Barcode Scanning


Principles of Barcode Scanning


Scanning beam records symbols by passing a light over the symbol and recording the reflectance of light returned


  • Black absorbs light
  • White reflects light


The light waveform data is converted from analog to digital, in order to be processed by a decoder (which is either built into the scanner, or a separate plug-in device), and then transmitted to the computer-based application software.



Basic Scanners


Fixed scanners (Handheld or Mounted)

  • remain attached to their host computer or terminal, and transmit one data item at a time as the bar code is scanned


Portable batch scanners

  • battery operated and store data in memory for later batch transfer to a host computer


Wireless portable scanners

  • also store data I memory, however data is transmitted to the host in real time.
  • allows instant access to all data



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