Quick Response Codes, created in Japan, are known under the acronym QR Codes, they are 2D bar codes which are able to store a vast amount of information and as the name portrays they are quick in directing you to the required information they represent such as websites and promotions. In this article I will briefly explain the way in which a QR code works and its appearance. So you may be thinking why the need for so many different barcode formats, why use QR codes and not the original 1D barcode with the vertical black lines that we see used on the majority of goods? Reason for that being is that barcodes are constantly evolving and being able to store more information and action more features. The QR code is able to store a large amount of required information, so much so that it can be programmed...

Barcode History around the World

When did barcodes start? Barcodes originated from the increasing need to create a system to manage retail operations in a more efficient manner. Retailers were getting bigger and bigger and stock control was becoming more and more difficult. Retailers around the world needed a system to make it simpler and to be able to attend to more customers on a daily basis. The initial request came from a retail store owner who was at his wits end and approached the Dean at Drexel Institute of Technology in Philadelphia who was not intrigued by the request and in 1952 Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver stepped up to the plate and developed the modern barcode. This answers the question of who invented the barcode system. They based their barcode on Morse code, using dots and lines. Woodland had his first inspiration for his first barcode from sand, while sitting on a beach in Miami he drew his fingers through the sand which gave him the idea of the vertical...

6 things you need to know before barcoding your products

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