Barcode Glossary

Barcoding jargon explained - this glossary has definitions of a number of terms used in barcoding. 

A

Accuracy

The determination of whether any element width or inter-character gap width (if applicable) differs from its nominal width by more than the printing tolerance.

ADC

Automated Data Collection or Automated Data Capture – refers to all technologies that automate the process of data collection without the use of a keyboard, including bar code, magnetic stripe, (OCR) optical card reader, voice recognition, smartcard or (RFID) radio frequency identification. ADC provides a quick, accurate and cost effective way to collect and enter data.

Adhesive

1) A substance (cement, glue, gum) capable of holding materials together by surface contact. 
2) The portion of a pressure sensitive label which allows the label to cling to its intended surface.

AIAG

Automotive Industry Action Group – a trade association responsible for creating automotive industry standards pertaining to bar code symbology and common label formats.

AIDC

Automatic Identification and Data Capture - covering Barcode, RFID, SmartMedia, Biometrics

AIDC Centre

The European Centre of Excellence for AIDC is located in Halifax, England.

AIM

Automatic Identification Manufacturers, Inc. – a US trade association who represent the manufacturers of automatic identification systems.

AIM (UK)

AIM UK represents the automatic identification, data capture and mobility industries in the UK.

Alignment

In an automatic identification system (Auto ID), the relative position and orientation of a scanner to the symbol.

Alphanumeric

A character set consisting of letters, numbers and usually other character such as special symbols.

ANSI

American National Standards Institute – a non-governmental organization responsible for the development of voluntary bar code, quality standards. Bar code printing standards and the readability of bar code symbols are determined and classified into grades from A to F, in order to provide an overall symbol quality test.

Aperture

The opening on an optical system (scanner) that establishes the field of view.

Application

The particular use the label, tag or ticket will serve once the barcode, text, or graphic image is applied.

Application Temperature

The temperature at the time the label is applied.

B

Backcoating

Used on a thermal transfer ribbon to prevent the ribbon from sticking to the printhead and to the substrate (media/label material). It also protects the printhead from excessive heat, static, and abrasion.

Background

The spaces, quiet zones, and areas surrounding a printed symbol.

Bar

The darker element of a printed bar code symbol.

Bar Code

A bar code is a piece of Automatic Identification Technology (Auto ID) that stores real time data. It is a series of vertical bars or a graphical bar pattern which can, (depending on the width and pattern) encode numbers and letters in a format which can easily be retrieved and interpreted by a bar code reader.

Bar code Character

A single group of bars and stripes that represents a specific quantity (often one) of numbers, letters, punctuation marks, or other symbols. This is the smallest subset of a bar code symbol that contains data.

Bar Code Density

The number of characters that can be represented in a linear unit of measure. This number is often expressed in characters per inch or cpi.

Bar Height/Length

The bar dimension perpendicular to the bar width. Also called bar height. Scanning is performed in an axis perpendicular to the bar length.

Bar Width

The thickness of a bar measured from the edge closest to the symbol start character to the trailing edge of the same bar.

Bi-Directional

Bar code symbology capable of being read successfully independent of scanning direction.

Binary

A numbering system that uses only 1’s and 0’s.

Bit

An abbreviation for binary digit. A single element (0 or 1) in a binary number.

Bitmapped Font

Refers to the inherent character and font sets found within a thermal printer and their respective ability to be adjusted and “shrunk to fit”. Bitmapped fonts are commonly available in limited point sizes – ex – 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 18 point – whose edges can become distorted or rough with manipulation outside the prescribed point size ranges.

C

Character

(1) A single group of bars and spaces that represents a specific number (usually one) of numbers, letters, punctuation marks, or other symbols. 

(2) A graphic shape representing a letter, numeral, or symbol. 

(3) A letter, digit, or other symbol that is used as part of the organization, control, or representation of data.

Character Alignment

The vertical or horizontal position of characters with respect to a given set of reference lines.

Character Density

Within a linear bar code symbol, the number of data characters per unit length (typically per inch). For a discrete symbology, the character width must include the inter-character gap.

Character Font

Refers to the range and variety of data characters available within a given thermal printer model – Example – 7 Bitmapped fonts type A,B,C,D,E,F and 1 Scaleable font.

Character Set

A range of data characters (alpha, numeric, and/or punctuation) that can be encoded into any given symbology. (2) Refers to the international characters and graphic symbols available within a given thermal printer model – Example – IBM® Code Page 850.

Check Character/Digit

A mechanically calculated number included within a string of data whose value is used for the purpose of performing a mathematical check to insure that the bar code message is scanned and read correctly. 

Code 11

is a barcode symbology developed by Intermec. It uses 11 characters: 0 through 9 and -.

Code 128

Code 128 is an alphanumeric bar code specifically designed to reduce the amount of space the bar code occupies. Each printed character can have one of three different meanings, depending on which of three different character sets are employed.

Code 128 can be recognised as the labelling standard for UCC/EAN 128, used as product identification for container and pallet levels of retail markets.

Example of a Code 128 Bar code

Code 16K

This symbol is a stack of from 2 to 16 rows.

Code 39

is the most commonly used bar code. It can encode both numbers and letters which is ideal for most industrial and non

retail applications. The Automotive industry uses Code 39 as its standard for shipping container labels. If you are just starting out a bar code application of your own, we recommend using Code 39. Also known as Code 3 of 9. 
The characters 0 through 9, A through Z, six symbols (-,., *,$,+,%), and a space are available. Each character is made up of 9 bars - 3 of which are wider than the others. (A bar is the printed black bar or the white space between the bars.) A single character therefore consists of 5 black bars and 4 white bars. The space (the intercharacter gap) between each barcode character is one narrow white bar. The start/stop character ('*') is always the first and last character.

 

Example of a Code 39 Bar code

Code 49

was introduced in 1987 by the Intermec Corporation as a multi-row, continuous, variable length symbology and was the first stacked (two dimensional) barcode to receive widespread interest.

Code 93

Code 93 is the complimentary version of Code 39 and allows labels to be approximately 30 percent shorter than Code 39.

Example of a Code 93 Bar code

Codabar

a barcode symbology that uses four bars and three spaces to represent the numbers 0 through 9 and a set of special characters

Concatenation

The ability of a reading system to join together that data from multiple symbologies and interpret the information in a single message.

Continuous Bar Code

The end of each character in the bar code message marks the beginning of the next character; there are no inter-character gaps to separate the characters in the bar code message. Example – Interleaved 2 of 5 code.

Continuous Media

Label, ticket or tag stock media that does not contain any notches, gaps or holes between each label. The label length must be specified in the label program.

Contrast

The difference in reflectance between the black and white (or bar and space) areas of a symbol.

D

DPI

Dots Per Inch (refer to Resolution)

Decoder

In a bar code reading system, the electronic package that receives signals from the scanner, performs the algorithm to interpret the signals into meaningful data, and provides the interface to other devices.

Density

See Character Density for details.

Depth of Field

The distance between the maximum and minimum plane in which a code reader is capable of reading symbols of a specified “X” dimension.

Diffuse Reflection

The component of reflected light that emanates in all directions from the reflecting surface.

Direct Thermal Print

Direct thermal (DT) printing is an old technology originally designed for low cost copiers and fax machines. It has since been transformed into a highly successful technology for bar coding. The thermal printhead is typically a long linear array of tiny resistive heating elements (100-300/inch) arranged perpendicular to the paper flow. Each thermal printhead element locally heats an area on the chemically coated paper directly under the print element. This induces a chemical reaction which causes a dot to form in that area. The image is formed by building it from dot rows as the media passes underneath the active edge of the printhead. Direct thermal printing is an excellent choice for many bar code labelling applications. DT printers provide simplicity and environmental economy (recyclable materials are also available). Direct thermal printers are simple to operate compared to most other print technologies - with no ribbons or toners to replenish - label loading is a very simple procedure. Enables batch or single label print capability with virtually no waste.

Example - Direct Thermal print quality

Discrete Bar Code

Each character of the bar code message stands alone, separated by inter-character gaps, and can be read independently from the others.

Dot Matrix Printing

A print technology that employs several needles which are evenly spaced across a moveable horizontal shuttle which oscillates back and forth as the paper advances. Dot matrix printers print a bar code by creating overlapping adjacent dots to produce approximations of a straight edge line. Prints low to medium density bar codes that may not meet certain end-user guidelines. The dot size on the matrix printer limits the narrow element size and density of the bar code. Continuous ribbon re-use on dot matrix printers requires continuous monitoring of ribbon condition to ensure adequate bar code contrast - Ribbon ink that has become exhausted can produce an image that is inadequate for scanning. Ink saturated ribbon can result in paper “bleed” which can cause image distortion. Dot matrix printers are modified line printers that are most frequently used for printing batches of large labels with low density bar codes. Printing of single, individualized labels results in significant waste - The design of the matrix printer’s print carriage, sitting far below the media, also does not enable one to adequately maximize one’s label space.

Example - Dot Matrix Print Quality

E

E3 - Element Energy Equalizer –

Zebra’s sophisticated method of ensuring that the correct amount of heat is delivered to each part of a printhead at all print speeds in order to optimize the quality of the barcodes that are produced.

EAN

or the European Article Number is the European version of the UPC (Uniform Product Code) bar code of retail food packaging that enables this linear bar code to be used internationally. Like the US equivalent UPC code, there are two different types of EAN codes, EAN 8 and EAN 13.

EAN-13

has 13 characters or symbols. It is very much like the UPC code and has the 13th character as a means of identifying in what country the product will be used.
The EAN Article Numbering System (EAN),the Japanese Article Numbering (JAN) System and the International Article Numbering System (IAN) are identical to UPC except for the number of digits. The ISBN (International Standard Book Numbering) or Bookland code is an EAN-13 bar code beginning with the digits 978. ISSN (International Standard Serial Number for magazines and periodicals) and ISMN (International Standard Music Number) are similar.

Example of a EAN-13 Bar code

EAN-8

has a left-hand guard pattern, four odd parity digits, a centre-guard pattern, four even parity digits, and a right hand guard pattern with a total of eight symbols.

Example of a EAN - 8 Bar code

EBCDIC

Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code which was developed by IBM and is used extensively in systems featuring IBM processors. Each character is represented by a six bit structure with the capability of generating 64 combinations.

Edge Roughness

Irregularities in the printing of bar code elements, resulting in a non-uniform edge and edge errors.

EDP

Electronic Data Processing

the act of processing information electronically.

EDI 

Electronic Data Interchange

A method by which data is/are electronically transmitted from one point to another.

EIA

Electronic Industries Association – a trade association.

Electrostatic

A method of printing that utilizes a special electrostatic paper or charged drum, both of which attract toner to the charged area.

Element

A single bar or space in a bar code symbol.

ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning – is a term used to describe a new wave of integration system software capabilities designed to link a company’s respective operations - including human resources, financials, manufacturing, and distribution – with their customers and suppliers.

F

Facestock

The part of the substrate (media) where printing occurs.

Face Material

See Facestock.

FACT

Federation of Automated Coding Technology

A bureau of AIM consisting of organisations that use and promote automatic identification among their members.

File Tracking

The use of barcode labels affixed to Files, Folders or Documents to enable their management. Alliance PaperChase is a records management and file-tracking system.

First Read Rate (FRR)

The ratio of the number of successful reads on the first scanning attempt to the number of attempts. Commonly expressed as a percentage and abbreviated as FRR.

Fixed Ratio

The ratio between the width of the bars in the code is a fixed standard and cannot be changed.

Flood Coat

A thin coating of ink applied to the top of printing screen by the flood bard or, in manual operations, by the squeegee prior to printing the stroke.

Foil

A cloth or plastic tape coated with several layers of material, on of which is inklike, that produces the visible marks on a substrate. Used on formed font impact, dot matrix, thermal transfer and hot stamp printers. Also called a ribbon.

Flexographic Printing

The process whereby a pre-printed label, tag or ticket is printed by using a raised image plate surface to transfer wet ink to a printing substrate.

G

Gloss

Characteristic of the surface which causes it to reflect light at a given angle.

Guard Bars

Bars that are at both ends and centre of a UPC and EAN symbol which provide reference points for scanning. Guard bars are similar in function to start and stop characters.

H

Hand Held Scanner

A hand-held scanning device used as a contact bar code reader or OCR (optical code) reader. Hand-held scanners are available from Motorola and Opticon.

Heat Resistance

The property of a material which inhibits the occurrence of physical or chemical changes caused by exposure to high temperatures.

HIBCC

Abbreviation for the Health Industry Business Communications Council – a trade association responsible for the symbology and label format used by the health care industry.

High Density

This bar code type has narrow spaces and bars with an “X” dimension that is less than 7.5 mils.

Holding Power

The ability to withstand stress, as in holding rigid label materials on smaller diameter cylindrical objects or in holding weight.

Horizontal Bar Code

A bar code or symbol presented in such a manner that its overall length dimension is parallel to the horizon. The bars are presented in an array that looks like a picket fence.

Human-Readable

The interpretation of bar code data, often printed immediately below the bar code in a readable format to humans.

I

IEEE

Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers – a trade association.

Impact Printing

or dot matrix printing - any printing system where a micro - processor controlled hammer impacts against a ribbon and a substrate (label media).

Industry Standards

were created to encourage consistency across specific industries. Some of the more common standards are from the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), Electronic Industry Association (EIA), the Health Care Industry Bar Code (HCIB) and the UCC Retail Pallet Format.

Ink Jet Printing

Common direct marking process and a favourite on high speed production lines. Ink droplets are selectively deflected between a moving product and an ink return channel . Ink jet printing is frequently used for coding products and cartons with human readable data and lot codes at very high speed and for case coding of cartons with bar codes Bar codes on corrugated boxes are intentionally made large so that dot placement accuracy becomes less critical. Thus, using more ink and creating questionable print quality and usefulness for bar coding.

Ink Layer

The bottom layer of a thermal transfer ribbon of a thermal ribbon which is composed of waxes, resins or a combination of both.

Interlabel Gap

The space, notch or hole between labels used by the media sensor on the printer to determine the label length and top of form.

Interleaved 2 of 5

Interleaved 2 of 5 is a linear symbology that is most often used for encoding large amounts of information in a small area. Characters are paired together using bars to represent the first character and spaces to represent the second. Interleaved 2 of 5 bar code applications are mainly seen in the electronics and manufacturing areas.

Example of a Interleaved 2 of 5 Bar code 

Inventory Control

         Applications where bar coding and other forms of AIDC are used to add or delete items from inventory with 100% accuracy.

 

IPS

Inches Per Second (refer to Print Speed)

ISBN

International Standard Book Numbering.
The barcode symbols that appear on the back of books are known as Bookland EAN bar code symbols. However, although the type of bar code is the same as others used for retailers (EAN/UPC), the numbering system is different. The EAN-13 bar code is used, with the ISBN code preceded by the digits 978.  The ISBN check-digit is replaced with an EAN-13 check digit at the end of the bar code. 
From 2007 the 10 digit ISBN code is being upgraded to a 13 digit code (ie the same as the EAN code), and further codes beginning 979 are being issued.
Alongside the main bar code symbol there can also be a five digit add-on bar code. If the add-on is the book's price, it will begin with a 0 for British Pounds (01234 is £12.34) and 5 for US Dollars (59999 is $99.99). Supplemental codes beginning with 9 have special meanings.

ISMN

International Standard Music Number for sheet music. It is an EAN code beginning 9790

ISSN

International Standard Serial Number for newspapers, magazines and periodicals. It is an EAN-13 bar code, beginning with the digits 977
Optionally this code can be followed by a second supplemental barcode (2 digits, a UPC/EAN code).
A 2-digit supplemental barcode should only be used with magazines, newspapers, etc. & represents the issue number of the magazine.

L

Label , Pressure Sensitive

A pressure sensitive label product is a die cut part that has been converted through the production equipment using the type of pressure sensitive material that has a protective backing. The end product is produced in the form of rolls, sheets, fanfold or by other techniques that produce like products which have been slit or cut from the converted roll.

Label, Transparent

A pressure sensitive label whose face material, adhesive and protective coatings transmit light so that objects can be seen through it. Label Thickness - denotes the ideal range of media / substrate thickness designed to promote optimum print quality and printer performance. Ladder Orientation - A bar code symbol positioned vertically with horizontal bars and spaces.

Laminate

Apply one layer of material over another.

Laser Scanner

An optical bar code reading device using a low - energy laser light beam as its source of illumination.

Laser Printing

The laser printer works much like a photocopier projecting controlled streams of ions onto the surface of a print drum resulting in a charged image. The charged image then selectively attracts toner particles - transferring the image onto the paper substrate (media) by means of pressure. The pressure from the printhead and drum then fuse the image to the paper - creating the image. A laser printed label is only as durable as a photocopy of paper. They commonly cannot produce chemical or water resistant labels. Laser printer labelling adhesives must be carefully selected to ensure stability under the heat and pressure of the fuser. Laser printers are not well suited for industrial labelling applications or individual product labelling applications. Compatible toners for thermal printing applications are, often times, lacking. Cost of toner is significant for barcode printing - 15 - 30% black for bar code print versus 5% black for word processing print - 6 x the cost for barcoding using laser when compared to direct thermal or thermal transfer!

Example - Laser print quality

Light Pen

A handheld pen-like contact reader which the user must sweep across the bar code symbol in order to read the code. Also referred to as a wand.

Linear Bar Code/Symbology

A complete bar code message is expressed in a single line of bars – also commonly referred to as a 1-Dimensional barcode.

Liner

The component of a label used to protect the adhesive and to keep it from sticking to objects before the label is used. It readily separates from the label immediately before the label is applied to the substrate. Also referred to as release liner, backing paper or release paper.

LOGMARS

a US Department of Defense (DOD) project on LOGistics applications of Marking And Reading Symbols resulted in the production of a new standard (MIL - STD - 1189A) that lead to the development of Code 39 as the established, barcode symbology to be used by all DOD vendors.

Low Density

This bar code type has bars and spaces that are wide and far apart with an “X” dimension greater than 20 mils. This type of bar code is used for scanning bar codes from further distances.

M

Machine-Readable

A general term used for printed material that can be directly transferred to a data processing system.

Manufacturer’s ID

In the UPC code, the 6 digit number applied by the UCC to uniquely identify a manufacturer or company selling products under its own name. Also, the first 6 digits of the 12 digit UPC.

Matrix Symbols

Appear as a checker board. They are most likely square in shape, and contain some form of “finder pattern” which distinguishes them from other symbols. The finder pattern provides a decoding reference for scanners.

Maxicode

An example of a company which uses the Maxicode bar code is United Parcel Service (UPS). The next time you receive a package from UPS, look for a very small square with a pattern of dots and a small bulls eye in the centre UPS uses these bar codes as a way to sort their packages for a specific destination.

Example of a Maxicode

Media

The term which refers to the label, tag and/or ticket and its respective ribbon combination. The surface on which a bar code symbol is printed. Also, interchangeably, referred to as substrate.

Media Roll Capacity

Refers to the maximum/minimum media roll diameter that a thermal printer can accommodate – For example, 5.0” O.D. (Outer Diameter) and 1.0” I.D. (Inner Diameter).

Mil

The narrowest nominal width unit of measure in a bar code.

Misread

A condition that occurs when the data output of a reader does not agree with the data encoded in the bar code symbol.

Module

The narrowest nominal width unit of measure in a bar code symbol.

Moving Beam Bar code Reader

A scanning device where scanning motion is achieved by mechanically or electronically moving the optical geometry.

MSI

barcode symbology made up of 4 bars & 4 spaces representing the characters 0 through 9.

N

NIST

The National Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers – a trade association.

Non-Continuous Media

Label, tag or ticket which contains either a gap, notch or hole between each label.

Non-Contact Reader

Bar code readers which do not require physical contact with the printed symbol.

Non-Read

The absence of data at the scanner output after an attempted scan due to no code, defective code, scanner failure or operator error. 

Numeric

A character set that includes only numbers.

O

OCR-A

An abbreviation commonly applied to the character set contained in ANSI

Standard X3.17

1981. A stylized font choice used for traditional OCR printing.

ODETTE

the European equivalent of AIAG. 

One-Dimensional Bar code

A complete bar code message is expressed in a single line of bars – also commonly referred to as a linear barcode.

Omnidirectional

Bar codes which can be read in any orientation in relation to the scanner.

On-Demand

A term used to describe when labels are printed immediately when the customer needs them and are ready for use versus being sent off-site for printing.

Operating Temperature

denotes the prescribed temperature range for the safe operation of a thermal printer.

Orientation

The alignment of a bar code symbol with respect to horizontal. Two possible orientations are horizontal and vertical bars and spaces (picket fence formation) and vertical with horizontal bars and stripes (ladder formation).

Overhead

The fixed number of characters required for start, stop, and checking in a given bar code symbol, e.g. a symbol requiring a start and stop character and two check characters contains four characters of overhead. To encode three characters with the overhead listed, seven characters are required to print.

P

Parity Character

An optional character which may be included in the bar code message to minimize the misreading of the message.

PDF-417

A popular two dimensional bar code that allows thousands of characters to be stored in its data format of multi

stacks. Some states use this type of bar code for driver’s license information. Healthcare facilities may also use the PDF417 for patient records because of the amount of data it can store.

Example of a PDF417 Bar code

Pen-Scanner

A pen-like device used to read bar codes. It can be connected either by wire to a device or be self-contained. Required direct contact with the symbol.

Permanency

A measure of an adhesive’s ultimate holding power or bond strength. A permanent adhesive will develop a bond that makes label removal difficult or impossible without distorting the facestock.

Permanent Adhesive

An adhesive character sized by relatively high ultimate adhesion, but which can be removed. The degree of force used overcomes its' bonding ability.

Picket Fence Orientation

A bar code symbol positioned horizontally with vertical bars and spaces.

Piggyback Label

A pressure sensitive label which allows for dual usage. The construction consists of facestock, adhesive, and liner.

Pitch

refers to the rotation of a bar code symbol about an axis parallel to the direction of the bars.

Plessey Code

A pulse width modulated bar code commonly used for shelf marking in grocery stores.

Polyester

A strong film having good resistance to moisture, solvents, oils and many other chemicals. Usually transparent, although available with metalised finish. Often used in the creation of Zebra media.

Polyethylene

A tough, sturdy plastic film having very good, low temperature characteristics. Often used in the creation of Zebra media.

Polypropylene

Similar to polyethylene but stronger and having a higher temperature resistance. Often used in the creation of Zebra media.

Point of Sales (POS)

refers to bar code related retail applications occurring at the point of sale .

Postnet Code

A height modulated, numeric symbology developed by the US Postal Service. This linear symbology that uses 5 bars and 4 spaces to encode each digit. It is unique in that the bars are of different heights to accommodate the fast printing process required by the post office as well as its resistance to smearing.

Example of a Postnet Bar code

Pre-Printed Symbol

A symbol that is printed in advance of application either on a label or on the article to be identified.

Pressure Sensitive Label

A pressure sensitive label product is a die

cut part that has been converted through the production equipment using the type of pressure sensitive material that has a protective backing. The end product is produced in the form of rolls, sheets, fanfold or by other techniques that produce like products which have been slit or cut from the converted roll.

Print Length

refers to the minimum and maximum label length a printer can print with standard or added memory capacity.

Print Method

denotes the print technology used to print a label – commonly direct thermal or thermal transfer variety.

Print Quality

The measure of compliance of a bar code symbol to the requirements of dimensional tolerance, edge roughness, spots, voids, reflectance, PCS, quiet zone, and encodation.

Print Speed

the speed at which the label moves through the print head measured in inches per second (ips)

Print Width

denotes the printhead width and the corresponding maximum label width that a thermal printer can optimally print on.

Product ID

In the UPC code, the 5-digit number assigned by a manufacturer to every consumer unit in its product catalogue. The Product ID is different for every standard package (consumer unit) of the same product.

Q

Quality Control

Applications that use automatic identification to make sure the right material is in stock so it can be delivered for the right cost to the right user at the right time.

Quiet Zone

Bar code message overhead which is an area to the left and to the right of the bar code symbol and is free of printing. This area provides the scanning device time to adjust to the measurements of each bar code in the message.

QR Code 

a two dimensional barcode developed for use in Japan that permits the encoding of binary, Kanji, JIS, and alphanumeric information.

R

Resolution

The narrowest element dimension that can be distinguished by a particular reading device or printed with a particular device or method. Generally the higher the resolution the better the resultant print quality.

Reflectance

The ratio of the amount of light of a specified wavelength or series of wavelengths reflected from a test surface to the amount of light reflected from a barium oxide or magnesium oxide standard.

Registration

variation from label to label of the position of what is printed onto the label as measured from the edges of the label.

Release Liner (Backing)

The portion of the pressure sensitive label which supports and holds the facestock and adhesive until application to the intended surface is needed.

Removable Adhesive

An adhesive characterized by relatively high cohesion strength and low ultimate adhesion. It can removed easily from most substrate surfaces. Some adhesive transfer could take place depending on the affinity of the adhesive to the surface.

Residue

Adhesive left on a substrate when a decal is removed.

Resolution

The narrowest element dimension that can be distinguished by a particular reading device or printed with a particular device or method. Measured in Dots Per Inch (dpi).

Ribbon

A cloth or plastic tape coated with several layers of material, one of which is ink-like, that produces the visible marks on the substrate. Used on formed font impact, dot matrix, thermal transfer and hot stamp printers. Also called foil. 

S

Scaleable Fonts

refers to the inherent character and font sets found within a thermal printer and their respective ability to be adjusted and “shrunk to fit”. Scaleable fonts are also commonly referred to as smooth fonts as their point sizes can be adjusted to any desired custom size evenly and proportionally, without the advent of visible rough edges.

Scanner

A device used to read a bar code symbol. It optically converts optical information into electrical signals.

Scan Spot

The size of the projection of light from a scanning device which “reads” the bar code message.

Self Checking

A bar code is considered self-checking if a single printing defect will not cause a character to be transposed into another valid character in the same symbology.

SER

Substitution Error Rate –or the rate of occurrence of incorrect characters from an automatic identification system.

Service Temperature

The temperature range that a pressure sensitive label will withstand after a 72 hour residence time on the substrate. The range is expressed in degrees Fahrenheit and /or degrees Celsius.

Shelf Life

The period of time during which a product can be stored under specified conditions and still remain suitable for use.

Show-Through

The generally undesirable property of a substrate that permits underlying markings to be seen.

Skew

Rotation of a bar code symbol about an axis parallel to the symbol’s length.

Smudge Resistance

The resistance of a printed surface to smearing.

Solvent

A dissolving, thinning or reducing agent. Specifically, a solvent is a liquid that dissolves another substance.

Source Marking

The process of labelling an item with a bar code at the point of its initial production.

Space

The lighter element of a bar code usually formed by the background between the bars.

Space Width

The thickness of a space measured from the edge closest to the symbol’s start character to the trailing edge of the same space.

Spectral Response

The variation in sensitivity of a reading device to the light of difference wavelengths.

Specular Reflection

The mirror like reflection of light from a surface.

Speed / Throughput

used interchangeably to refer to a rate of motion or printer performance calculated in ips or inches per second. The higher the ips the greater the printers performance rating.

Spot

The undesirable presence of ink or dirt in a space.

Stacked Code Symbols

See 2-Dimensional Bar code

Standard

A set of rules, specifications, instructions and directions on how to use a bar code or other automatic identification system to your advantage and profit. Usually issued by an organization -e.g. LOGMARS, HIBCC, UPC etc.

Start Character

A unique character to the left of the bar code which allows for bi-directionality. (In a vertical bar code, the start character is at the top).

Stop Character

A unique character to the right of the bar code which allows for bi-directionality. (In a vertical label, the stop character is at the bottom).

Storage Temperature

denotes the prescribe temperature range for the safe storage of a thermal printer.

Substrate

The surface on which a bar code symbol is printed. Also, interchangeably , referred to as media.

Substitution Error

A mis-encodation, misread or human key entry error where incorrect information is substituted for a character that was to be entered.

Symbology

The language used in bar code technology (e.g. UPC, Code 39, etc).

Synthetic Substrate

Man-made materials which have been created for specific applications.

T

Tag Stock

Substrate which contains only the facestock and has a hole from which to be hung.

Tamperproof Label

A pressure

sensitive material that cannot be removed intact, thus making reuse of the label impossible.

Telepen

          A continuous bar code which encodes the full ASCII character set.

Thermal Transfer Print

Thermal transfer printers use the same basic technology as direct thermal printers, but with the elimination of chemically-coated media in favour of a non-sensitized face stock and a special inked ribbon. A durable polyester ribbon film coated with a dry thermal transfer ink is placed between the thermal printhead and label. The thermal printhead is used to melt the ink onto the label surface, where it cools and anchors to the media surface. The polyester ribbon is then peeled away, leaving behind a stable, passive image. Consistent / sharp edge bar code print capability -with durable long-life and archival image stability. Clean, quiet, compact operation with batch or individual label print capability. Low cost / low maintenance compared to comparable technologies.

Maximum readability and IR scan-ability. High contrast text, graphic and barcode print capability. Durable for operation in both office and industrial applications.

         Thermal Transfer print quality

Throughput

refers to the average length of label stock that a printer can process and print in a given amount of time. Throughput differs from print speed in that throughput includes the label transmission, formatting and printing times. Due to these factors, a 12 ips machine may have lower throughput than a 10 ips printer.

Ticket

Substrate which contains only the facestock and contains no hole punches. 

Tilt

Rotation of a bar code symbol about an axis perpendicular to the substrate.

Two-Dimensional Bar code

Two Dimensional Bar codes are special rectangular codes which ‘stack’ information in a manner allowing for more information storage in a smaller amount of space. These are also referred to as ‘Stacked’ Bar Codes or ‘Matrix’ Bar Codes. A standard bar code is limited to 20 to 25 characters. Example of a Two Dimensional Bar Code

Transparent Label

A pressure sensitive label whose face material, adhesive and protective coatings transmit light so that objects can be seen through it.

U

UCC

          Uniform Code Council

formerly the Uniform Product Code Council. The organisation that administers the UPC and other retail standards.

UPC Code

or Universal Product Code is the standard bar code symbol for retail food packages in the United States. This code was modified and adapted by Europe for international identification of food packages in the form of EAN.

UPC-A

is the most common bar code used in US retail. It is a numeric, fixed ratio bar code with 12 characters.

Example of a UPC-A Bar code

UPC-E

A UPC symbol encoding six digits of data in an arrangement that occupies less area than a UPC-A symbol. Also called “zero suppressed” symbol because a 10-digit UPC-A code can be compressed to a six digit UPC-E format by suppressing redundant zeros.

Example of a UPC-E Bar code

V/W

Variable Length Code

A code whose number of encoded characters can be within a range, as opposed to a code with a fixed number of encoded characters.

Verifier

A device that makes measurements of the bars, spaces, quiet zones and optical characteristics of a symbol to determine if the symbol meets the requirements of a specification or standard.

Vertical Bar Code

A code pattern presented in such an orientation that the axis of the symbol from start to stop is perpendicular to the horizon. The individual bars are in an array that appears as rungs of a ladder.

Void

The undesirable absence of ink in a printed bar.

Wand / Wand Scanner

A handheld scanning device used as a contact bar code or OCR reader.

XYZ

“X” Dimension

The “X”-dimension is the narrowest bar or space in the bar code. This bar or space is measured in millimetres. (mil=1/1000 of an inch). The “X”-dimension defines the density of a linear symbology. Depending on what the “X”-dimension of a bar code is, the bar code will be called either high density or low density.

“Z” Dimension

The achieved width of the narrow elements, calculated as the average of the narrow bar width and the average narrow space width.

Zebra

a thermal print technology company which provides labelling solutions and barcode printers.

ZPL / ZPL II

Zebra Programming Language - is the universal language / code of all Zebra bar code printers. ZPL is an ASCII based format that enables label generation to occur by way of an instructional blueprint defining label length, field origin, field data and other related information. ZPL enables labels with any combination of text, barcode or graphics to be created.

Barcoding                Barcode Scanners                Barcode Label Printers