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...

History of barcodes in the World

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. They needed a system to make it simpler. In 1952, Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver stepped up to the plate and developed the modern barcode. They based their barcode on morse code, using dots and lines. Woodland created his first barcode from sand on the beach. Later, in 1959, David Collins became aware of the need to automatically identify railroad cars. He created a system for monitoring and controlling railroad carriages also using blue and red reflective stripes attached to the side of the cars which encoded a six digit company identifier and a four digit car number. He called this system Kar Trak. This is an example of what the Kar Trak system looked like. Both of these barcodes...

6 things you need to know before barcoding your products

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