developed by Sainsbury staff. The system was used by supermarket staff to place orders for the commodities, identified by the bar code. The units were called up by the central computer and the data was transmitted, processed and the resulting picking lists were transmitted to the distribution depots. This all happened at the end of the day's trading. The assembly and distribution of goods took place overnight with delivery the next morning. It was one of the first 'Just-in-time' systems. More than a million bar codes were read every week without any known errors. A cyclic redundancy check and a modulus eleven check number made the code reading virtually infallible.

Library systems, the UPC and other applications followed. Dbinthebush (talk) 10:31, 23 April 2015 (UTC)dbinthebush (Sainsbury archives, Museum of London, Docklands) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Antiaverage (talk • contribs) 16:13, 23 September 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Merger proposal
I am making a proposal to merge Barcode system into this article if there's anything worth merging here. I feel that the Barcode system article as a very small stub is a WP:REDUNDANTFORK of this article and appears to be orphaned away from this article as it appears everything covered there is covered here in a larger detail. I have considered an WP:AFD for the Barcode system article but I feel that it would most like fall into a merge or a redirect consensus as Barcode system is as I feel a likely search term for this article and also I don't like seeing edit histories in such cases deleted. So I decided to go with this merger proposal and see where the community consensus input on this is. Sawblade5 (talk to me undefined my wiki life) 15:02, 20 July 2017 (UTC)

Support, clearly redundant. Batternut (talk) 08:29, 21 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Indifferent/Weak oppose. Barcode is about the stripes on paper or plastic. Barcode system is about how barcodes are used. Those are different topics. It's one thing to talk about reliable tags, but a barcode system article should cover how barcodes can be used, their economic benefit, and additional services that they have inspired. A reliable UPC tag made checking out more reliable, allows automated stock keeping, and helps with cycle counts. The driving force behind the bar codes was the system. MICR is a barcode. Railway cars. UPS packages. Compare the problems confronting the USPS. Once management starts tracking, then it can offer tracking services to its clients. Those same benefits can accrue to RFID. The only problem here is that Barcode system is a stub rather than a decent article. Glrx (talk) 17:37, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

Missing images for some codes
Is there a reason why there are some codes missing? Would it be appreciated if I add some example codes for these? Or are the codes copyrighted in and of themselves? Can we show SnapCode even though it includes the Ghost, which is a Snap-owned Trademark?--Lommes (talk) 17:56, 28 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Yes, please add them. My understanding is that such trademarked logos fall under the Logos guideline, which describes the appropriate way to handle such visual images that are trademarked or copyrighted or both, and show them in Wikipedia articles. Thank you, Lommes. --DavidCary (talk) 16:30, 13 September 2018 (UTC)

Citation needed in order to add these barcodes
I found a lot of occurrence and references about the Cool-Data-Matrix barcode but it's always as part of a list and I didn't find anything describing the barcode itself. Also I can find pictures of Vericode but no description and it is hard to find since there is a well know mark having the same name Shark-oxi (talk) 21:01, 12 January 2019 (UTC)

Facebook invented their own
Even if their Messenger app is fading away soon, it would be wort mentioning it does support proprietary, circular barcode: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/messenger-platform/discovery/messenger-codes/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.91.12.6 (talk) 13:59, 12 February 2019 (UTC)

Human-readable interpretation
I've just started a discussion about which currently redirects to this article, you are invited to share your thoughts at Redirects for discussion/Log/2019 February 27. Thryduulf (talk) 21:25, 27 February 2019 (UTC)

Redirect from "Code49"
There should probably be a separate article on code 49 with specifications and all. --LonleyGhost (talk) 12:07, 30 June 2019 (UTC)

Spotify Codes
Spotify create their own "codes" which use different heights to encode data (https://www.spotifycodes.com/) I may add this to the page. Boonepeter (talk) 21:51, 20 October 2020 (UTC)

Example Images Section
Example Images (subsection 8.3) doesn't seem to add value, since it is largely redundant of the first two Types Of Barcodes subsections and the entire article is full of example images. I would suggest moving any types that exist only in the Example Images section to one of the other two subsections and then deleting the Example Images subsection. Plain Text (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 01:20, 23 May 2021 (UTC)

انا
انا عايز اعمل برنامج زي زووم اول ما يفتح يدخلني على برامج كلها و اختار مهم البرنامج اللي عايزه منه انا طفل عندي ٧ سنين 156.213.143.125 (talk) 19:05, 30 March 2022 (UTC)

Wajid 2402:8100:2634:710D:378:5634:1232:5476 (talk) 07:05, 25 June 2023 (UTC)