Did you ever stop to realize that there were numbers and letters encoded in barcodes? Special printing software converts what we recognize as printed numbers and letters into barcodes that can be read by scanners. This allows a product to be identified effortlessly at the checkout and enables systems to capture important information about what is being sold.
While various factors (e.g., packaging, type of scanner, operator interaction) influence the ability to scan barcodes quickly and accurately, barcode print quality is most important. A special piece of equipment called a barcode verifier is used to check barcodes. The verifier takes nine precise quality measurements that cover various aspects of barcode print quality.
The overall quality is expressed in either a numerical or a letter grade ranging from zero (F) to 4.0 (A). The higher the grade, the more likely that the symbol will scan successfully. GS1 standards set minimum quality measurements for each type of symbology and application. For example, UPC-A symbols (the most common barcode scanned at retail checkout) requires a minimum passing grade of 1.5 or a C.
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