UPC Barcode Accuracy: Best Practices for Error Prevention
UPC Barcode Accuracy: Best Practices for Error Prevention
Blog Article
Barcodes have become an indispensable tool across various industries. Similar is the case with the retail industry where UPC barcodes have found widespread use. They have turned data entry into something as simple as scanning the barcodes; businesses can dramatically reduce inaccuracies.
However, UPC barcodes aren’t completely error-free. Errors in barcode creation and scanning can lead to inaccuracies and unnecessary bottlenecks. To keep your organizational processes error-free, you need to ensure accuracy in your barcode strategy.
This blog explores some of the best practices for error prevention while using UPC barcodes.
Common Factors behind Inaccuracies in UPC Barcodes
Before we get to the solutions, let us first understand the factors that cause inaccuracies in UPC barcodes:
1. Violating Quiet Zones
A UPC barcode is typically surrounded by a quiet zone - a white space bordering the barcode. It’s easy to mistake it as unnecessary or redundant, considering it doesn’t encode any data. However, the quiet zone plays a crucial role. It distinguishes the barcode from its surroundings, preventing any overlap. This allows the UPC barcode scanner to accurately identify the start and end points of the barcode, ensuring no data is skipped. Violating the quiet zone can defeat its purpose, leading to scanning errors at retail checkouts.
2. Barcode Labels are Too Small
Businesses trying to save money on barcode labels or trying to label very small products often end up designing the barcode labels to be smaller than ideal. There’s a defined size for every barcode symbology, and deviating from it can make them ineligible or prone to inaccurate scanning. UPC barcodes, for instance, should ideally be printed in a magnification factor of 100%. A UPC barcode at 100% magnification factor is typically 1.02 inches tall and 1.469 inches wide.
3. Duplicate or Cross-Contaminated Barcodes
Some stages in a barcode-based system remain manual, which renders them vulnerable to errors. For instance, mistakes during barcode creation and labeling can lead to barcode duplication. This is when two or more items are labeled with the same barcode. It is also possible to mix up barcode labels from different batches or even products - known as barcode cross-contamination.
Barcode duplication causes unnecessary confusion, potentially wasting your staff’s time and effort. It may also lead to errors in product tracking and inventory management due to duplicate entries. Similarly, cross-contaminated barcodes can cause your items to be misidentified. This opens up the possibility of various errors, such as incorrect inventory recording and wrong pricing at checkouts.
4. Poor Hardware and Software
Substandard barcode scanning hardware and outdated software are a recipe for frequent errors. Outdated scanners with suboptimal sensors are far more likely to run into issues, especially when scanning low-quality UPC barcodes. Likewise, retailers often go for cheap or free open-source UPC barcode scanning software. While they do look attractive from the cost standpoint, they may lack crucial features to augment your scanner’s performance and capabilities.
4 Ways to Prevent Inaccuracies When Working with UPC Barcodes
You now understand the factors that cause inaccuracies but now comes the question of how to tackle them. Follow these five practices when working with UPC barcodes to prevent inaccuracies.
1. Standardizing Barcode Placement
It’s imperative to implement standardized barcode placement practices, ensuring that the quiet zones are never violated. For UPC barcodes, the quiet zone is about 9 times the width of the narrowest bar. While some 2D barcodes require quiet zones only to the left and right sides, UPC barcodes need to be surrounded by them on all four sides. To prevent any interference in the scanning process, make sure the quiet zone is free of any text, graphics, or markings.
2. Investing in Reliable Scanning Hardware and Software
High-quality barcode scanners come with a higher price tag, but they are well worth the investment. Modern scanners not only have more powerful sensors than their predecessors but also boast stronger processing capabilities. You’d also want to invest in a good barcode scanner SDK to create a comprehensive scanner solution tailored to your needs. With sophisticated scanning software, your scanners will be more likely to be able to scan damaged or poorly printed barcodes correctly.
3. Following Industry Standards
Industry standards exist for a reason – they set a benchmark to follow for minimal disruptions and errors. It is advisable to follow GS1 or other barcode standards to guarantee smooth business operations and prevent supply chain disruptions. For instance, the GS1 standards set the minimum size of UPC barcodes to a magnification of 80%, although a 100% magnification factor is the recommended norm. On the higher end, UPC barcodes shouldn’t be larger than a magnification factor of 200%.
4. Preventing Barcode Duplication and Cross-Contamination
To tackle the issue of duplicate barcodes, implement automated verification systems. Modern UPC barcode systems come with the capability to detect and prevent the entry of duplicate barcodes. Similarly, investing in advanced UPC scanner software with smart data capture capabilities also prevents cross-contamination. These systems validate the barcode data, looking for any discrepancies. They automatically alert the user if the barcode doesn’t match the expected product or batch.
Conclusion
While the prospect of errors still exists with UPC barcode types, it’s possible to minimize or even eliminate them completely if you’re careful enough. It’s all about identifying the shortcomings of your current system and taking the necessary steps to fix them. Automating the process with barcode scanning already eliminates much of the chances of error – all you have to do is ensure your scanner can scan the barcodes accurately. Investments such as powerful scanners and modern software can make a world of difference. Report this page