How to Read 12 Digit UPC Barcodes

Most bar codes in the US are 12-digit UPC (Universal Product Code) bar codes, with ten digits at the bottom of the code and one small number to each side. Impress your friends by asking them to select a random item from the kitchen with a removable label and cut the numbers off of the UPC bar code; you can then proceed to read the numbers encoded in the lines.

Note that bar codes are made up of both white and black lines. The white spaces in between the black lines are part of the code.


  Understand that there are four different thicknesses to the lines. Henceforth, the skinniest line will be referred to as "1," the medium-sized line as "2," the next largest line as "3." and the thickest is "4."



Recognize that each UPC bar code begins and ends with 101 (thin black, thin white, thin black). In the very middle of the bar code, you will notice two thin black lines sticking down between the numbers. The thin white between them, as well as the thin whites to either side, make up a 01010. Each UPC bar code has 01010 in the middle.
Recognize that each digit, including the small numbers that begin and end the bar code, has its own unique four-line set. 0 = 3211, 1 = 2221, 2 = 2122, 3 = 1411, 4 = 1132, 5 = 1231, 6 = 1114, 7 = 1312, 8 = 1213, 9 = 3112. (Note that the sum of bar widths numbers is 7 for all codes because each code is 7 units wide.) Notice that the line colors are reversed after the center-line: The lines of the digits to the left are white/black/white/black whilst to the right they are black/white/black/white. This provides some error checking and allows the reader to know the direction in which it is scanning a code. It is also crucial so that the bar code ends with a bar rather than a space. So, actually, each digit has two codes.



So, the bar code above whose first two digits are 03 would start out "10132111411". Broken down this is "101-3211-1411" where 101 marks the beginning of the bar code and 3211 marks the digit 0 .

How to Read Barcodes With a Webcam

Check hardware requirements: Web camera should support focus range in 3- 20 ( 1-4 inch) cm. Bar-code reader software can recognize a bar-code only in this range. Before trying to read a bar-code, be sure that your web camera supports this focus. Actually most models of web camera supports this focus distance, except some embedded notebook cameras.
Setup hardware. For fast and comfortable recognition turn off auto-focus and set focus of you web camera to 10 cm. Some cameras support software focus configuration. It's controlled by camera setting in your system. Some cameras have a manual focus control on the camera lens. Just turn lens and see result.

Read bar-codes with a webcam.

• Start software.
• Press play.
• Minimize software window.
• Set cursor to Excel cell, notepad or any other destination window.
• Hold bar-code in front of camera.

Barcode

A barcode is a series of lines of varying thicknesses printed in a parallel sequence, with numeric code above or below the lines. Barcodes are printed onto paper or embedded into a product, and can only be read by a scanner or barcode reader.

A barcode reader emits a specific light frequency. When this light is directed at the barcode, a series of numeric values that are embedded in the code are displayed to the scanner, which then translates that input data into numbers and sends this information to the computer processor. Barcode software is used to translate the code into product information.

Any data linked to this code is located by the software. This information may include the product name, price, weight, manufacture, date created, issuer and receiver. Decreases in the price of computer memory and processors have increased the sophistication of the information available from a barcode.

Barcode Reading

Barcodes consisting of black lines with spaces between them are often used to keep track of inventory and simplify other aspects of running certain businesses, especially grocery stores and other places where complex tracking is necessary. A barcode reader provides a quick way to translate the codes, and using one requires very little effort on the part of workers. Barcodes represent numbers that can be linked to items in a database, and the readers have an ability to measure light reflections, allowing them to pick up the barcodes off the surfaces of packaging. Most barcode readers are shaped either like a gun or a pen, but some are set up in fixed positions.

Prior to the invention of barcodes and the barcode reader, grocery stores and other kinds of shops had much more difficulty keeping track of inventory, relying more heavily on manual methods. Knowing exactly how many items are available in a store is often crucial for retailers because it allows them to keep a tally of how well things are selling and simplifies the process of making decisions about quantity when making another order. Typically, a barcode reader is set up at each cash register, connected to a computerized database with information on all the items in the store. When the clerk scans items during a purchase, the system registers the sold item in the database, keeping a real-time inventory estimate.

RFDI and Barcode

Before looking at the differences between barcode and RFDI, an example of each technology has been included below to demonstrate how each is used. Although the way they function is very different, barcode and RFDI technology are both useful for inventory management and other applications. A quick note about terminology. RFDI stands for Radio Frequency Data Identification or Radio Frequency Data Identifier. It is more commonly referred to as RFID which stands for Radio Frequency Identification, or less commonly, Radio Frequency Identification Device.

A barcode is a series of lines and numbers used to record information about an item. For example, a product bar code found in a supermarket on a can of chicken noodle soup might contain the manufacturer lot number for the can, which also tells the user when this can of soup was produced. It might also dictate the item code that tells the user which item has been selected. Barcodes can also include the price of the item, as would be the case for the chicken noodle soup, allowing the cash register to scan the barcode and record the price of the item. This also serves as an inventory tracking mechanism for the soup, when the item is scanned by the cashier, these units can be removed from inventory.


A Radio frequency data identifier or RFDI is a microchip embedded in a product's packaging or label. This microchip, like a barcode, stores data about the product or item to which it is attached. When the RFDI is scanned, the data on the RFDI chip can be used to move an item into and out of a company’s inventory system, or simply allow the RFDI and its attached item to be tracked throughout the system.

The barcode and RFDI technology can be used together for the same item. If the RFDI cannot be used but the barcode still appears, the information about a product can be obtained by scanning it.

3 dimensional barcode

A three-dimensional (3D) barcode generator is a computer program that makes barcodes that can be embossed on items during the manufacturing process, because these barcodes stand up to chemicals better than labels would. There are many standards for 3D barcodes, and most 3D barcode generator programs meet many of these standards. To use the barcodes, the 3D barcode generator exports the image as a more commonly used graphics format. Most generators offer high-resolution graphics, because these barcodes emboss better than low-resolution ones. Text is sometimes needed around barcodes, and some generators have minor text-editing features.

Depending on the manufacturer’s niche, the company may need to use a certain barcode format to satisfy guidelines and standards. There are many different formats, so the majority of 3D barcode generator programs are equipped to work with many of these formats, though most generators do not include all formats. Each format makes barcode lines in a slightly different way and, if the manufacturer chooses the wrong format, the products may not properly scan.

Most 3D barcode generator programs make the barcode in a special format that only the generator understands and can work with. While this optimizes the generator’s ability to work with that image format, embossers typically cannot use the image. To correct this issue, generators are able to export and convert the barcode into a different image format that is more commonly used for embossing and printing. As with the barcode format, most generators offer many image formats, but not all of them.


Low-resolution barcode images can be a problem when embossing, because the lines may turn out blurry. This can lead to inaccuracies when the barcode is scanned, and most manufacturing companies cannot afford an expensive problem like this. Low-resolution graphics typically do not work very well for this application, so most 3D barcode generator programs offer high-resolution graphics. The barcode typically is made as a vector file, meaning the resolution can go as high as the user wants, and the vector format rarely takes up much memory.

The barcode itself usually will be enough for scanning and identifying a product, but text is sometimes needed. The text can be a serial number, a message for users or even the company’s name. While this is not a common feature, some 3D barcode generator programs do offer this for users. The text is usually simple, and there are commonly just a few font types from which to choose. Adding text typically increases how much memory the barcode graphic needs, usually doubling it.

Barcode Scanner

Barcode scanners are devices which use some sort of light-emitting device and a photo conductor to read barcodes. They are usually designed to attach to a computer, via either PS2 or some other interface, though they may also be used on their own and store the data for future retrieval by a computer.

Barcodes are simple visual representations of data which can be transferred to a computer via a barcode scanner. Traditional barcodes consist of parallel lines, but a number of variations now exist, including scatterings of dots and embedded codes hidden within images. Barcodes were first conceived in the late 1940s and became widely implemented starting in the early 1970s. The first product sold with a barcode was a pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum, at Marsh's supermarket in Ohio, one of the first stores to implement barcode scanners. The gum now belongs to the Smithsonian and symbolizes a key moment in US history.

Barcode scanners typically utilize a laser scanner, though LED and imaging varieties also exist. Light is shot out of the barcode scanner onto the barcode, then reflected back, picked up by a photodiode in the scanner and decoded. The decoded information is then transmitted to the computer that the scanner is hooked up to.


Barcode scanners may be completely handheld, in which case they usually look almost like a science-fiction era gun, with a laser emitting from the barrel, and a trigger to turn the light on or off. These are found in some stores, and consumer-level barcode scanners are most often of this variety. Barcode scanners may also be built into a surface such as a register counter, so that barcodes can be read by swiping them across the laser. These types of barcode scanners are most typically found in supermarkets because of their ease of use and speed.

Smaller barcode scanners, often shaped like small pens, are also in use. This variety is often found in video stores or book stores. Their smaller, usually lower-quality light source does not allow for the same consistency of reading as larger scanners, but is often adequate for simple uses.

A number of barcode standards are in use today, including Code 128, Code 39, and the Universal Product Code (UPC). Most barcode scanners on the market are capable of reading and decoding all of the major barcode standards.