How Barcode Technology Works

We use it in our daily lives. For most of us it has been around our entire lifetime, but how much do you know about barcode technology. This page, and video, will walk you through how barcode technology works.

• Laser scans the barcode (3-series of 95 evenly spaced columns) and is looking for the amount of light reflected
• Even though numbers are typically at the bottom of the code, the code is in fact a series of 0's and 1's
• Column that reflect light are considered a "0"
• Columns that reflect no light are considered a "1"
• The combination of these 0's and 1's are grouped into 15 different sections
• 12 sections are used for numerical identification
• 3 sections (left, center, and right) are used as guards
• Numbers to the left of center use a different 0-9 scale than the numbers on the right
• This is how the reader knows if the code is right side up, or upside down. 
• Code on the left always has an odd number of 1s
• Code on the right always has an even number of 1s
• All codes on the left begin with a 0 and end with a 1
• All codes on the the right begin with a 1 and end with a 0

The video below outlines this well. It is about 4-minutes and will teach alot about how barcode technology works.

 

Author: Kyle Sarasin