Bar Code Equipment and Supplies Key Terms

Familiarize yourself with bar code equipment and supplies terminology

Bar codes are important in various industrial and commercial applications. A bar code contains a series of vertical lines that represent product information as per application requirements. Bar code readers, scanners and printers are useful for keeping track of inventory in industries and commercial complexes.

If you want to buy bar code equipment, you will come across various technical terms that indicate types and technologies. This guide will acquaint you with common bar code equipment terminology, such as bar code reader, bar code printer, bar code labels, light pen and wedge reader.

 

Bar code readers or scanners

A bar code reader or scanner is an electronic device that can read printed bar codes. Bar code readers contain a decoder circuit that analyzes the image data.
Try: To find out more on bar code readers, read through information at TAL Technologies, a provider of communication software solutions.

Bar code printer

A bar code printer is a special kind of printer that can print on labels and tags. The printer can be a dot-matrix printer, thermal direct printer or thermal transfer printer.
Try: You can get the definition of a bar code printer at Tyner, a retailer of printers and scanners.  

Bar code labels

A bar code label is a label that carries a bar code and other readable information. Affixing a bar code label to products helps in identification and retailers find it useful for keeping track of the inventory.
Try: To learn more about bar code labels, see the Brodart Company, a supplier of library equipment.

Bar code keyboard wedge readers

A wedge reader is attached to a computer through a keyboard interface. Wedge readers physically wedge between a keyboard and a computer and appear like a second keyboard. The advantage of a wedge reader is that there are no changes on the software side.
Try: Learn more about bar code keyboard wedge readers at InPath Devices, a provider of data automation tools and equipment.

Light pens

A light pen (also known as barcode wand) is a pen-like bar code scanner that reads the code when swept across the barcode.
Try: Get the definition of light pen at Zebra Technologies Corporation, a software and hardware solution provider.

Bar code generators

A bar code generator is software that allows you to create a bar code graphic by providing bar code data, encoding type and the output file format. Bar code generators can be online or stand-alone applications.
Try: Learn more about a bar code generator at Barcoding Inc., a producer of barcode software.

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