Barcode Info
Barcode Info
Barcode Tag not printing out correctly? see Other PC Help
Paper stock:
Size - The most common size is 4"x6", recommended by AIAG suppliers (see below) is the most common paper stock to order without having to pay extra for special cutting.
Type - There are several different types of paper to use depending on what your objective is.
Paper - Thick stock (24bond or better) - good for if you put the tag in a baggie.
Paper with gloss - thick stock - can withstand some wear and tear, not good for weather or oil
Poly (polyester) - almost plastic - can hang directly on coil and is indestructible.
Options
Hang hole - to attach tag to coil/lift with a wire hanger.
Notch sensor - this depends on printer; majority of printers see notch sensor.
Adhesive - all the above types can be made/ordered with adhesive on the back to directly stick to coils. (Not good for excessive oily surfaces)
Tag Format:
AIAG format - Customers prefer to have AIAG formatted tag. Even if your customer is not an automotive supplier, most can use this format.
This format was setup for trading partners. The tag is setup so someone can do "heads down" scanning. How is this done?
Each of the field is prefixed with a character (see tag below with each boxes prefix in parenthesis)for the program that's interpreting the scanning
of the barcode which field they are scanning. Example: If there is a P as the first character then their program knows that is the Part Number.
see http://www.aiag.org
If you need to turn on the prefixes, check "Inventory Defaults" for turning on the prefixes.
Barcode Format:
There are many types of barcode formats. Ex: UPC, Code 25(code 2 of 5), Code 39 (3 of 9) ...see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcode
The most common across all industries if just used for identification is Code 3 of 9 (code 39), b/c it’s the easiest to read and the most forgiving if print quality is bad.
How Barcodes work:
Technical stuff first:
When you scan a barcode, it reading the white space between the lines. The way a barcode scanner works is it reads the reflections back, then calculates the distances between the white lines (the black lines which don't reflect). There are little mirror(s) inside the gun/reader, so if you ever watch someone hold a barcode gun perpendicular to the barcode, they are trying to read then it won't work, you need to angle it a little so the reflection comes back up into the gun/reader. Don’t compare a scanner gun and/or pen to what you see at the grocery, the one at the grocery has a whole bunch of mirrors (vertical and horizontal) in there to capture the reflections so the person operating it doesn’t have to hold it a specific way so it will scan.
Warning, don’t look at the red light too long it will burn your retina over a long period of time.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_a_barcode_reader_work&alreadyAsked=1&rtitle=How_does_a_price_scanner_work
Bad print/quality example:
(This example shows that the ribbon is crinkled when printed and/or the pressure on the ribbon to paper needs increased):
Burnt Pins in print head example:
Another problem might be if there are pins out on the head, so you would see a consistent line(area missing) horizontally all the way down the whole tag…so if one of those missing areas is in the barcode in which a reader reads the reflections there might be an extra area and it cannot figure out what it is supposed to be. Solution is to replace the print head.
(Exaggerated a little, a fine line might be enough that scanner can't read):
Trying to debug print quality:
A faxed barcode tag does no good when trying to debug why a scanner won’t read the barcodes.
if the quality isn’t there to begin with, then faxing it will make it 10times worse.
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