One of the most common questions we get asked at SSE Technologies is what’s the difference between the barcode scanner and a barcode verifier? The answer is, there is a big difference and they both serve a separate purpose.
Logically if one scanner can read a barcode why can’t they all? The optical arrangements available for scanners vary widely ranging from the light pens or a wand, to CCD scanners and hand-held omnidirectional laser scanners.
A scanner is designed to read barcodes. The barcodes can be very complicated and very easy to get wrong. For example, if you check your barcodes with a scanner you may never know if the data encoded into your code is correct, or formatted correctly until it gets rejected by your customer. A barcode scanner is an electronic device for reading printed barcodes. Just because your barcode scanner can read the barcode it does not ensure that the barcode won’t be read by other scanners. A barcode may scan with a scanner, however a verifier will see that there is a problem. The verifier software will see that there is a problem with the application identifier and the use by date is passed. Using a barcode scanner to check this barcode you may never have known these problems.
When a scanner reads or fails to read a barcode that is your entire quality report. Barcode verification examines scannability and the quality of the barcode in comparison to the industry standards and specifications. It is very important to verify a barcode to ensure that there any reader in the supply chain can successfully interpret a barcode.
The most common reasons we hear for not investing in a barcode verify is it’s too expensive or we’ve never had a problem before. Barcodes can fail to decode for a number of reasons including the print quality, data content, the symbology or even just a check digit. If your barcode fails to scan, a verifier would tell you why this has happened and also give you a very clear indication of how to resolve the problem.
Supermarkets and other retailers have imposed fines for suppliers who send products in with unreadable barcodes. Some funds can be more than the price of a barcode bar file alone. A barcode verifier should be part of your quality assurance checks to ensure that you never send out an unreadable barcode.
