Barcodes UPC-A The UPC-A barcode uses 12 digits (including one check digit) and is the most common

and well-known barcode in the United States. It is used on practically all consumer goods in stores, including food items, books, magazines, and newspapers.

UPC-E The UPC-E is a 6 digit-shorter version of UPC-A. This barcode is about half the size of the UPC-A for the same product number. Only a subset of the numbers that can be encoded with UPC-A can be encoded with UPC-E. It is used on products with small packaging.

Code 39 Code 39, also known as 3 of 9 Code and USD-3, is an alpha-numeric variable length symbology widely used- in non-retail environments. It is the standard bar code used by the United States Department of Defense and the Health Industry Bar Code Council (HIBCC). Code 39 may use a check digit, but often is used without a check digit. Code 39 is normally used to encode digits, upper case letters, and a few special characters. Representing lower case letters and most of the special characters is done using full ASCII mode. This requires twice as many bar code characters and consequently twice as much space on the paper.

Code 93 Compressed form of Code 39 Code 93 is a continuous, variable-length compressed form of Code 39. Code 93 produces denser code. It also encodes 47 characters compared to Code 39's 43 characters. With Code 39, four of the characters can either be used to specify specific special characters or they can be used as escape characters. With Code 93 the additional four characters are used so that there is no ambiguity.

Code 128 Code 128 is high-density symbology used throughout the world which permits the encoding of alphanumeric data. The barcode uses a checksum digit for verification, and can also be verified character-by-character. The calculation of the check digit typically gives programmers an interesting problem to solve. It is used when a large amount of data needs to be placed into a small space.

UCC/EAN-128 UCC/EAN-128 is used worldwide and is primarily used for encoding shipping and product information. It is gaining in popularity. UCC/EAN-128 uses Code 128 as its symbology. It uses 2 digit Application Identifiers (AIs) that specify the meaning of the data that follows. For example, if the AI is 00 it means that this is a 20 digit SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code). This symbology can be expanded, which makes it more adaptable to the changing needs of business.

United States Postal Service Zip The United States Postal Service (USPS) postal code was developed to allow faster sorting and routing of mail.

This barcode encodes data in the height of the bars, not in the width of the spaces like conventional barcodes. It is capable of encoding a standard 5-digit Zip Code, a Zip+4 code, or a full 11-point delivery point code. Each USPS zip also requires a mod-10 check digit.

Interleaved 2 of 5 Interleaved 2 of 5 is a higher-density numeric barcode based on the Standard 2 of 5 symbology. Interleaved 2 of 5 can only represent numeric data. With the Standard 2 of 5, the white spaces are all the same width while the width of the black bars is used to convey the information. There are 5 black bars and 2 of them are wide, hence the 2 of 5. In the Interleaved 2 of 5 symbology both the white spaces and the black bars convey information. Of the white spaces, 2 of the 5 are wide. A single character (5 black bars and 5 white spaces) represent two digits. The total number of digits represented must always be an even number. It is widely used in warehouse and industrial applications.

EAN-13 EAN-13 is a 13 character symbology and is based upon the UPC-A standard. EAN 13 was first implemented by the International Article Numbering Association (EAN) in Europe and is widely used internationally. EAN-13 is a superset of UPC-A. It uses 13 digits (including one check digit) instead of the 12 digits (including one check digit) used by UPC-A.

PDF 417 PDF 417 is a two dimensional barcode which allows large amounts of text and data to be stored securely and inexpensively into a small space. The PDF 417 symbology can also withstand damage without causing loss of data. Error correction is more advanced in the PDF 417 than one dimensional barcodes. More than one thousands characters of information can be encoded into this type of barcode.

RSS-14 RSS-14 is a linear symbology that facilitates omnidirectional scanning. RSS-14 is smaller than EAN-13 or UPC-A. and designed to used where conventional barcodes will not work because of space restrictions.

14 digits of numerical data are encoded to identify Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) for scanning. More information can be encoded by adding and linking to a Composite Component that can contain up to 2,361 data characters.

RSS-14 can be scanned and decoded in four segments and then reconstructed. This facilitates omnidirectional scanning.