Barcode Readers

A barcode scanner is a device designed to read barcodes printed on a retailer's products for the objective of stock control and to recover the latest pricing. They are also known as barcode readers and they are electronic devices that have a light source and a light sensor, used for translating the optical image of the printed barcode into an electrical image. The electrical information can be linked to an electronic till or some type of computerised system designed to read the information.

Handheld barcode scanners are most likely the most popular because of the flexibility of movement and the mobility they offer. A handheld barcode scanner can be used by an operator to locate the barcode and run the scanner over the barcode.

Desktop barcode scanners are also extremely popular and can be discovered in might retail outlets such as division shops and supermarkets exactly where the item containing the barcode is situated more than the scanner in order to acquire the image. They can often be co-situated with handheld scanners so operators can find barcodes placed on awkward areas of a product.

A number of various methods are used to acquire the image of the barcode:

One simple method used by pen-type scanners is to run the scanner across the barcode in steady motion a photodiode measures the spacing between the dark bars and the light portion to produce an image. Laser scanners work in the exact same way except that they use a laser as the source of light.

Some scanners use a camera to capture a 2-dimensional image of the code and then process the image to create the barcode.

Sometimes, a problem with barcode readers is the inhability to read a barcode that is not completely orientated on a flat surface, or it is not feasible to manoeuvre the item holding the barcode into a appropriate position. Some readers, such as those used in supermarkets use laser technology, but in such as way as to send out a serious of light beams in various directions to a pre-determined pattern, which enables the device to detect even awkward images that may not be on an even surface.

Barcode readers can have a number of interfaces to allow connection to a Pc or storage device. Most likely the most typical interface is a USB interface which is available on most PCs and terminal devices these days. The barcode reader can also obtain its energy from the terminating device, so that an external power source or batter energy is not needed. Early barcode readers could use a standard keyboard port on a Computer, with the barcode scanner emulating the keyboard so that characters could be displayed and stored on the Pc. This was frequently referred to as a 'Keyboard Wedge'.

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