Qr Code Bar Scanner That Also Reads Regular Bar Codes

Everyone is familiar with barcodes – the black-and-white codes featuring a series of parallel lines that a cashier scans in the checkout line – but QR codes are likewise becoming widely known and recognized. Both QR codes and barcodes shop information well-nigh an item or product in a machine-readable format that tin be easily scanned with a barcode scanner or, more recently, many smartphones (when equipped with a barcode-scanning app or QR code reader).

When it comes to labeling inventory, parts, equipment, and consumer products, does one offering more than advantages over the other? The choice betwixt a barcode and QR code is typically dependent on a few variables, such equally the corporeality of data that needs to be stored in the code, the type of item or product being labeled, and other considerations. We've put together this guide to help you differentiate between barcodes and QR codes and place the applications for which each is best-suited.

What is a Barcode?

A barcode is a small, two-dimensional code featuring a serial of lines (or bars) and spaces (typically white spaces of varying sizes with blackness lines of varying thickness). The specific sequence of bars and spaces are readable past a machine (a barcode scanner) and represent numbers and other symbols. There are generally five components of a barcode:

• Repose zone
• Showtime character
• Data characters (with an optional check character)
• Stop character
• Boosted quiet zone

Types of 1D Barcodes

The most basic blazon of barcode is known as a 1D (or one-dimensional) barcode, and it'southward been effectually since 1974 in retail applications, while some sources state that the 1D barcode originated in the 1960s in industrial piece of work environments. These barcodes tin store text-based information, such as the blazon, size, and colour of a product. Barcodes are widely recognized by the cease consumer as the lawmaking that is scanned at the point-of-sale during a product buy, comprising the upper portion of the UPC label (Universal Product Code) found on consumer packaging; the 12-digit number found below the barcode on a UPC label is the UPC number. In a UPC code, the barcode encodes several important numbers:

• The manufacturer's identification number (starting time vi digits)
• The item number (next v digits)
• The bank check digit (the final number, used to verify that the barcode was correctly scanned)

In addition to the widely recognized UPC label, ane-dimensional barcodes tin take a variety of other forms for various applications, including:

• EAN Codes: EAN codes are used for similar applications as the UPC code, primarily for consumer products, and like UPC codes, they're designed for point-of-auction scanning. There are several variations of EAN codes (EAN-13, EAN-8, JAN-thirteen, ISBN, and ISSN).
• ISBN Codes: ISBN codes are a variant of the EAN code and are used for books, representing the book's ISBN number. They're institute on nearly all volume covers.
• POSTNET: POSTNET (Postal Numeric Encoding Technique) codes are used by the U.S. Post on mail and stand for zip codes.
• Industrial 2 of 5: Industrial ii of 5 codes are low-density and thus aren't equally widely used equally other types of barcodes, although they are all the same used by some warehouses today.
• Interleaved ii of 5: Interleaved 2 of 5 barcodes are used in the shipping industry as well as in warehousing. Industrial 2 of 5 codes (mentioned higher up) accept spaces of fixed width, while Interleaved two of 5 codes practise non have stock-still-width spaces – allowing both the bar and space widths to be used in encoding data.
• Standard 2 of 5: Yet another variation of the Industrial ii of 5 code, the Standard 2 of 5 code also has spaces of stock-still width. It'southward used infrequently today, but was one time used for airline tickets, photofinishing, and for sorting in the warehouse industry.
• Codabar: Codabar barcodes are used in claret banks, in libraries, in photo labs, and past Federal Express. They're too known as USD-4 and ABC Codabar.
• Code xi: These are loftier-density barcodes most frequently used to label equipment in the telecommunications industry. Code eleven is also known as USD-viii. These barcodes tin encode digits between 0 and 9, but they're considered low-security barcodes as slight printing variations can skew the bars, causing them to scan as an wrong but valid graphic symbol.

The 1D barcode variations listed higher up represent numeric digits only. In that location are also several blastoff-numeric variations (symbologies):

• Plessey Code: Used to mark grocery store shelves, the Plessey code has several variations including the MSI, Anker, and Telxon barcodes. The MSI barcode is still used today in the U.South. It can encode digits from 0 to 9 and the letters A through F.
• Code 39 (Code 3 of 9): Code 39 symbology is used for item identification, for inventory direction purposes, and for tracking shipments.
• Lawmaking 128: A more compact version of Code 39, Code 128 is preferred due to its compact size for the same applications. It can encode digits 0 through 9 and letters A through Z, likewise every bit all standard ASCII symbols.
• LOGMARS: Another variation of Code 39, LOGMARS (Logistics Applications of Automated Marker and Reading Symbols) is specific to the U.South. Department of Defense.
• Code 93: Yet another version of Code 39, Code 93 is also known every bit USS-93 and can encode the same characters as Code 39, although it supports the full ASCII.

Applications for 1D Barcodes

In add-on to point-of-sale applications, 1D barcodes are also used for labeling raw materials and inventory management, providing a way to monitor inventory levels with less demand for hands-on human being intervention (and less room for man fault). They're also used past the postal service and throughout the aircraft industry every bit a whole, providing a more accurate style to track packages and ensure delivery.

Additionally, barcodes are used to label and manage library books (and for ISBN codes on all books), for filing systems, and in a multifariousness of other applications with the need to track and manage a large volume of inventory or supplies.

Advantages of 1D Barcodes

Barcodes are widely utilized due to a few singled-out advantages:

• They are relatively cheap.
• They allow for more accurate inventory direction compared to manual inventory methods.
• They enable speedy, efficient operations.
• They can increase a company'southward profitability by reducing transmission labor costs, improving inventory control, and speeding upwardly the supply chain.

What is a QR Code?

The QR code (Quick Response Code) was showtime created for the automotive industry in Japan in 1994, making it an infant relative to the decades-erstwhile barcode. QR codes are two-dimensional (2D) barcodes, also known as matrix codes. The term "QR code" is actually a trademark for a specific type of two-dimensional matrix code, but its use is so widespread that "QR code" has become the de-facto face of the two-dimensional barcode (although in that location are other types of 2D barcodes every bit well).

QR codes and barcodes are both motorcar-readable, optical labels that store data well-nigh an detail or product. Unlike the standard 1D barcode, QR codes can store information in ii directions – horizontally and vertically – while 1D barcodes tin can only store data in one direction – horizontally. This allows them to hold much more information: a 1D barcode can typically store about 20 to 25 characters, although some variations can store more – the standard Code 39 barcode, for case, can store up to 43 characters. A QR code, on the other hand, tin shop up to ii,509 numeric characters or 1,520 alpha-numeric characters, storing information such as:

• Email addresses
• Names
• Product details
• Website URLs
• Dates (such as calendar appointments)
• SMS messages
• Geolocation data
• Patently text

In add-on to numeric and alpha-numeric characters, QR codes tin too support byte/binary and Kanji data modes.

Applications for QR Codes

Cheers to their ability to shop various types of information, QR codes are used for a variety of applications. Yous'll discover them on cereal boxes, posters, advertisements, on museum exhibits (connecting visitors to additional data about an showroom), and even on business cards, allowing a contact to just scan the QR code to input all the private's data, from their name and physical address to company name, phone number, website, and more.

While QR codes gained recognition due to their increasingly widespread utilize in marketing and consumer-facing applications, they can likewise be useful in industrial applications, such as:

• Operational instructions: QR codes tin exist used to convey operating instructions, procedures, and other information necessary for operating heavy equipment.
• Facilities management: They tin can exist used to document schematics and other instructions for plumbing, wiring systems, and alert systems, providing an easy way to communicate these details to contractors or maintenance workers.
• Maintenance and repairs: QR codes may be used to submit requests for maintenance service or as a fashion to easily certificate that routine maintenance has been performed, creating a complete inspect trail of service and repair records.
• Regulatory compliance: In industrial applications, equipment and machinery often requires periodic inspection, regular maintenance, and permits or licenses to comply with regulatory requirements. QR codes tin be utilized to store this information and make it readily accessible.

There are several innovative uses of QR codes in municipal and construction settings, such as placing QR codes on construction signage to direct people to data that addresses community concerns or QR codes that auto-dial emergency services when scanned. Some municipalities are using QR codes to connect to building permits and to provide citizens with easy access to information about building projects, such as the belongings owner, the scope of work for a construction site, and related projects. Some localities are even using QR codes to create a virtual walking bout of the city.

Notation, all the same, that regulatory guidelines in some industries require the use of specific symbology, colors, and text, and storing such information in a QR code in lieu of having the full required signage in visible format (without the demand to scan a QR code) may not meet regulatory requirements. Industrial safety signs are one example. When it comes to safety, expediency is key, necessitating clear, concise, and readily digestible safety warnings and important data – such as burn exits. It's not realistic to await individuals to scan QR codes (or 1D barcodes, for that affair) to observe the nearest fire exit, making QR codes impractical for such applications. However, QR codes may be used to supplement required signage in some industrial applications, provided that the appropriate signage is also present.

Advantages of QR Codes

second barcodes, as a whole, are considered more secure, every bit the information they store is hands encrypted and allows for less room for error. QR codes, specifically, have three levels of error-detection built-in. The minimum size for QR codes is 21-past-21 cells. They can increase in size in increments of iv-by-iv cells, with a maximum size of 105-past-105 cells.

The QR lawmaking'southward merits to fame is that they bridge the gap between the digital and concrete worlds. While first introduced in 1994, they didn't gain much basis for the next several years. Just past 2006, almost 100% of mobile users had smartphones capable of scanning QR codes, providing unprecedented opportunities for brands to connect and share information with consumers or users.

Still, while they're increasingly being used in a diverseness of applications, QR codes take yet to fully realize their potential in this context. Nearly smartphones today can scan both QR codes and 1D barcodes (such as UPC codes) with an app, only the newest models are coming with some baked-in QR scanning capabilities. As they go easier for finish consumers to use they are likely to go even more prominent in consumer-facing applications. For case, Google Chrome announced in February 2017 that the mobile version of its browser volition now come with born scanning functionality – but notably, this functionality applies not only to QR codes, but to 1D barcodes, as well. In other words, those who use the Chrome browser on their mobile devices will no longer demand to download a separate application to scan barcodes and QR codes.

Readability: Analyzing Potential Readability Problems

QR codes may exist considered easier to browse compared to 1D barcodes, as they can be scanned in any direction, whereas 1D barcodes have to be scanned from the proper angle. A linear barcode scanner cannot read a 2D barcode, although an imager scanner can read both 1D and 2D barcodes.

That said, readability issues (the ability of a barcode scanner to scan and decode data in a barcode) are a business organisation with both 1D and 2D barcodes, and they often suffer from similar technical and ecology variables, such equally:

• Depression contrast: Barcode scanners (both linear scanners and imagers) require high contrast in order to browse a barcode or QR lawmaking accurately. Barcodes or QR codes printed on dark backgrounds, for instance, often suffer from readability issues. Variations in the consistency of markings or printing methods, as well as a lack of uniformity in the background or substrate textile, can create contrast issues. Additionally, contrast tin exist impacted by environmental factors such equally lighting weather condition. For case, lighting conditions that cause shadows or reflections on the substrate tin can bear upon readability. While both 1D barcodes and QR codes can suffer from poor contrast, 1D barcodes typically crave a higher dissimilarity compared to QR codes and other 2nd barcodes.
• Inadequate quiet zones: All barcodes require quiet zones, or white infinite surrounding the barcode or symbol. All types of barcodes have minimum quiet zone requirements. If other content (text, images, or other elements) breach the quiet zone, a barcode reader may interpret those marks equally beingness office of the barcode, resulting in inaccurate decoding. In other cases, scanners may be unable to decode the symbol at all. In 1D barcodes, the quiet zone is generally a minimum of 10 times the width of the narrowest bar and extends to both the left and right of the symbol. In 2D barcodes, such equally QR codes, the tranquility zone is present on all 4 sides of the symbol. The general dominion of thumb for 2D barcodes is that the quiet zone should exist at least the width of ane cell on all sides, although best exercise is a width of 10% of the height or width of the symbol.
• Printing/marking inconsistencies: Many readability problems result from press or marking inconsistencies. In addition to creating poor contrast or resulting in markings that alienation the quiet zone, inconsistencies in marker may issue in skewed symbols or shape or uniformity bug, all of which can render a symbol unreadable.
• Distorted symbols: It's non ever a flaw in the press or marker methodology that creates readability issues. 1D and 2d barcode symbols, including QR codes, tin be distorted after the fact due to damage. Scratches, exposure to condensation, droppings, stains, and other environmental effects tin can lead to distorted symbols that are unreadable or decoded inaccurately by a barcode reader.
• Scanning angle: As mentioned, 1D barcodes must be scanned from the proper scanning bending, and they must be scanned horizontally. With linear barcode scanners, that ways that the laser line must extend horizontally across the entire width of the symbol.
• Scanning distance: The barcode scanner's capabilities too play a function; some scanners can decode symbols from greater distances, and some require a minimum distance to decode a symbol. This is known equally "depth of field," referring to the closest scanning distance to the farthest scanning altitude.

These potential pitfalls tin can be managed in several means:

• Choosing the correct barcode symbology for your awarding. Both 1D barcodes and QR codes accept many applications. If you demand to store more than data than an identification number in a symbol, for case, QR codes are more than suitable. That said, 1D barcodes containing item ID numbers are oftentimes connected to a database, allowing users to readily access other information virtually an detail or asset with a single scan, every bit well.
• Procuring loftier-quality barcode labels using quality substrate materials and reliable press and mark processes to ensure appropriate durability for your application. In industrial applications in which barcodes may exist exposed to wet, extreme temperatures or choppy conditions, abrasives, harsh cleaning solutions, or other hazards, you lot should opt for labels with the durability to withstand these elements over the expected lifespan of the asset.
• Utilizing the correct barcode scanning technology for your symbology and awarding requirements. For example, if your organization needs to scan items at a multifariousness of angles, an imager is a amend pick than a linear barcode scanner, providing greater flexibility in scanning angles and orientation. If you're utilizing QR codes, linear scanners are incapable of decoding these symbols.
• Ensuring that attachment methods don't obscure or interfere with the symbology. Every bit an example, a barcode label that relies on mechanical attachments should have plenty infinite to allow for holes, bolts, or other attachments while still maintaining the minimum quiet zone.

Choosing the Correct Barcode Scanning Engineering science

There are a variety of considerations in choosing a barcode scanner, such as handheld vs. fixed-location barcode scanners, wired and wireless models, and scanning altitude. In add-on to linear barcode readers and imagers, omni-directional scanners are another option. Similar light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation barcode readers, they employ a laser, simply in a mixed-grid blueprint rather than a unmarried straight light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation line. Some omni-directional barcode scanners are capable of reading 2nd barcodes. Additionally, many smartphones are now capable of scanning both 1D and 2D barcodes, either with the aid of a downloadable app or equally a native adequacy.

There are other advantages and disadvantages betwixt lasers and imagers, including:

• Imagers are less tolerant of motion (consider the blurred effect you oftentimes get when trying to have a even so photo of action). Laser scanners allow for rapid data capture, making them more movement-tolerant and ideal for fast-paced environments.
• Imagers, however, are amend at scanning at varying angles compared to light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation scanners. Imagers are getting better in this regard; some avant-garde imagers and smartphones are meliorate able to decode blurry images than early imagers.
• Laser scanners are typically better for long-distance scanning. The scanning distance is also dependent on the symbol – larger barcodes, naturally, are more easily scanned from greater distances, and barcodes with more spacing between the bars are better-suited for long-range scanning.
• Imagers are better for decoding faded, damaged or low-quality (poor contrast, inconsistent markings, etc.) barcodes.

The Bottom Line: Barcodes or QR Codes?

There are many applications in which there is no definitive correct choice betwixt 1D barcodes and QR codes. When y'all simply need to shop an item identification number or connect to information in a database about a product or item, 1D barcodes are a suitable choice.

When you need to store larger amounts of information and make that information accessible to others (inspectors, citizens, etc.) who do not have access to the database where additional information is stored, QR codes are a valuable tool for making such information easily accessible. They're also a space-saving solution when you need to provide ready admission to product specifications, educational activity manuals, or procedures but lack the room for larger labels and signage on the item.

A conscientious analysis of your awarding requirements, regulatory compliance concerns, the feasibility of including boosted labels and signage for compliance, and your barcode scanning technology (or ability to upgrade to the necessary scanning technology) volition help y'all to select the right symbology for your needs.

Read More than from Metalphoto of Cincinnati:

• Control Console Design Guide
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• Equipment Tags
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• Custom Aluminum Labels
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Source: https://www.mpofcinci.com/blog/barcode-vs-qr-code/

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