Barcode Glossary

Bar Code Glossary

Accuracy
The determination of whether any element width or inter-character gap width (if applicable) differs from its nominal width by more than the printing tolerance.

ADC
Automated Data Collection or Automated Data Capture – refers to all technologies that automate the process of data collection without the use of a keyboard, including bar code, magnetic stripe, (OCR) optical card reader, voice recognition, smart card, or (RFID) radio frequency identification. ADC provides a quick, accurate, and cost-effective way to collect and enter data.

Adhesive
(1) A substance (cement, glue, gum) capable of holding materials together by surface contact.

(2) The portion of a pressure sensitive label which allows the label to cling to its intended surface.

AIAG
Automotive Industry Action Group – a trade association responsible for creating automotive industry standards pertaining to bar code symbology and common label formats.

AIM
Automatic Identification Manufacturers, Inc. – a U.S. trade association headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA who represent the manufacturers of automatic identification systems.

Alignment
In an automatic identification system (Auto ID), the relative position and orientation of a scanner to the symbol.

Alphanumeric
A character set consisting of letters, numbers, and usually other characters such as special symbols.

ANSI
American National Standards Institute – a non-governmental organization responsible for the development of voluntary bar code quality standards. Bar code printing standards and the readability of bar code symbols are determined and classified into grades from A to F, to provide an overall symbol quality test.

Aperture
The opening on an optical system (scanner) that establishes the field of view.

Application
The particular use the label, tag, or ticket will serve once the barcode, text, or graphic image is applied.

Application Temperature
The temperature at the time the label is applied.

Backcoating
Used on a thermal transfer ribbon to prevent the ribbon from sticking to the printhead and to the substrate (media/label material). It also protects the printhead from excessive heat, static, and abrasion.

Background
The spaces, quiet zones, and areas surrounding a printed symbol.

Bar
The darker element of a printed bar code symbol.

Bar Code
A bar code is a piece of Automatic Identification Technology (Auto ID) that stores real time data. It is a series of vertical bars or a graphical bar pattern which can, (depending on the width and pattern) encode numbers and letters in a format which can easily be retrieved and interpreted by a bar code reader.

Bar Code Character
A single group of bars and stripes that represents a specific quantity (often one) of numbers, letters, punctuation marks, or other symbols. This is the smallest subset of a bar code symbol that contains data.

Bar Code Density
The number of characters that can be represented in a linear unit of measure. This number is often expressed in characters per inch or cpi.

Bar Height/Length
The bar dimension perpendicular to the bar width. Also called bar height. Scanning is performed in an axis perpendicular to the bar length.

Bar Width
The thickness of a bar measured from the edge closest to the symbol start character to the trailing edge of the same bar.

Bi-Directional
Bar code symbology capable of being read successfully independent of scanning direction.
Binary
A numbering system that uses only 1’s and 0’s.

Bit
An abbreviation for binary digit. A single element (0 or 1) in a binary number.

Bitmapped Font
Refers to the inherent character and font sets found within a thermal printer and their respective ability to be adjusted and “shrunk to fit”. Bitmapped fonts are commonly available in limited point sizes, for example 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 18 point, whose edges can become distorted or rough with manipulation outside the prescribed point size ranges.

Character
(1) A single group of bars and spaces that represents a specific number (usually one) of numbers, letters, punctuation marks, or other symbols.
(2) A graphic shape representing a letter, numeral, or symbol.
(3) A letter, digit, or other symbol that is used as part of the organization, control, or representation of data.

Character Alignment
The vertical or horizontal position of characters with respect to a given set of reference lines.

Character Density
Within a linear bar code symbol, the number of data characters per unit length (typically per inch). For a discrete symbology, the character width must include the intercharacter gap.

Character Font
Refers to the range and variety of data characters available within a given thermal printer model, for example 7 Bitmapped fonts type A,B,C,D,E,F and 1 Scaleable font.

Character Set
(1)A range of data characters (alpha, numeric, and/or punctuation) that can be encoded into any given symbology.
(2) Refers to the international characters and graphic symbols available within a given thermal printer model, for example IBM® Code Page 850.

Check Character/Digit
A mechanically calculated number included within a string of data whose value is used for the purpose of performing a mathematical check to ensure that the bar code message is scanned and read correctly.

CISC Processor
Complex Instruction Set Computer Processor – the x86 and Pentium families use CISC processors that process complex instructions requiring less instructions per operation resulting in faster performance. However, the performance efficiency of a RISC processor can sometimes be affected by the software installed in the machine as newer, more complex software versions contain more instructions that the processor needs to process.

Codabar
A barcode symbology that uses four bars and three spaces to represent the numbers 0 through 9 and a set of special characters.

Code 11
A barcode symbology developed by Intermec. It uses 11 characters: 0 through 9 and -.

Code 128
Code 128 is an alphanumeric bar code specifically designed to reduce the amount of space the bar code occupies. Each printed character can have one of three different meanings, depending on which of three different character sets are employed. Code 128 can be recognized as the labeling standard for UCC/EAN 128, used as product identification for container and pallet levels of retail markets.

Code 16K
This symbol is a stack of from 2 to 16 rows.

Code 39
Code 39 is the most commonly used bar code. It can encode both numbers and letters, which is ideal for most industrial and non-retail applications. The Automotive industry uses Code 39 as its standard for shipping container labels. If you are just beginning a bar code application of your own, we recommend using Code 39.

Code 49
Introduced in 1987 by the Intermec Corporation as a multi-row, continuous, variable length symbology. Code 49 was the first stacked (two dimensional) barcode to receive widespread interest.

Code 93
Code 93 is the complementary version of Code 39 and allows labels to be approximately 30 percent shorter than Code 39.

Concatenation
The ability of a reading system to join together that data from multiple symbologies and interpret the information in a single message.

Continuous Bar Code
The end of each character in the bar code message marks the beginning of the next character; there are no intercharacter gaps to separate the characters in the bar code message, for example Interleaved 2 of 5 code.

Continuous Media
Label, ticket, or tag stock media that does not contain any notches, gaps, or holes between each label. The label length must be specified in the label program.