Types of Barcodes Explained: EAN-13, Code 128, Code 39, ITF-14
What are the different types of barcodes? A barcode is just bars and spaces read in one direction, but the widths spell different things in different systems. Here's every barcode you'll meet.
At the checkout it's EAN-13, or UPC-A in the US and Canada: one GTIN with a check digit that catches misreads. On shipping labels it's Code 128, which packs all 128 ASCII characters and squeezes long numbers two digits at a time; GS1-128 adds standard data like the SSCC on pallet labels. Code 39, from the 1970s, is self-checking and still common on ID badges, but it takes more space. On outer cartons you'll find ITF-14, with its protective bearer bar. Finally, 1D vs 2D: why a QR code holds far more in a small square.
A barcode is just bars and spaces.
A scanner sweeps across them and reads a short line of characters.
But there's more than one kind.
Here are the barcodes you'll actually meet.
The widths of the bars, and of the gaps between them, stand for the characters.
All the data runs in one direction.
That's why it's called a one-dimensional barcode.
At the checkout, it's EAN-13, or in the US and Canada, UPC-A.
Both carry the product number, the GTIN.
The last digit is a check digit.
If the maths doesn't add up, the scanner rejects the read.
And as episode 16 showed, checkouts are starting to read QR codes too.
On a shipping label, you'll usually find code 128.
It can encode all 128 ASCII characters.
uppercase, lowercase, digits and symbols.
Long numbers are packed two digits at a time, so it stays short.
And a check character at the end catches misreads.
Add one special character at the start, and it becomes GS1-128, the standard on pallet labels.
Code 39 is older, from the 1970s.
You'll find it on ID badges, car parts and asset tags.
It's self-checking.
A misread usually gives an invalid pattern, not a wrong character.
The trade-off is size.
43 characters, no lowercase, and much more space per character.
On the outer carton, there's ITF-14.
14 digits encoded in pairs.
One in the bars, one in the spaces.
The thick frame is a bearer bar.
It copes with rough printing on corrugated card and stops a scanner reading only part of the code.
Every one of these holds a short line of data.
Read in one direction.
A QR code stores data in two dimensions.
So it holds far more, in a small square, and a phone camera can read it.
So, which barcode should you use?
For retail, the one GS1 assigns you.
For shipping, code 128.
For a person with a phone, a QR code.
Barcodes are for machines.
A QR code can be for people too.
AriaQR turns any image into a QR code that still looks like your image.
Tested on real scanners before you pay.
Make yours at ariaqr.com.
Barcodes are for machines. A QR code can be for people too.
