Barcode Symbologies
in [Design]
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From: D Yuniskis on 24 May 2010 11:36 Hi, I need to pick a barcode symbology that is unlinkey to be encountered in day-to-day items to minimize conflicts. E.g., UPC is non-starter. I only need 8 decimal digits so no need for the more complex codes. I prefer a 2 dimensional code as it increases the available choices for scanners. I'll probably add a few digits for my own checksum (above and beyond whatever the code itself supports). So, maybe 10-12 digits, total. I suspect ABC Codabar is probably the most obscure (at least the least likely to be encountered *on* something). I can even get sneaky and print multipart labels to be even *more* unique. But, I'd be open to other suggestions. [I can't roll my own code as I want to use COTS scanners.] Thanks! --don
From: 1 Lucky Texan on 24 May 2010 12:08 On May 24, 10:36 am, D Yuniskis <not.going.to...(a)seen.com> wrote: > Hi, > > I need to pick a barcode symbology that is unlinkey to be > encountered in day-to-day items to minimize conflicts. E.g., > UPC is non-starter. > > I only need 8 decimal digits so no need for the more complex > codes. I prefer a 2 dimensional code as it increases the > available choices for scanners. I'll probably add a few > digits for my own checksum (above and beyond whatever the > code itself supports). So, maybe 10-12 digits, total. > > I suspect ABC Codabar is probably the most obscure (at > least the least likely to be encountered *on* something). > I can even get sneaky and print multipart labels to > be even *more* unique. > > But, I'd be open to other suggestions. [I can't roll my own > code as I want to use COTS scanners.] > > Thanks! > --don I dunno, lots of choices (checkout Code 11) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_codes
From: D Yuniskis on 24 May 2010 14:31 1 Lucky Texan wrote: > On May 24, 10:36 am, D Yuniskis <not.going.to...(a)seen.com> wrote: >> I need to pick a barcode symbology that is unlinkey to be >> encountered in day-to-day items to minimize conflicts. E.g., >> UPC is non-starter. >> >> I only need 8 decimal digits so no need for the more complex >> codes. I prefer a 2 dimensional code as it increases the Grrrr.... s/2/1/ <:-( >> available choices for scanners. I'll probably add a few >> digits for my own checksum (above and beyond whatever the >> code itself supports). So, maybe 10-12 digits, total. >> >> I suspect ABC Codabar is probably the most obscure (at >> least the least likely to be encountered *on* something). >> I can even get sneaky and print multipart labels to >> be even *more* unique. >> >> But, I'd be open to other suggestions. [I can't roll my own >> code as I want to use COTS scanners.] > > I dunno, lots of choices (checkout Code 11) > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_codes Hmmm... never heard of Code 11! (and, apparently, most of the OTS scanners haven't, either! :< ) Just from where I'm sitting, I see Codes 39, 128, EAN13, UPCA and Codabar (:<). I'll have to take a wander through the warehouse and see what other codes show up. I suspect I am just going to have to rely on a large enough Hamming distance in my symbols to make "coincidences" damn near impossible (coupled with enforcing the "chosen" symbology). I'll also have to check to see if I can configure any scanners to pass "bad reads". One hack might be to deliberately munge the check digit on a mainstream code so any labels with *valid* codes I would recognize as "foreign" (?) (i.e., print all of mine with a check digit guaranteed to be "wrong" -- yet predictable)
From: tlbs101 on 24 May 2010 17:06 On May 24, 9:36 am, D Yuniskis <not.going.to...(a)seen.com> wrote: > Hi, > > I need to pick a barcode symbology that is unlinkey to be > encountered in day-to-day items to minimize conflicts. E.g., > UPC is non-starter. > > I only need 8 decimal digits so no need for the more complex > codes. I prefer a 2 dimensional code as it increases the > available choices for scanners. I'll probably add a few > digits for my own checksum (above and beyond whatever the > code itself supports). So, maybe 10-12 digits, total. > > I suspect ABC Codabar is probably the most obscure (at > least the least likely to be encountered *on* something). > I can even get sneaky and print multipart labels to > be even *more* unique. > > But, I'd be open to other suggestions. [I can't roll my own > code as I want to use COTS scanners.] > > Thanks! > --don I used code 93 on a military project, 16 years ago. 93 is linear, not 2-D, but there were many scanners available at the time that we (the team) could use. The database was written in FoxPro (not my choice -- lol). Tom Pounds
From: tlbs101 on 24 May 2010 17:09
On May 24, 3:06 pm, tlbs101 <tlbs...(a)excite.com> wrote: > On May 24, 9:36 am, D Yuniskis <not.going.to...(a)seen.com> wrote: > > > > > > > Hi, > > > I need to pick a barcode symbology that is unlinkey to be > > encountered in day-to-day items to minimize conflicts. E.g., > > UPC is non-starter. > > > I only need 8 decimal digits so no need for the more complex > > codes. I prefer a 2 dimensional code as it increases the > > available choices for scanners. I'll probably add a few > > digits for my own checksum (above and beyond whatever the > > code itself supports). So, maybe 10-12 digits, total. > > > I suspect ABC Codabar is probably the most obscure (at > > least the least likely to be encountered *on* something). > > I can even get sneaky and print multipart labels to > > be even *more* unique. > > > But, I'd be open to other suggestions. [I can't roll my own > > code as I want to use COTS scanners.] > > > Thanks! > > --don > > I used code 93 on a military project, 16 years ago. 93 is linear, > not 2-D, but there were many scanners available at the time that we > (the team) could use. The database was written in FoxPro (not my > choice -- lol). > > Tom Pounds- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - Or... just buy a scanner that supports multiple codes and let the scanner figure it out. Tom |