History Of Barcodes | SA Bar Codes

ID Number’s in South Africa – your personal barcode

November 12, 2012

All of us over the age of 16 in South Africa have them – but have you ever wondered where your ID document’s barcode comes from and how it works? Hit ‘Read More’ below if your curiosity has been piqued!

Each South African ID number is a 13 digit number defined as YYMMDD SSSS CAZ – which deciphers as follows:

YYMMDD – Pretty straight forward, this is simply you date of birth.

SSSS – This is a sequential number registered from 0000 – 4999 for females and 5000 – 9999 for males. So if you share a birthdate with someone this number will differentiate you from them.

C – this number simply shows if the person is a...

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The fascinating history of barcodes – Part 2

November 1, 2012

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Part two of our blog on the amazing history of barcodes.

Read Part One Here Collins, not surprisingly, then quit Sylvania and formed Computer Identics Corporation. He started working with helium-neon lasers – which had just started to become affordable in the late 1960’s – rather than light bulbs, and was able to scan with a mirror to locate the barcode anywhere from three inches up to several feet in front of the scanner, as well as being able to sweep back and forth hundreds of times a second. This made the entire process much more reliable and simple. Back in the 1960’s Woodland and Silver needed a massive array of relays and switches to process the information picked up...

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The fascinating history of barcodes – Part 1

October 31, 2012

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The evolution of the modern barcode has a surprisingly complex and lengthy history – varying from original 1D formats and later 2D, which ranged from systems using rectangles, dot systems and even hexagons! The modern UPC (Universal Product Code) which is used on today’s barcodes was invented in 1973 by George Laurer – an engineer for IBM with 25 patents to his name – but the concept dates all the way back to 1948. Let’s take a brief look at their development.

In 1948 Bernard Silver, a student at the Drexel Institute of Technology (Philadelphia) overheard a discussion between the president of the local food chain and one of the deans about researching a system which would enable them to automatically read product info at checkout – a system we now of...

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The legalities surrounding barcode numbers in South Africa

August 10, 2012

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Despite barcodes seeming rather dull and boring, they are actually quite interesting, and share an even more fascinating history. Where there are barcodes, there is money. Where there is money, there is often dispute. As such, there have been some interesting law suits surrounding barcodes. In this post I'll be talking about one in particular.

As you should know by now, all barcodes across the world are governed by a central body called GS1. Effectively GS1 issues unique barcode numbers and ensures that duplicates don't appear in stores. GS1 used to be known as the UCC (Uniform Code Council). Prior to 2002 if you wanted to buy barcodes from the UCC you ended up with unique barcode numbers that were yours for life. There were no renewal fees!

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5 Fun Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Barcode Numbers

August 6, 2012

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Have you ever wondered where barcodes come from? Did you know that barcodes have a very interesting history? For those looking to buy barcodes or are just interested in learning more about barcode numbers I've included 5 "fun" titbits about barcodes.

1. The first product to ever be scanned with a barcode number on it (it was a UPC barcode) was a packet of Wrigley's chewing gum at Marsh's store in Troy, Ohio, in June 1974. You can view the packet of gum at the Smithsonian museum.

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ID Number’s in South Africa – your personal barcode

The fascinating history of barcodes – Part 2

The fascinating history of barcodes – Part 1

The legalities surrounding barcode numbers in South Africa

5 Fun Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Barcode Numbers

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SA Barcodes Team

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