Fundamentals of A undamentals of A undamentals of A undamentals of A undamentals of Automated Data Collection utomated Data Collection utomated Data Collection utomated Data Collection utomated Data Collection Using Bar Code and RFID Using Bar Code and RFID Using Bar Code and RFID Using Bar Code and RFID Using Bar Code and RFID An e-book from ADC Integrated Systems, Inc. Visit us at www .adcisi.com for additional information on Automated Data Collection systems and services. Request a site visit, read our blog, ask for a quotation - we have over 150 man years experience in solving business process problems with bar code and RFID. 1) Intr 1) Intr 1) Intr 1) Intr 1) Intr oduction oduction oduction oduction oduction The first commercial use of the UPC bar code was at a grocery store in Ohio in 1973. The package scanned was a pack of gum. Today we take the technology very much for granted but without bar codes and bar code scanning technology, life would be very different. Imagine what FedEx and UPS would be without bar codes. Imagine how long it would take to check out at the grocery if every item had to be keyed in by hand. The list goes on - bar code technology in manufacturing, distribution, transportation and healthcare reduces the amount of time needed to get products to stores and hospitals. UPC Barcode
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An e-book from ADC Integrated Systems, Inc. Visit us at www.adcisi.com for
additional information on Automated Data Collection systems and services.
Request a site visit, read our blog, ask for a quotation - we have over 150 man
years experience in solving business process problems with bar code and RFID.
A bar code symbol is made up of alternating lines and spaces. Combining these bars and spaces in specific
ways is similar to using Morse code. Using Morse code to spell out SOS uses 3 dots (...) then 3 dashes (—
) and then three dots again (...). A bar code is a “machine readable“machine readable“machine readable“machine readable“machine readable
symbol”symbol”symbol”symbol”symbol” meaning that it can be decoded (turned back into number
and letters) by any of several types of scanner. The bars and spaces
are analogous to the dots and dashes.
Using only bars and spaces, a bar code can represent numbers or
numbers and letters. In fact the entire ASCII character set can be
represented in bar code. When scanned by a laser scanner or imager
the bar code returns a signal pattern that is then interpreted by the
bar code reader; turning the symbol back into numbers and letters.
Using bar code almost any item can be identified - part numbers, location IDs, packing
slips, shipping documents, driver licenses - the list is endless.
A “linear“linear“linear“linear“linear””””” bar code is one dimensional; that is, the information is the same whether
you scan across the top, bottom or through the center. There are also 2 dimensional bar codes which
included “stack“stack“stack“stack“stacked”ed”ed”ed”ed” (many 1D codes stacked together) and “matrix”“matrix”“matrix”“matrix”“matrix” (a series of dots or lines).
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) also represents a ‘type’ of bar code which we will cover in more detail in a separate
section. The kThe kThe kThe kThe key to a bar code that is easy to scan is contained within the specifications for that symbologyey to a bar code that is easy to scan is contained within the specifications for that symbologyey to a bar code that is easy to scan is contained within the specifications for that symbologyey to a bar code that is easy to scan is contained within the specifications for that symbologyey to a bar code that is easy to scan is contained within the specifications for that symbology..... Bar code
specifications are the rules on how the bar code is to be produced. Those rules include a few terms we must define.
The “The “The “The “The “XXXXX” dimension” dimension” dimension” dimension” dimension - not science fiction but the width in “mils” (thousandths of an
inch) of the narrowest bar. So you will hear of a bar code referred to as 20 mil or 40
mil code; again that measurement is the width of any of the narrow bars in the printed
symbol. The X dimension is important for two reasons - 1) the wider the X dimension
the larger the overall symbol will be when printed. A bar code containing 12
characters will be smaller if the X dimension is 10 mil than if it is 60 mil and 2) the
larger the X dimension the farther away the bar code can be scanned.
The “N RThe “N RThe “N RThe “N RThe “N Ratioatioatioatioatio””””” - the N ratio compares the width of the narrow bar (X dimension) with the width of the wide bar. The
ratio will usually be 2 times, 2.5 times or 3 times the X dimension or, said another way, a 10 mil narrow bar will have a 20
mil, 25 mil or 30 mil wide bar. Again this is important for the same two reasons, 1) the larger the N ratio the larger the
printed symbol will be and 2) the larger the N ratio the easier the bar code will be to scan from a distance as the wider bar
provides a stronger signal when scanned.
The Quiet ZonesThe Quiet ZonesThe Quiet ZonesThe Quiet ZonesThe Quiet Zones - are the blank white areas on either end of a bar code symbol. These are important
because if the symbol is printed to close to the edge of a label the bar code scanner may not be able to
pick up where that symbol begins or ends. Typically a quiet zone is defined as being 10X or 10 times
The good news is that any type of printer can be made to print bar code symbols.
The bad news is that any type of printer can be made to print bar code symbols. This
is not gibberish; each type of printer has strengths and weaknesses when it comes to
printing bar codes.
Desktop laser and inkjet printers can be used to print shipping labels - both Fedex and
UPS offer online label printing that includes the shipping bar code. PC software is
available to format and print bar coded labels and even to integrate label printing into
other corporate software. Desktop printers are often used to print shipping tickets or
pick tickets and can incorporate bar code symbols into these documents.
The downside of desktop printers is that they are usually not rugged enough to print
high volumes of labels. Additionally the labels you can run through a desktop printer
are not very durable; they don’t have the strength of adhesive to stick to corrugated
boxes and the print can be damaged fairly easily.
Dedicated bar code printers are thermal thermal thermal thermal thermal in nature; that is, they use a print head that becomes hot.
There are two variations - thermal directthermal directthermal directthermal directthermal direct uses a hot print head to ‘burn’ the image into a coated paper
stock. Heating this coating turns it black thereby producing an image. Thermal transferThermal transferThermal transferThermal transferThermal transfer uses a similar
The terms “scanner” and “reader” are often interchanged;
basically anything that can decode a bar code and change
it back into numbers and letters is a “scanner”. Anything
that can accept that decoded information is a “reader” .
For example, the omni-directional laser at your grocery
checkout is a scanner; the cash register is a reader.
For most of us, that particular scanner at the check out is
the one we’re most familiar with. It uses a low power
diode laser to produce a dot of red light. That red dot is
reflected against a spinning, faceted mirror to produce a
pattern of lines. When those lines cross the UPC bar
code symbol on a package of coffee a signal is reflected back to a photo eye inside the scanner itself.
That signal is decoded back into numbers and letters and sent up to the cash register. An important point here is that the
scanning replaces a human being having to type or key those numbers into the cash register - this is the fundamental benefitof bar code; replacing slow human typing or hand writing with fast electronic scanning. That
replacement speeds up check out (or picking orders in a warehouse) and reduces the chance of error (a
human will make a mistake keying once in every 300 characters typed).
5) Wireless Networking and WL5) Wireless Networking and WL5) Wireless Networking and WL5) Wireless Networking and WL5) Wireless Networking and WLAN used in Data CollectionAN used in Data CollectionAN used in Data CollectionAN used in Data CollectionAN used in Data Collection
Once a mysterious area familiar only to the military and ham radio operators, wireless communication is commonplace
today. Not that we necessarily understand it any better but manufacturers of laptops and cell phones have worked hard to
make wireless networking much easier to use.
The wireless ‘hot spot’ your laptop connects to at Starbucks is simply
a way to eliminate the cable plugged into a port on the computer.
Wi-Fi, as it’s sometimes called, stands for “wireless fidelity”; a
throwback to when stereo music was called High Fidelity.
As it relates to bar code data collection, manufacturers and
distribution operations deploy such wireless networks in their
facilities thereby extending the computer network through large
buildings or even groups of buildings.
The hand held and vehicle mounted terminals used to track
inventory or shipping have basically the same radio setup as your
laptop computer which allows information on what is happening in the facility to be updated in real
time. Prior to the wide spread of Wi-Fi, wireless networking was limited to very complicated
installations requiring large amounts of specialized equipment.
7) Applications T7) Applications T7) Applications T7) Applications T7) Applications Typically using Bar Code or RFID Typically using Bar Code or RFID Typically using Bar Code or RFID Typically using Bar Code or RFID Typically using Bar Code or RFID Technologyechnologyechnologyechnologyechnology
RRRRReceiving eceiving eceiving eceiving eceiving - the process of receiving raw materials in a manufacturing
facility or receiving finished goods at a distribution center or store.
This can be a challenging application for bar code. There are three
“if” conditions that must be met before this can work. IF your
suppliers bar code the items they ship to you and IF that bar code has
information your system can use (as opposed to it being THEIR
shipping label) and IF there is a way to compare those items against
orders then it may be possible to receive automatically using bar
code.
If items are not bar coded when they come off the truck, it may be
feasible to label them before putting them into raw goods inventory -
though this adds an additional step in the work process. It can also
be a problem if your facility uses the same dock doors for receiving
and shipping; can your programs differentiate between shipping and
receiving?
Receiving applications typically include a wireless network, hand held terminals, bar code printers, and