Posted on 12/31/2004 3:56:52 PM PST by Destro
Posted on Wed, Dec. 29, 2004
Bar code scanners facing unlucky number
Rest of world uses 13-digit system
STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Many computer experts feared widespread problems five years ago when the world entered a new millennium. Turns out, Y2K was really Y2OK.
Come Jan. 1, there's a slightly less urgent concern, but it's still likely to give some business people a headache.
Retailers across the country will be dealing with a tweak in the bar code, those small, black-striped labels that adorn almost every commercial product. In South Mississippi, some retailers are aware of the change, but few apparently have begun to make adjustments.
"Until it filters into our immediate world, because our technology is leased, I'm assuming Hallmark will be out in front on this," said Sheila Joy Dees, owner of Joy's Hallmark at Crossroads Shopping Center.
The change will be gradual and not likely to cause a problem.
"During the transition period, we may have to resort to the old fashioned way of keying in prices," said Dees.
Beginning next month, retailers must have scanners that can read not only the present 12-digit Universal Product Code, or UPC, but also 13-digit symbols, which are the standard everywhere in the world except North America.
"I would be very surprised if our current hardware couldn't be configured to handle it," said David Jennings, manager of Pooh's Liquors in Gulfport.
Though Jennings had not heard of the changes, no one expects large-scale disruptions. Many products will continue to bear the 12-digit UPC; the shift will be gradual, starting with products made outside the United States.
"This isn't like a Y2K thing," said Dave Hogan, chief information officer for the National Retail Federation. "The world's not going to stop on Jan. 1, 2005."
With bar codes, a scanner reads the lines and spaces between the lines to gather information. The numbers are not used by the scanner, but allow a clerk to manually enter the information if needed. (The numbers specify the manufacturer and the product.)
An informal survey of some NRF members conducted about 18 months ago found 80 percent had made the system changes to handle the extra digit. The Uniform Code Council, a standards organization that administers the UPC system, originally announced the change in 1997. The UCC wanted everything to be seamless globally so overseas manufacturers won't have to relabel their products for U.S. customers.
The Universal Product Code was developed in the early 1970s and went into use in supermarkets beginning in 1974. Today, bar codes are scanned about 5 billion times a day in North America.
A few years after bar codes went into use in the United States, officials overseas developed a similar system, known as European Article Numbering. The EAN-13, a symbol using 13 digits, became the standard outside North America.
Al Garton, director of general retail at the Lawrenceville, N.J.-based Uniform Code Council, said he believes a majority of retailers are prepared to handle items with the 13-digit bar code.
"To some retailers, this is a non-issue; they're already there," Garton said. "Others may have more work."
Checkout scanners might not be able to read some products, requiring employees to manually key in the item or forcing stores to relabel using 12-digit UPC symbols.
"It will be more of an inconvenience to consumers and a possible problem to retailers," said Jim Goepfert, a marketing manager for the scanner line at NCR, one of the world's largest suppliers of bar code scanners.
Goepfert predicted difficulties might first arise among wine sellers, because much of their inventory is imported and there are always new bottles being shipped.
U.S. manufacturers will not need to make any changes. They can continue to mark their products with 12-digit bar codes, even if they send them overseas. The EAN-13 systems are backward compatible, similar to a newer version of software being able to read files from older versions.
Well, then it's exactly like the Y2K thing, isn't it?
What's luck got to do with it?
Universal Bar Code ... The History Channel's been running a Countdown to Armageddon series ... Mark of the Beast anyone?
I think that's a 666-digit code.
Correct - they are working on a 14 digit one as a world standard.
I was afraid of the mark of the beast crowd - which will miss the obvious - America exports so little now that the EU is setting the world standard - That is how I see it.
Unlucky? Give me a break.
Ok, I'm confused.
With the old 12 line standard; the bars repeated from the middle to the outside, such that the code would be 123456654321 for an item with the code 123456. This was done such that the bar code couldn't be read 'upside down', which would confuse 123456 with 654321.
So, with 13 lines, the middle code must now be 1234567654321. So, if this is the case, then what would be the benefit to going to 14 lines instead of 13?
When will this madness end!?! God forbid the scanner can't read a 12 digit bar code number and now the grocery clerk will have to physically key in a 13 digit code!!?? AHHHHAAAAAA!!!!!!!
how about when it's implanted in a chip under the skin of our right hand? That system is already in use in Europe and fits the biblical description of how the mark will be applied.
I work for a firm that imports some raw materials and exports approx. 10% of our finished product. The CEO has been reluctant to use the bar codes we already have on the product even though the tracking and up to date inventory control gains would be well worth the effort. I've yet to ask if he's holding off for the 14 digit or just thinks his help will be too hard on the scanners. hahaha
$3500 Ouch! Is that for a cash register combination?
How much for a hand held reader?
I wouldn't think so. It's image recognition, with each bar being either 2x, 3x or 4x the width of the single line. Thus, each bar can represent 4 possible values (as I understand it).
So, 6 lines each representing 4 bits equals 24 bits; or 16,777,216 possible values. That's a LOT of UPC registered products.
Whether the scanner is reading 12 or 'x' lines is simply a software issue. The interesting part is that the lines are read as ratios relative to each other, hence you can find bar codes that are large (as on cardboard boxes) or small (like laserprinted decals). Either way, as long as the lines all fit within the scan width; the scanner can read them.
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