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How did the barcode system emerged and how did it develop?

In the winter of 1948, a 27 -year -old man in the coast house in Florida put his fingers in the sand and pulled him towards himself. The resulting shapes were the first stage of the road to the barcode system.

N. Joseph Woodland, who listened to the sandy beaches of his grandfather's house with his grandfather, was trying to produce ideas about the solution of the problem put forward by a supermarket director. Woodland has been inspired by the Mors code for this problem for making stock counts and payment queues more efficient. The first bull eye barcode was invented with the circular shapes he drawn with his fingers in the sand .

Barcode system

Woodland was patented by the bull eye barcode in 1952. However, the potential of the developed barcode was not noticed since laser technologies, which were capable of reading the relevant barcode at that time. About 20 years later, a laser browser was developed by Georger Laurer, an IBM employee and engineer, and the importance of the barcode system was clearly understood at that time .

After the development of the laser browser, the bull eye barcode was developed and it was decided to use flat strips instead of apartments. Linear, one -dimensional barcode was found in 1974. The barcode system has become widespread after this date. The relevant system was first used in a supermarket in Ohio.

One -dimensional (1D) barcodes facilitating trade

Today, almost all of the products purchased from supermarkets are 1D barcode. Information such as type, size, price and color of the product related to this special code is stored. These codes, which resemble zebra lines and have universal product code (UPC) numbers, are quite common today.

Related barcodes with rectangular shape are also used in retail products as well as supermarket products. It is also known to be used in areas such as accounting, storage and assembly line.

Horizontal Barcode PrintingThese one -dimensional codes have removed the need to manually enter the prices in addition to providing inventory monitoring and automatic. Thus, the cost -effective writer is reduced and increased error efficiency.

Transition to 2D barcodes depending on increasing needs

1D barcodes initially responded effectively to all requirements. However, over time, the efficiency of operations and storage has started to be insufficient due to demands such as product packaging and consumer safety. expiration dates , serial numbers, websites and more than similar types. Needs for new generation of barcodes that are easily read with both commercial browsers and cameras have been removed with 2D barcodes.

2D barcodes were first used in 1987. These codes, which are created with small points in a square -shaped area, provided excellent readability in many ways. Since they represent data not only horizontal, but also vertically, it has provided more data storage to smaller areas . It has an easy -to -read structure even in very small size .

Another important advantage of 2D barcodes is built -in bug fixes. In other words, even if the code is physically damaged, data integrity is provided . 2D barcodes; It is widely used in health, automotive and electronic fields. The most common barcode system types today are data matrix codes and QR codes.

QR CodeThe QR code is used extensively today, and almost all consumers are familiar with this code. The QR code developed in 1994 aimed to automate automotive inventory management at that time. However, this new technology developed after a while can be used in areas such as data capture, automatic identification, asset labeling, sharing supply chain information and product monitoring. With the development and spread of smartphones, QR codes have also been used to access digital content.

Data matrix code is the code with flat black lines on the adjacent edges to ensure readability effectively. It resembles columns and lines of black and white squares and a checkers. However, in general, the QR code is also very similar. The data is read considering the locations of black spots. With the increase in the amount of data in the code, the number of columns and lines increases. Due to their high amount of data storage in a small area, these codes are generally preferred in marking small items.

Data matrix codeIt is known to be very useful in terms of branding in aviation, automotive, electronics, mail and logistics services. In addition, it is also used for product marking and unit dose in the pharmaceutical industry.

You may be interested in: What is QR Code and Data Matrix)?

Barcode technology continues to develop

The importance given to product tracking due to Covid-19 pandema has increased significantly. In the period before the pandemi, steps were taken for follow -up and monitoring. However, more importance was given to follow -up and monitoring with the pandemi and significant stages have been recorded in this field.

Today, monitoring and tracking technologies such as barcodes increase traceability, protect consumers and contribute to the fight against negativity such as black market. According to a recent study, the size of the follow -up and monitoring market is 4.1 billion dollars in the USA in 2021 and it is estimated that this figure will increase to $ 7.3 billion by 2026.

RFID Barcode System2D barcodes received a significant share of the market in the 2020. Until 2026, RFID technology is expected to sign the most important growth in this field. RFID is very rich in data and has the ability to store more data than 2D barcodes. This contributes to the inventory accuracy. Information can be obtained from each label in the range without the need for individual scanning.

New Generation Barcode

With the increase in purchases made over the internet and these purchases started to be made on mobile phones, the demand of consumers to real -time information has increased. As e-commerce became widespread, it has become more necessary for sellers to take new steps in this field. Brand owners, manufacturers and retailers should focus directly on consumers to marketing and prioritize consumer participation.

In this process, it is the main issue to improve the quality of consumers' experiences. For this purpose, consumers should be provided to consumers on issues such as originality, origin, freshness, return and exchange . The way to do this best and to present the desired information to consumers should be focused on rich carrier solutions.

The barcode system has been used effectively for about 50 years. New generation barkotes are rich data solutions developed to quickly provide product information without time and space restriction.

You can use our new generation thermal ink spray technology to create your barcodes quickly and readable . Check out our Rynan 20 series to create barcodes with real -time printing features for your needs in production .

The Rynan R20 Reach which has the ability to successfully prints areas with rough lower layers , gives effective results on non -flat surfaces. It has a higher level of readability and longer firing distances.

Electrojet brand logoElectrojet is the main distributor of Singapore -based Rynantech (Thermal Inkjet), which has a distributor in 65 different countries in the world and is among the pioneers of this area in the world . We offer you special professional solutions for all your needs for marking and coding . You can contact us for more detailed information about barcode coding.

Contact us to learn the most suitable devices for your business and free .




    Sources used:

    • https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/george-laurer-an-inventor-of-the-Mo Association-Bar-Code-Dies-At-94/2019/12/10/75B03F6E-1B5C -1EA-8D58-5AC3600967a1_Story.html
    • https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/history-bar-code-180956704/
    • https://rynanprinting.com/blog/23/will-barcodes-live-to-see-ti
    • https://www.gs1us.org/desktopmodules/bring2mind/dmx/download.aspx?command=core_download&ntryid=2277&lalanguage=en-hportalid=0&tabıd=134444
    • https://www.flexpackmag.com/articles/91218-innovations-in-tanti-counterfeit-packaging
    • https://www.marketsandMarkets.com/market-reports/track-trace-soltion-Market-158898570.html
    Selcuk Alptekin

    The author has experienced experience in the inkjet coding sector for more than 20 years. He was the sales manager at Electrojet