A linear barcode is a combination of black and white bars of varying widths that can represent alpha and or numeric characters. For example, one narrow bar and two wide bars might represent the alpha character “a”. The encoding concept is very similar to Morse Code, except black and white bars are used in place of dots and dashes. Linear barcodes (also called standard barcodes) encode the data in a single line, horizontally. Here is an example of liner barcode that encodes the word “Godex.”
A two dimensional barcode encodes data both horizontally and vertically. Much more data can be compressed into a smaller space using a 2D barcode. Here is an example of a two dimensional symbology called PDF417 being used to encode the words;“GoDEX has a fantastic offering of very high quality competitively priced barcode printers.” That is a lot of information in a very small space.
The use of barcode technology delivers two very valuable benefits to the user; 1) speed and 2) accuracy. Instead of using a keyboard to type and input data into a system, barcodes and scanners can be used to do the same thing, at much faster speeds with exceptionally low error rates. These benefits of barcoding are best exemplified at a busy check-out counter at your neighborhood supermarket or busy super retail store like Costco.
GS1 is a leading global organization dedicated to the design and implementation of global standards and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains globally and across sectors. The GS1 system of standards is the most widely used supply chain standards system in the world.