2D barcode (two-dimensional

barcode)

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

WhatIs.com

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What is 2D barcode?

A 2D (two-dimensional) barcode is a graphical image that stores

information both horizontally -- as one-dimensional bar codes do -- and
vertically. As a result of that construction, 2D codes can store up to 7,089
characters, significantly greater storage than is possible with the 20-
character capacity of a unidimensional barcode.

2D barcodes are also known as quick response codes because they

enable fast data access. 2D barcodes are often used in conjunction with
smart phones. The user simply photographs a 2D barcode with the camera
on a phone equipped with a barcode reader. The reader interprets the
encoded URL, which directs the browser to the relevant information on a
Web site. This capability has made 2D barcodes useful for mobile
marketing. Some 2D barcode systems also deliver information in a
message for users without Web access.
Here's a sampling how 2D barcodes are being used:

 Nike used 2D barcodes on posters along the route of an extreme sports

competition. Mobile users captured barcodes to access sponsored
pictures, video and data.

 Some newspapers include 2D barcodes on stories that link mobile users

to developing coverage.

 2D barcodes on products in stores link to product reviews.

 Some people post 2D barcodes that link to their blogs

or Facebook pages.

See a simple demonstration of one use of 2D barcode:

Intermec Corporation created the first 2D bar code, called Code 49, in
1988.

What are 2D codes?

Features of 2D codes
Large data capacity

Barcodes contain data only in one direction while 2D codes contain data in both horizontal
and vertical directions, so they can hold much more data than standard barcodes.
Barcodes contain up to 30 characters, but 2D codes can contain up to 3000 characters.

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High data density (Space-saving)

2D codes can be as small as 1/30th the size of a typical barcode containing the same data.
As a result, 2D codes can be printed on electronics and other small parts where space is
limited.

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2D codes offer error correction / data restoration

2D codes feature built-in error correction, allowing them to restore data if the code is
damaged or smudged.
Mathematical error correction (Reed-Solomon) is employed for data restoration.

Disadvantage of 2D codes
2D codes have no backup when the data is unreadable
Barcodes typically have readable characters at the bottom, in case barcodes are
damaged/missing.
Operators read the characters and input the data with a keyboard so that it does not affect
operations.
2D codes have a very large amount of data, so readable characters are not added. When the
2D code is too damaged for scanning, there is no means to read the data and that interferes
with operations. (It is possible to add readable characters to 2D codes, but it is not realistic to
let personnel type more than 100 characters.)
When you use 2D codes, you need to create a system that can provide measures when the 2D
code is damaged.

Human-readable characters
Personnel can check and input the data

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Different types of 2D codes

2D codes are classified into two types according to the structure.
Stack type

Sample:
Conventional barcodes are vertically stacked.

PDF417

CODE49
The stack type is composed of several barcodes vertically stacked in a rectangle.
General laser scanners can read the stack type if the laser crosses all stacked
barcodes. However, it cannot tolerate displacement more than ±10°.
(Only laser scanners with software to read 2D codes can read 2D codes.)

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Matrix type

Sample:
Data is composed of black and white modules in a complex pattern.

QR code

DataMatrix

Veri Code
The matrix type is composed of small squares or points called “modules” arranged in
a square grid. They have a square frame, an L-shaped frame or position detection
patterns for reliable position detection. A camera or a reader integrated with 2D
CCDs decodes the module arrangement by image processing. It can be read from
any direction.

Barcodes contain data only in one direction while 2D codes contain data in both
horizontal and vertical directions, so they can hold much more data than standard
barcodes.
Barcodes contain up to 30 characters, but 2D codes can contain up to 3000
characters.

bar code (or barcode)

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

WhatIs.com

Contributor(s): Ziad Mallah

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A bar code (often seen as a single word, barcode) is the small image of
lines (bars) and spaces that is affixed to retail store items, identification
cards, and postal mail to identify a particular product number, person, or
location. The code uses a sequence of vertical bars and spaces to
represent numbers and other symbols. A bar code symbol typically consists
of five parts: a quiet zone, a start character, data characters (including an
optional check character), a stop character, and another quiet zone.

A barcode reader is used to read the code. The reader uses a laser beam
that is sensitive to the reflections from the line and space thickness and
variation. The reader translates the reflected light into digital data that is
transferred to a computer for immediate action or storage. Bar codes and
readers are most often seen in supermarkets and retail stores, but a large
number of different uses have been found for them. They are also used to
take inventory in retail stores; to check out books from a library; to track
manufacturing and shipping movement; to sign in on a job; to identify
hospital patients; and to tabulate the results of direct mail marketing
returns. Very small bar codes have been used to tag honey bees used in
research. Readers may be attached to a computer (as they often are in
retail store settings) or separate and portable, in which case they store the
data they read until it can be fed into a computer.

There is no one standard bar code; instead, there are several different bar
code standards called symbologies that serve different uses, industries, or
geographic needs. Since 1973, the Uniform Product Code (UPC), regulated
by the Uniform Code Council, an industry organization, has provided a
standard bar code used by most retail stores. The European Article
Numbering system (EAN), developed by Joe Woodland, the inventor of the
first bar code system, allows for an extra pair of digits and is becoming
widely used. POSTNET is the standard bar code used in the United States
for ZIP codes in bulk mailing. The following table summarizes the most
common bar code standards.
Bar Code Standard Uses

Uniform Product Retail stores for sales checkout; inventory, etc.

Code (UPC)

Code 39 Identification, inventory, and tracking shipments

(Code 3 of 9)

POSTNET Encoding zip codes on U.S. mail

European Article A superset of the UPC that allows extra digits for
Number (EAN) country identification

Japanese Article Similar to the EAN, used in Japan

Number (JAN)

Bookland Based on ISBN numbers and used on book covers

ISSN bar code Based on ISSN numbers, used on periodicals outside the
U.S.

Code 128 Used in preference to Code 39 because it is more

compact

Interleaved 2 of 5 Used in the shipping and warehouse industries

Codabar Used by Federal Express, in libraries, and blood banks

MICR (Magnetic Ink A special font used for the numbers on the bottom of
Character bank checks
Recognition)

OCR-A The optical character recognition format used on book

covers for the human readable version of the ISBN
number

OCR-B Used for the human readable version of the UPC, EAN,
JAN, Bookland, and ISSN bar codes and for optional
 human-readable digits with Code 39 and Interleaved 2 of
5 symbols

Maxicode Used by the United Parcel Service

PDF417 A new 2-D type of bar code that can encode up to 1108
bytes of information; can become a compressed,
portable data file (which is what the "PDF" stands for)

A barcode (also bar code) is an optical, machine-readable representation of data; the data
usually describes something about the object that carries the barcode. Traditional barcodes
systematically represent data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be
referred to as linear or one-dimensional (1D). Later, two-dimensional (2D) variants were
developed, using rectangles, dots, hexagons and other geometric patterns, called matrix
codes or 2D barcodes, although they do not use bars as such. Initially, barcodes were only
scanned by special optical scanners called barcode readers. Later application software became
available for devices that could read images, such as smartphones with cameras.
The barcode was invented by Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver and patented in the
US in 1952 (US Patent 2,612,994). The invention was based on Morse code that was extended
to thin and thick bars. However, it took over twenty years before this invention became
commercially successful. An early use of one type of barcode in an industrial context was
sponsored by the Association of American Railroads in the late 1960s. Developed by General
Telephone and Electronics (GTE) and called KarTrak ACI (Automatic Car Identification), this
scheme involved placing colored stripes in various combinations on steel plates which were
affixed to the sides of railroad rolling stock. Two plates were used per car, one on each side, with
the arrangement of the colored stripes encoding information such as ownership, type of
equipment, and identification number.[1]The plates were read by a trackside scanner, located for
instance, at the entrance to a classification yard, while the car was moving past.[2] The project
was abandoned after about ten years because the system proved unreliable after long-term
use.[1]
Barcodes became commercially successful when they were used to automate
supermarket checkout systems, a task for which they have become almost universal. Their use
has spread to many other tasks that are generically referred to as automatic identification and
data capture (AIDC). The very first scanning of the now-ubiquitous Universal Product Code(UPC)
barcode was on a pack of Wrigley Company chewing gum in June 1974.[3] QR codes, a specific
type of 2D barcode, have recently become very popular.[4]
Other systems have made inroads in the AIDC market, but the simplicity, universality and low
cost of barcodes has limited the role of these other systems, particularly before technologies
such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) became available after 2000.

Use Of Barcodes In Supply Chain

Management
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Barcodes have influenced almost every aspect of Supply Chain Management.
The use of barcodes makes business integration processes in supply chain
management simpler and more efficient. Barcodes are an effective
identification tool that helps track products and greatly reduce errors. Barcode
technology has a range of advantages such as being affordable, easy to
handle, and accurate. These advantages make barcodes widely used in
supply chain management and accepted across the world. Employing barcode
technology in inventory practices enables timely and accurate information that
helps to operate with greater warehouse efficiency and lower inventory on
hand.