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You have often seen them on cereal boxes, books, and merely about every consumer product on store shelves. Those are the infamous UPC barcodes. Why could they be needed? Who's using them, and what sort of information will they glean from them?
What's promising about Universal Product Code (UPC) barcodes is that they weren't employed for nefarious government purposes as was feared once they were first introduced commercially in the 1970s. That point may be coming in the future, but for now they are harmless to the average consumer. They are used primarily to trace inventory for retail, manufacturing along with other purposes.
Good reputation for the UPC Barcode
A brief history of the used PC barcode actually goes back towards the early 1930s and also the first automated checkout system featuring technology using punch cards. Inventors Bernard Silver and Joseph Woodland patented the very first barcode system in the early 1950s according to their previous knowledge of those earlier punch card systems.
Various organizations and business entities then continued to test out the UPC barcode through the 1960s, yet commercial success seemed elusive typically. However, in the early 1970s, IBM introduced the modern barcode for commercial use. And just what was the very first product they coded? A pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum.
How it operates
A typical UPC barcode includes a mixture of black strips, white spaces and numerical digits. As many as 12 digits make up the UPC number, with every number sequence being represented by a specific mixture of black strips and white spaces. Uniqueness is achieved by allowing only one way to display any numerical sequence.
By arranging the black strips and white spaces accordingly, the UPC barcode provides a graphical image that can be scanned using infrared light or any other similar technologies. The initial number sequence of each individual code can be used to retrieve and store data from the item scanned.
DIY UPC Barcodes
Organizations such as the U.S. Postal Service and UPS use UPC barcodes to track packages. Retailers like Walmart and Kmart use the codes to track inventory in warehouses and local department stores. Manufacturers even use the codes to manage raw materials coming in and finished products going out. However, you may use them you to ultimately manage your personal small business or keep track of possessions in your home for insurance purposes.
There are a number of free software application programs that allow individual customers to create and print their own barcodes. All you need to do is link them to a database or spreadsheet, then print a label and fix it to whatever you want to track. With a smart phone or PDA your UPC bar codes become an easy and efficient method to keep track of anything you desire.