Retail POS FAQs

How Do Bar Codes Work?

Don't be intimidated by bar codes. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand them; they are just a different way of encoding numbers and letters by using a combination of bars and spaces of varying widths. Think of them as another way of writing since they replace key-data entry as a method of gathering data. In business, the correct use of bar codes can reduce inefficiencies and improve a company's productivity thereby growing their bottom line.

Simply put, barcodes are a fast, easy, and accurate way of entering data.

This may come as a surprise to you! A barcode doesn't contain descriptive data. Just as your social security number doesn't contain your name or address, a bar code is also a reference number that a computer uses to look up an associated record that contains descriptive data and other important information.

FOR EXAMPLE: a bar code found on a loaf of bread doesn't contain the product name, type of bread, or price; instead it contains a 12-digit product number. Now, when this number is scanned by the cashier at the check-out, it's transmitted to the store's computer which finds the record associated with that item number in its database. The matching item record contains a description of the product, vendor name, price, quantity-on-hand, etc. The computer instantly does a "price lookup" and displays the price on the cash register (it also subtracts the quantity purchased from the quantity-on-hand.) This entire transaction is done instantly; think of how long it would take the cashier to key in a 12-digit number for every item you wanted to buy!

To recap: a bar code typically has ID data encoded in it, and that data is used by a computer to look up all specific information associated with the data.

Symbology: An easy definition

Symbology is considered a language in bar code technology. Just as you might speak French while traveling in France, a symbology allows a scanner and a bar code to "speak" to each other. When a bar code is scanned, it's the symbology that enables the information to be read accurately. And then when a bar code is printed, it's the symbology that allows the printer to understand the information that needs to be turned into a label.

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