Barcodes are a series of wide and narrow bars that can be scanned. There are many different types of barcodes, the most common is the Universal Product Code or UPC code that you see on items purchased in stores. You can scan a barcode with your barcode scanner and it will bring up the information stored on your POS system. In addition to being a manufacturer of barcode gift cards, we also apply barcodes to membership cards, ID cards, loyalty cards, and custom key tags.
BARCODE CARD TYPES
There are many different types of barcodes that are used on plastic cards. Some of these barcodes have a fixed length while others can vary in size; some contain only numbers while others can contain numbers and letters.
UPC, EAN, Bookland and ISSN
The UPC (Universal Product Code) was he original barcode which was created for the purpose of tracking consumer products and automating the grocery checkout process. The UPC is 12 decimal digits where the last digit is a check digit. EAN was developed as a method to make the UPC barcode universal. EAN barcodes add an extra digit to the beginning on the numerical sequence so that there would be enough digits to handle the requirements of the entire world. EAN is primarily used in Europe, however the Uniform Code Council made it mandatory that all retail systems recognize both UPC and EAN. Bookland barcodes are typically used for books and ISSN barcodes are used on non US periodicals. Each of these barcodes use numeric characters only and have fixed length. They also include on or more check digits.
Code 128
This barcode is a high density barcode that is widely used in the shipping and packaging industry and there are three variations; code set A, code set B, and code set C. This barcode offers a variable length and has a mandatory check digit as well as being capable of encoding alphanumeric or numeric-only characters.
Code 39
This barcode has become remarkably successful for a variety of applications and is widely used for ID, tracking and inventory purposes. Code 39 or sometimes referred to as Code 3 of 9, can vary in size and length, use numeric and alphanumeric characters, and can be used anywhere a simple barcode is needed. Code 39 can be decoded with virtually any barcode reader making it the most widely used. This barcode starts and stops with a * symbol and prints the number or alphanumeric characters in a human readable format alongside the barcode itself.
Barcode CardBarcodes are a series of wide and narrow bars that can be scanned. There are many different types of barcodes, the most common is the Universal Product Code or UPC code that you see on items purchased in stores. You can scan a barcode with your barcode scanner and it will bring up the information stored on your POS system. In addition to being a manufacturer of barcode gift cards, we also apply barcodes to membership cards, ID cards, loyalty cards, and custom key tags.
