Your business can profit from a barcode system
A barcode is a machine-readable symbol that helps to facilitate a product's tracking, handling, storing, and accounting. A barcode system consists of barcode numbers, such as UPC barcodes, a barcode-generating software, a barcode printer, and a barcode scanner. Universal Product Code (UPC) barcodes originate from an organization called GS1 (a global non-profit organization that manages UPC barcodes). Learn implement a barcode system and enjoy the benefits brought by this type of technology.
Instructions
1. Open your browser and visit www.gs1us.org. Click on "I Need a UPC Barcode" on the website's menu and view the information on get a GS1 Company Prefix number. This number will allow you to create your own barcodes. Complete your online application by providing the necessary information and paying the fees to get your GS1 Company Prefix number.
2. View the website's menu and click on the "Create a UPC Barcode" button to open the UPC barcode-generating software. Type the UPC Company Prefix, which appears in your GS1 Company Prefix Certificate, in the space provided. Create a five-digit number for your product and enter it in the space provided. Copy the check digit that is automatically generated by the program.
3. Jot down the 12 numbers and use them as the UPC barcode number assigned to your product in the following sequence: the first six digits are the number in your GS1 Company Prefix Certificate, the next five digits are your own product number, and the last digit is the check digit.
4. Visit www.barcodesinc.com, www.barcodegenerator.org. or www.barcoding.com/upc. Click on UPC as the barcode type, and enter the UPC barcode number that you generated from the previous step in the provided space. Click on the Generate Bar Code button and view the resulting barcode image.
5. Print the barcode by clicking on Start, Control Panel and Printers and Faxes in your computer. Set your default printer by right-clicking on the corresponding printer, and click on Set as Default Printer in the resulting pop-up menu. An ordinary printer can be used to print bar codes, but a barcode printer is better for printing barcode images in large quantities. Click on "Print" to print the bar code.
6. Plug a barcode scanner into the back of your computer by matching the scanner cable connector to the its proper port. Hold the scanner six inches away from the printed barcode, and press the scan button to read the barcode. View your computer to see the data that was read by the scanner.
Tags: Company Prefix, your Company, your Company Prefix, your computer, your product, barcode number, barcode printer
