Comprehensive Guide to 1D and 2D Barcodes

1D and 2D barcode

– The 1D barcodes, or one-dimensional barcodes are linear barcodes. They consist of vertical lines of varying widths with specific gaps resulting in a particular pattern.

– The 2D barcodes, or two-dimensional barcodes, are more complex. They encode data generally in square or rectangular patterns of two dimensions.

– In general, 2D barcodes can represent more data per unit area. More often than not they support a bigger character set than 1D barcodes.

Character Set

There are generally three different types of character sets: numeric, alpha-numeric, and full ASCII.

UPC-A

Nowadays it’s found on virtually every consumer goods packaging.

What is it?

UPC-A encodes 11 digits of product information data along with a trailing check digit, for a total of 12 digits of bar code data.

• The first digit represents the information regarding the type of the product.

• The next five digits contain information about the manufacturer of the product.

• The last five digits contain information about the particular product being encoded.

Where is it used?

• The UPC-A bar code is widely used all over the world for scanning of trade items at the point of sale.

Industry

• Retail, Warehousing

UPC-E

The UPC-E is a variation of the UPC-A

What is it?

The UPC-E allows for a more compact barcode by compressing out unnecessary zeros. This helps result in the UPC-E barcode being only about half the size of a UPC-A barcode.

Where is it used?

The UPC-E barcode is used in retail and warehousing, especially in the USA and Canada.

Industry

Retail, Warehousing

Equivalent UPC-E Barcode:

Original UPC-A Barcode:

EAN 13

EAN-13 is a 13-digit (12 data and one check) barcoding standard which is a superset of the original 12-digit

Universal Product Code (UPC) system.

What is it?• EAN-13 is a superset of the original 12-digit

Universal Product Code (UPC) system. Therefore, any software or hardware capable of reading an EAN-13 symbol should automatically be able to read an UPC-A symbol.

• Since 2005, all retail scanning systems in the USA have accepted the EAN-13 symbol as well as the standard UPC-A.

Where is it used?

The EAN-13 barcode is used worldwide for marking products often sold at retail stores and point of sales.

Industry

Retail

EAN 8

Derived from the longer (EAN-13) code, the main purpose of the EAN-8 bar code is to use as little space

as possible.

What is it?

An EAN-8 bar code includes a two or three-digit country code, four of five data digits (according to the length of the country code), and a checksum digit. The data digits in an EAN-8 symbol identify a specific product and manufacturer.

Where is it used?

You’ll find EAN-8 barcodes on products where only limited space is available, like small candies, cigarettes, pencils, and chewing gum packets.

Companies may also use EAN-8 barcodes to encode RCN-8s (8-digit Restricted Circulation Numbers) used to identify own-brand products sold only in their stores.

Industry

Retail

Industrial 2 of 5

Industrial 2 of 5 is a low-density numeric symbol that has been with us since the 1960s.

What is it?

The barcode is called “2 of 5” due to the fact that digits are encoded with five bars, two of which are always wide (and the remaining three are narrow).

Industrial 2 of 5 is a very simple symbol in that all information is encoded in the width of the bars. The spaces in the barcode exist only to separate the bars themselves.

Where is it used?

Industrial 2 of 5 has been used in photofinishing, transport and warehouse sorting applications, as well as for sequentially numbering airline tickets.

Industry

Transport, Warehousing

Interleaved 2 of 5

Interleaved 2 of 5 is a higher-density numeric symbol based upon the Industrial 2 of 5 symbol.

Interleaved 2 of 5

Each data character consists of five elements, either five bars or five spaces. The symbol is termed “interleaved” because the first numeric data is encoded in the first five bars while the second numeric data is encoded in the first five spaces that separate the first five bars.

This feature allows Interleaved 2 of 5 to achieve a relatively higher density, but users must always encode an even number of numeric values.

Where is it used?

Interleaved 2 of 5 is used primarily in applications such as label packaging, distribution and warehousing. Since the barcode can deal with high printing tolerances, it is good for printing on corrugated cardboard.

Industry

Packaging, Logistics

Note that the above bar code is physically smaller than Industrial 2 of 5.

Codabar

Codabar is a discrete, self-checking symbol that encodes up to 16 different characters with an

additional four start/stop characters.

What is it?

Codabar can encode the digits zero through nine, six symbols (-:.$/+), and the start/stop characters A, B, C, D, E, *, N, or T. The start/stop characters must be used in matching pairs and may not appear elsewhere in the barcode. Since Codabar is self-checking, there is no established checksum digit.

Where is it used?

Although newer symbologies hold more data information in a smaller space, Codabar has a large installed base in libraries.

Codabar barcodes are used by logistics and healthcare professionals, including U.S. blood banks, FedEx airbills, photo labs, libraries, etc.

Industry

Logistics, Healthcare and Education

Code 11

Code 11 is a high-density discrete symbol produced by Intermec in 1977.

What is it?The symbology is able to encode the numbers zero through nine, the dash symbol (-), and start/stop characters. Each digit is made up of three bars and two spaces. The width of a digit will not be fixed. Code 11 is not immune to printing imperfections because they can easily convert one character into another valid character. So one, or sometimes two, check digits (named C and K) are used to improve data integrity.Where is it used?It is used primarily in labeling telecommunications equipment.IndustryTelecommunications

Code 39

Code 39 is general purpose and one of the most widely used barcode types.

What is it?As the first alpha-numeric symbol developed in the year 1974 by Intermec, Code 39 is a variable length, discrete barcode symbology. The name of code 39 comes from the fact that it could only encode 39 characters in total. However, in its most recent version, the character set has been increased to 43. They consist of uppercase letters (A through Z), numeric digits (zero through nine) and a number of special characters (-, ., $, /, +, %, and space). An additional character (denoted ‘*’) is used for both start and stop delimiters. The barcode itself does not include a check digit. But it is considered self-checking in that a single print defect cannot transpose one character into another valid character.

• Where is it used?Born in 1974, Code 39 is still widely used, especially in non-retail environments. It is supposedly the standard barcode used by the United States Department of Defense and is also used by the Health Industry Bar Code Council (HIBCC).

• IndustryGovernment, Manufacturing, Logistics, Postal, Medical, Automotive and Defense

Code 93

Code 93 was made in 1982 by Intermec to complement and improve upon Code 39.

What is it?Code 93 differs from Code 39 in that Code 93 is a continuous symbol and produces denser code. It encodes 47 characters compared to Code 39’s 43 characters. Its high density and compact size makes its labels around 25 percent shorter than barcodes produced in Code 39.The Standard Mode (default implementation) of Code 93 can encode uppercase letters (A through Z), digits (zero through nine) and special characters like the *, -, $, %, (space), ., /, and + . The Full ASCII mode or extended version can encode all 128 ASCII characters. Code 93 enables additional security within the barcode itself.

Where is it used?Code 93 barcodes are widely used in logistics to identify packages, in retail inventory, label electronic components, and reportedly even provide additional delivery information for the Canadian Post.IndustryPostal, Retail, Manufacturing and Logistics

Code 128

It is another linear barcode popular in industry and stores.

What is it?The Code 128 character set includes the digits zero through nine, the letters A-Z (upper and lower case), and all standard ASCII symbols and control codes. The codes are separated into three subsets A, B, and C. Subset A includes the standard ASCII symbols, digits, upper case letters, and control codes. Subset B includes standard ASCII symbols, digits, upper and lower case letters. Subset C compresses two numeric digits (the set of 100 digit pairs from 00 to 99) into each character, providing excellent density.Code 128 is usually selected over Code 39 in new applications because of its excellent density and much larger selection of characters.

Where is it used?Code 128 barcodes are compact, high-density codes used in logistics and transportation industries for ordering and distribution. They’re geared toward non-POS products, like supply chain applications needing label units with serial shipping container codes (SSCC).IndustryTransport, Shipping, Tracking

QR code

They really rose in popularity with mobile devices.

What is it?

The QR code can encode a wide variety of data types, including numeric, alphabets, special characters and binary data as well.

The QR code was designed to allow high-speed component scanning. A charge-coupled device (CCD) barcode reader can decode up to 30 QR codes per second with up to 100 characters in each barcode.

Each QR code has three finder patterns located in three corners of the QR code. A CCD reading device can detect and decode the position of the barcode, the size of the barcode and the size of the inclination angle.

This barcode type has a high data density. It can encode 1,817 Chinese characters, 7,089 numbers or 4,296 English letters. It has four levels of error correction. Even if a QR code is damaged or broken, it can often still be read correctly.

Where is it used?Today, QR codes have become common in areas such as consumer advertising, code payments, website logins, for data encryption, and more.

IndustryRetail, Entertainment and Advertising

PDF417

The PDF417 barcode is a type of stacked linear barcode.

What is it?Each PDF417 barcode consists of three to 90 rows, and a single row is essentially the equivalent of a small 1D barcode. PDF417 specifies that each pattern in the code consists of four bars and spaces, and each pattern is to be 17 units long. This is how we get the “417” part of the name.Where is it used?It is mainly used in transportation, identification cards and inventory management. Most states in America use PDF417 to encode drivers’ key information on the back side of driver licenses.IndustryTransport, Logistics, Warehousing, Government

Data Matrix

It supports advanced encoding error checking and correction algorithms.

What is it?The Data Matrix barcode supports advanced encoding error checking and correction algorithms. This allows the recognition of barcodes that are up to 60 percent damaged. Data Matrix barcodes are adaptable in size. The symbol size can be as small as 2.5mm, which is the smallest among all 2D barcodes. Meanwhile, the size and the encoded data capacity is independent. This allows the choosing of a lot of different matrix sizes.

Where is it used?The most popular application for Data Matrix is labeling small items, such as small electronic components and pill bottles.Also, it’s commonly used on items where barcodes get easily damaged due to high heat, chemical exposure, etc., such as, electrical rating plates, surgical instruments, circuit boards and the like.IndustryElectronics, Retail, Government, Marketing, Post, Electronics, Medical

How to decide which one

In general, the selection of a barcode relies on many factors. Some of these are listed below. But, of course, this is not an all-inclusive list:• You need to consider the industry and related regulation needs

and requirements. Make sure to follow common practices.• Be clear about the character set you need to support for the

business.• If possible, always choose more compatible barcode types, like

EAN-13 over UPC-A.

How to decide which one

• If you need to encode a large amount of data, consider a 2D barcode first.

• Check if there is some special need for your product. Is the product too compact in space that allows only for high-density barcodes like EAN-8, UPC-E, Code 128, etc.? Will your product packaging get easily polluted requiring a barcode with good fault tolerance? If so, consider barcodes with an error correction mechanism, like QR Code, Data Matrix, etc.

• Do you need your barcodes read by mobile apps? If so, the QR Code is extremely popular in this scenario.

Recommendation of a barcode SDKYou can use Dynamsoft’s Barcode Reader to read the information encoded in your barcode. It supports reading all major 1D and 2D barcodes, using only a few lines of code.