Barcodes in South Africa
So what's the big deal?
Hi folks, my name is Grant. I have been a slave (a happy one) to the printing and design industry for the last 29 years and feel that I might have some useful information to share on Barcodes in South Africa. A question we get asked from our customers on a daily basis is 'how do barcodes work?' and 'how do i get barcodes for my company?'. For many years we would simply tell them that we had no idea and that they should look online. Finally, however, my manager got fed up and duly sent me off to do some homework on the matter. Much to my dismay, I quickly found out that it was a lot bit more complicated than I had initially imagined. I spent a good few weeks trawling the net, phoning people, getting stuck, confused and even more confused. Finally, though, I emerged with what I would consider to be a decent idea of what is going on, I think :)
Having spent so long working everything out, I thought that I had better put the information to good use and that is how the idea of the bar code blog came about. While I had initially intended for this site to be a reference point for our customers; in truth, this info applies to anyone and everyone who is looking to register for barcodes for their products. There is a lot out there, so I hope that this helps you to get a hang of things without having to do what I did. When all is said and done, the process is actually not to difficult if you know what you are doing. Please feel free to enjoy this site and to use this information to help you make the best bar coding decisions for your company. Please remember, though, that I am no world expert, I can only speak from my experiences in the printing industry in South Africa!
Kind regards,
Grant Van Jaarsveld
(The Printhouse, Nelspruit)
Quick links to various barcode related topics:
Here are some quick links to various areas of interest relating to the barcoding industry.
Some basic information to get you started
It would perhaps be wise to start from the very beginning and get some of the basics out the way. I will try to be as concise as possible, while still providing you with a complete picture of the how the barcode system works.
To begin with, let me explain exactly what a barcode is. Simply put, a barcode is a unique code number which is displayed in a graphical format in order to make it machine readable. The image that you will be familiar with is one of many black lines (or bars) with spaces of varying widths separating them. A neat way to think of these lines and spaces is in the form of a computerised font. The bars and spaces each relate to a separate number which forms part of the code number. When the bar code is scanned the computer is able to quickly read the font, revealing the code number within. To assist retailers, most barcodes are sold with the code number also printed beneath the coded image. This allows your shop assistants to manually enter the code when the scanner fails for any reason.
Once you have purchased a barcode for your product, the code that you receive will become the identifying mark for your product throughout the world. This code is used to identify your product within shops and retailers and will allow you to sell your wares in whichever shop you so desire. You may now proceed onto the rest of the website and the wealth of information that lies herein. I wish you well on your barcoding journey!
To begin with, let me explain exactly what a barcode is. Simply put, a barcode is a unique code number which is displayed in a graphical format in order to make it machine readable. The image that you will be familiar with is one of many black lines (or bars) with spaces of varying widths separating them. A neat way to think of these lines and spaces is in the form of a computerised font. The bars and spaces each relate to a separate number which forms part of the code number. When the bar code is scanned the computer is able to quickly read the font, revealing the code number within. To assist retailers, most barcodes are sold with the code number also printed beneath the coded image. This allows your shop assistants to manually enter the code when the scanner fails for any reason.
Once you have purchased a barcode for your product, the code that you receive will become the identifying mark for your product throughout the world. This code is used to identify your product within shops and retailers and will allow you to sell your wares in whichever shop you so desire. You may now proceed onto the rest of the website and the wealth of information that lies herein. I wish you well on your barcoding journey!