Choosing a barcode
Which barcode system should I use?
Do you want to use a barcode to identify all the products within your enterprise?
Do you want to send e-mails with tickets containing a barcode to your clients?
Do you want to sell a product on the market?
You can use barcodes in many ways, but how can you choose the right barcode for your needs?
There are many factors you must consider before creating your barcodes.
Data to encode
The first thing you must consider is the type of information you want to encode with the barcode. Do you want to encode numbers, letters, and special characters? Check the summary of every barcode; some of them don't support letters, others don't support special characters. Choose the system that fits your needs best.
How much information to encode
Another important factor to consider is how much information you want to encode within a single barcode. Many companies will simply encode an identifier within a barcode, and when they scan it, the information associated with this identifier will be fetched from a server.
Some types of barcodes may become very large when you want to encode bigger amounts of data. Other types are more adapted to contain larger amounts of data.
Sell a product
Do you wish to sell your product in a supermarket? You must obtain a license to use many of these barcodes in the public (UPC-A, UPC-E...) for product identification. Other barcode systems can be used in any other application.
1D or 2D
Within 1D barcodes, you can contain smaller amounts of data. These barcodes are very simple and commonly used.
2D barcodes are a great option if you want to encode larger amounts of data. All of the 2D barcodes can also self-correct reading errors. Thus making your barcode more reliable. If it fades or breaks, this will make it easier to decode if it contains a good error correction level (this doesn't exist in 1D barcodes).
You should also check the price of the barcode reader you want to purchase, the price will vary depending on the information it can decode.
Advice
Would you like to encode simple data on a 1D barcode without selling your product in a supermarket? We advise that you use the most common system: Code 39. This system contains all capital letters and all numbers. This will allow you to encode unique identifiers. If you want to encode sentences, we advise you to use Code 128.
For 2D barcodes, the system most commonly used is PDF417. But if you want to make it readable for mobile, you should consider the QRCode.
Ready?
Are you ready to start? Do you still have some questions?
Don't hesitate to consult us, as we will help you to choose the barcode that best suits your needs.
1D barcodes are available in the download section, but this software is for a non-commercial use. If you wish to use Barcode Bakery in a commercial environment, you must first purchase a license.
2D barcodes are available in demo form on this website. If you would like to download them, you must purchase a license.