Barcode printing and life distance

For barcode printing, I am afraid that everyone will not be too unfamiliar. Everyday, we brought food and daily necessities from the supermarket to the checkout counter. The cashier took the same size and shape as the hair dryer and swept away the bag. He only heard the bang and the price went. Appears in the computer. It has improved the speed and accuracy of manual accounting in the past, and has improved the modern business environment in terms of efficiency, risk, and cost. This is the application of barcode printers in shopping malls and supermarkets.

Barcode printing goes hand in hand

In today's commerce and trade industries, such as clothing, electrical appliances and other department stores, all time-limited or shelf-life products are related to its related records, such as name, model/series, date of manufacture, backlog period, and so on. Different commodities may be assigned to different warehouses and managed by different personnel. To achieve unified and timely sales planning, the “print” must be placed on the merchandise by a bar code printer so that it can be easily accessed and called on the computer. It can be said that the bar code will be the identity of all social goods.

Not only that, in the past, the industrial manufacturing field that focused on the cost of production has gradually realized the impact of logistics informatization on the overall cost. According to statistics, China's logistics costs account for approximately 70% of the difference between the sales and purchase price of goods. From the accounts, it can be seen that logistics costs account for 40% of the total price of goods. Therefore, to reduce costs from the logistics link and accelerate the development of logistics informationization is an imminent task. This move means the collection, classification, transmission, identification, and query of information generated during the logistics process. Are inseparable from the bar code printer.

It can be seen that the bar code printing technology has been widely used in commerce and trade, production, distribution, utilities and other major industries, which is beyond doubt. The question is whether bar code printing will, like an ordinary printer, gradually penetrate into the realm of our ordinary consumers as the demand expands. Let us first look at the technical principles behind it and then judge whether it can be applied to our daily life.

The origin of barcode printing and related technologies
In 1949, the American engineer Woodland invented the bar code printing technology according to the principle of different line widths to obtain different recognition results, and applied for a patent in 1952.

Simply put, bar code printing technology mainly includes bar code printers, bar code scanners, tag words and other components. The technology is a set of symbols with different widths and widths and black and white parallel lines combined in a specific format and spacing. This symbol can achieve the purpose of dialogue between humans and computers. The specific identification process is: when a light beam is emitted from the light emitter of the scanner and shines on the bar code, the photo detector responds to the light intensity reflected from the bar code by the light beam in response, when the scanning light spot is swept to a white paper surface or is In the space between the two black lines, the reflected light is strong, and the detector outputs a large current; when scanning into a dark line, the reflected light is weak, the detector outputs a small current, and the time length varies according to the width of the black line In response, the light and dark changes in the bar code are converted into current signals of different sizes, which are amplified and sent to the decoder. The decoder translates the signal into data, performs local inspection and display, and sends it to the computer for data processing. We know that computers use binary calculations, so the wide black lines in our barcode are compiled to 1, the thin black lines are compiled to 0, and the logic is converted to numbers or arrays from 0 to 9.

Based on this principle of reflected light recognition, we can also analyze the advantages and disadvantages of barcode printing technology:

First of all, the decoder is to identify the strength of the reflected light current to 0 and 1, then there is a higher demand for the color matching of the printing ink, whether the color density is uniform and the color saturation and other factors. In addition, ink color cast problem is also worth noting in bar code printing.

Followed by the requirements of the corresponding goods. Recipients usually refer to carriers of barcodes, such as bags, membership cards, and so on. As the barcode is read, the scanning light source is incident at a 45-degree angle, and the reflection light collection angle is 15 degrees. When the reflected light exceeds a range of 15 degrees, the reflected light signal cannot be collected, which is equivalent to a black effect. Therefore, in order to satisfy the characteristics of bar code scanning, it is required that the substrate have good light scattering characteristics and specular reflection cannot occur. Therefore, the white quality, opacity and gloss of the paper have a certain influence on the recognition of the barcode.

Finally, the print quality of the barcode, such as whether it is clear or flat, directly affects the compiler's recognition of it.

In fact, when the bar code printer was just born, due to the limitations of computer technology not yet universally adopted and some other factors (such as consumer confidence in it), it did not grow up quickly. Instead, it was the American Railroad and General Motors Corporation. Take the lead in introducing this technology. By the mid-1970s, the widespread use of computer equipment and the bold attempts of large shopping malls had brought bar code printing technology to a stand-off. Until today, bar code printing technology has appeared in every corner of the industry and business sectors, mainly in the United States Zebra, Germany CAB, Taiwan ARGOX and other famous brands. Is it possible for readers of bar code printers to identify themselves with the lives of ordinary families?

Barcode technology is already at your doorstep
Barcode technology has reached your doorstep. This is not an "alarming." The Chengdu Water Supply Company stated as early as a few months ago: “The stainless steel file plate hanging from the water meter in Chengdu will gradually withdraw from the stage of history. Instead, it will be a bar code file number plate with paste.” The water meter file plate is The important sign of the water meter settlement is also an important basis for the relevant staff to confirm the table position. In the past, stainless steel file plates that were hung on the straight pipe section before the water meter were tediously installed and easily lost. The production cost was as high as one or two yuan each, and mistakes could be seen with the naked eye. If you use barcode technology, you can quickly and accurately record numbers and store them in your computer by simply swiping the scanner. Not only the relevant staff, but also ourselves can just tap the mouse to grasp the use of tap water.

We know that the advantages of bar code technology lie in integration, real-time and collaborative management. Then, with the development of digitization, combined with the application of bar code technology, computers and the Internet can no longer be a single entertainment function for home users. Just like the application of bar code technology to the real-time monitoring and inquiry of water meters, most residential communities will, in the near future, use home electronics devices such as electricity meters, gas meters and digital televisions to organize information into computers through bar code technology. Make it easy for property managers and users to understand relevant information and communicate in a timely manner.

With the demand for product creation, we have every reason to believe that bar code technology will be integrated into the lives of ordinary families like computers and printers.

Reprinted from: China Ink Web