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The barcode is a central component of many of our solutions. Having a machine perform the reading and transcribing of product codes is
much more efficient and accurate than hand-written data. For this reason, the use of barcodes has expanded into all areas of
business, beyond retail into wholesale and distribution, courier companies, asset management and time and attendance.
RFBS have expertise across a wide range of industries and can assist you with barcode type selection, troubleshooting of printed
codes, and compliance labelling.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a barcode? A barcode can be thought of as a font which can be read automatically by a barcode
reader.
What data is in the barcode?
The barcode typically contains ONLY a number which refers to a record
in a database. Most commonly, the barcode represents a product code or employee number. This means that
the description and price of a product must be queried from a database after the barcode is scanned.
What happens once the barcode is scanned?
The barcode is entered into any field in your computer system which can accept typed input.
Typically the barcode reader is programmed to press ENTER straight after the barcode. From here, it is up to your application to correctly process the
information entered.
How do we produce barcodes?
Contact us to purchase a barcode label printer
(we supply printers from Datamax, Zebra and Paxar). We can also supply you with a copy of Bartender (a software package to allow labels to be designed on a PC).
When is the best time to put the barcode onto the product?
The best place to barcode the product
is to have the barcode incorporated into the packaging artwork. In many case this is impracticaly (for example, your company has a single packaging type across all of your products).
In this case, the barcode should be printed and applied to the product at the earliest opportunity:
- At the point of manufacture;
- At any point in the supply chain where the products (cartons, pallets or single items) are already individually handled.
- As soon as the goods enter your warehouse.
We have a number of solutions for product labelling:
- Desktop and industrial barcode label printers.
- Hand-held label applicators.
- Hand-held label "print and apply" solutions.
Can we use our laser printer to produce barcodes?
You are able to use a 'barcode font' to print barcodes from your software. However, there are several reasons why this might not be a good idea:
- To print retail codes that comply with GS1 standards, you MUST use a thermal printer.
- Barcode fonts don't allow you to change the width and height of the barcode independently (you can only choose 10pt, 12pt ... etc). This means it might be difficult to get a readable barcode that fits in the required space on the label.
- Peeling labels of a sheet and sticking them onto a product is VERY inneficient. Using a label printer allows you to print and apply the labels or print, rewind and apply using a labelling tool (like a pricing gun).
- If you don't want to print a full sheet of labels, you will waste a lot of labels!
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