Talk:Barcode

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[edit] Old discussion

193.39.182.6 just added a bunch of material from http://www.snx.com/generalfaq.html . We can't use this material under our license, so I've removed it from the article. --Brion 01:40 Aug 30, 2002 (PDT)

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

This page is great on the technical detail, but some crucial things are missing (which should probably ccome before the technical detail):

  • what are they used for?

how are barcodes made? how does the soft ware know how to make different bar codes with many lines? it really interesting but confusing.

  • who devised them, and when?

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)


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)

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.

[edit] vandalism

yet more vandalism gone... fun fun fun. keep a look out ppl.


[edit] 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.

[edit] 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)


(moved to article)

[edit] External Linkgasm

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)

[edit] 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

[edit] 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

[edit] 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)


[edit] 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:

  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?

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.161.67.166 (talk • contribs) 03:05, 3 August 2006 (UTC).

  1. 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.
  2. 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".
  3. 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)


  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

[edit] 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))

[edit] uncomfortable

i didn't like the line about barcodes being an "essential" part of modern civilization...... ___

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

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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)

[edit] At last, a printed reference on barcodes!

We would do well to include a citation to David Weinberger's book: David Weinberger (2007). Everything is miscellaneous. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 0-8050-8043-0. . 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)

[edit] 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)