Friday, 27 September 2013

Bar Codes And More

By Keren Kipfer


In the United States, you can find bar codes printed in our food products when you look for them on the side of the packaging. They are usually located at the back side of a product. These bar codes are not placed just to make it easier for store checkers to easily add up the cost of your total grocery bill. They also have several other important purposes and let us discuss some of them.

These bar codes are known as UPC codes, which stand for Universal Product Code. These originate with a company called the UCC or the Uniform Code Council. They usually have a normal black bar on a white background print with several numbers found at the bottom. Part of the code is readable only to a machine or scanner, but the number portion provides helpful information for vendors and customers.

A 12-digit code is composed in a standard UPC code containing a manufacturer's identification number. From left to right, the first six digits will specify who manufactured the product while the remaining next five digits of the code indicate the actual product. The end result is known as the check digit and it should always be the answer to a mathematical formula that uses all of the previous numbers in the code. A UPC coordinator is required to avoid using the same code on more than one product and retire these codes as these products are removed from shelves.

Basically, the numbers codes 0,1,6,7 and 8 represent most of the products in a grocery store that are manufactured elsewhere, such as soda, pasta, tomato sauce and the millions of other products we buy. A number 2 indicates items sold by weight, such as deli meat, cheese or produce. A 3 is for pharmaceutical items and the numbers 4, 5 and 9 are placed on different types of coupons.

Bar codes are not the only ones that are printed on the packaging of different food products. Manufacturers include printing the batch number and expiration date on these products also. To do this, they use a special kind of printer, known as an ID coder or ID printer. There are many brands of coders that are available in the market, including Domino coders, VideoJet coders, Imaje coders and many more. This is very important especially the expiration dates since they help one determine if these products are safe for consumption or use. Food is vital for our daily lives and we need to be absolutely sure about their quality and freshness.

ID coders or printers will require special inks and make-up fluids in order for them to function. It is advised to use high quality inks to avoid damage to your machines. You can buy several inks and fluids directly from manufacturers. However, doing so may cost you a lot of money. You can buy the same type of product at a more affordable price when you look for a product ID company that specializes in creating high quality generic versions of VideoJet ink, Domino ink, Maxima ink and all the other major brands. It is much cheaper to purchase and they are as effective as the ones sold directly from manufacturers.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment