From ZBA, Inc.
Bar codes are a printed version of essentially a type of secret code. Different bar and space patterns are used to represent different characters. Sets of these patterns are grouped together to form a "symbology". There are many types of bar code symbologies each having their own special characteristics and features. Most symbologies were designed to meet needs of a specific application or industry. Specifically, the UPC symbology was designed for identifying retail and grocery items and PostNET was designed to encode Zip Codes for the US Postal Service.
Products & Services
Magnetic Stripe Readers and Magnetic Stripe Encoders
Magnetic stripe readers and magnetic stripe encoders read and encode magnetic stripe cards, credit cards, etc.
Fixed Mount Bar Code Scanners
Fixed mount bar code scanners are designed to manually or mechanically read items passed by their scan windows. Unlike hand scanners, they are affixed to a single location.
Handheld Bar Code Scanners
Hand held bar code scanners are used typically as inventory or point of sale (POS) devices. These scanners are passed over bar codes manually to read data. They often have a gun or wand design.
Bar Code Scanners
Bar code scanners are designed to read imprinted bar / matrix code symbologies. Bar code scanners can be slot card scanners, fixed mount scanners, or hand-held scanners.
ID Card Readers and Encoders
ID card readers and ID card encoders are used to transmit personal information onto various forms of storage media and retrieve this data as needed.
Topics of Interest
This quick, one-time registration gives you access to members-only site benefits. Back in the 1970s, when bar codes were first being implemented, little thought was given to coordinating the efficient...
Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry Bar Code Technology Provides Data Traceability Before implementing a bar code system, medical device manufacturers should know the basics of bar code...
POSTNET is a bar codeused by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to sort mail automatically. The POSTNET code consists of evenly-spaced bars of two different heights. Each character is represented by five...
This quick, one-time registration gives you access to members-only site benefits. When it comes to printing bar codes, the correct data needs to be encoded in the right symbology and the symbol must...
UPC-A is used for marking products that are sold at retail to the public. The bar code identifies the manufacturer and specific product so point-of-sale (POS) cash register systems can automatically...
