Barcode … What does it mean ? An article by Mr. Hassan Afifi

An article by

Mr. Hassan Afifi

Founder and Sales Manager of Barcode Egyp .

What Does Barcode Mean?

In our daily lives, many people encounter those black lines interspersed with white spaces and numbers underneath (the barcode) during their everyday transactions at pharmacies, hypermarkets, clothing stores, and many other markets visited by ordinary consumers daily.

For example, in a hypermarket, you might find someone loading their cart with hundreds of items, and many others are standing in line, each with their own cart filled with many items. Then, after a few minutes, it’s their turn. With speed, accuracy, and skill, they deal with the cashier, and their items are passed over the “magical” scanner. The scanner emits red light that, upon contact with the products, makes a short “beep” sound for each item on the cashier’s table.

Within a short time, the cashier finishes the calculations, and the consumer receives the payment receipt (the invoice), perhaps to review some items, check quantities, or even verify the total amount to ensure accuracy.

All of this occurs swiftly with high precision and professionalism, yet without realizing the mysterious technology behind these complex operations completed in such a short time.

This inspired me to write this article. To keep it short, I will discuss this precise technology by answering some of the most frequently asked questions I’ve encountered during my more than 20 years of working in this field.

First of all… What does a barcode mean?

The word consists of two parts – Bar, which means column, and Code, meaning cipher.

Together, Barcode refers to the linear or vertical encoding of specific data.

So why is this barcode important in our lives?

The importance of the barcode actually stems from several advantages, which include:

A) Speed: Barcode scanners can read multiple items in a short amount of time.

B) Accuracy: The error rate is one in three million characters compared to manual entry, which is one in 300.

C) Knowledge: It allows us to instantly retrieve all product information.

D) Cost Reduction: It can save on labor costs that were previously needed.

E) Minimal use of keyboards: The keyboard can be used only in the most limited cases, or it may not be needed at all.

F) Increased sales and marketing opportunities: This applies both locally and internationally.

Is the barcode an old invention or something new to us?

In fact, the answer to this question is purely relative, depending on the reader’s perspective. If we consider 1932 to be ancient history or recent, this relativity of the barcode’s development depends on your viewpoint.

In that year, the Adam Communications Corporation in the United States, under the supervision of Mr. Wallace Fenton, organized punched cards to be used when buying products from stores. Since then, a series of events contributed to the evolution of barcode technology, including:

1. In 1948, Bernard Silver and Norman Woodland developed the concept of automated information encoding using ultraviolet light-readable printed information, although it was costly.

2. In 1949, they introduced the first linear code.

3. In 1967, an initial encoding was used in some stores.

4. In 1968, Jerry Wulff designed the 2 of 5 barcode.

5. In 1974, the first barcode scanner was used, and that same year, the Code 39 was invented by David Allais, marking the first barcode to include both letters and numbers.

Subsequent to these developments, various linear codes evolved, including the one used in Egypt’s National ID card (PDF417), among others.

A common misconception: Does the barcode reader read the black lines?

This is a misconception held by many. The barcode reader actually reads the white spaces between the black lines and decodes them according to the algorithm used in the barcode. To properly decode, a small white space is required before and after the barcode. This is called the “Quiet Zone,” where the scanner starts and ends its work.

Can the black lines be any color other than black?

Another misconception is that the lines must be black. In fact, the barcode lines don’t necessarily have to be black; they should be printed in a dark color. The background doesn’t need to be white, but it should be a light color to allow the scanner to distinguish the lines and decode the barcode effectively.

An important question: How does the cashier know the product information to charge me? Is it in the encoding itself, or is there something else?

This question is crucial as it summarizes the process of buying and selling. The process begins when a product owner wants to introduce their product into large markets. They must contract for a set of numbers to distinguish their product, provided by the entities authorized to issue these numbers. Then, the product details ( size , weight , price, type , etc.) are encoded with a unique barcode for each variant. This list is submitted to the markets, where each item is linked to its barcode in their sales and purchase systems.

For example, if you are selling a 1kg pack of dates, the barcode on this product will differ from that of a 500g pack of the same product. Once entered into the system, the product’s information will automatically appear when the barcode is scanned. The cashier can identify the product by name, type, and price, and charge according to the quantity. Other information, such as production date, expiry date, supplier name, and invoice number, is visible to the relevant staff in accounting, logistics, and other departments.

Through this article, I hope I have provided a simple explanation of the stages of barcode development, technology , and its impact.

For any inquiries, feel free to contact us via email at Info@barcodeegypt.com or visit our page and website by scanning the barcode below .