Thursday, September 5, 2013

Bar Codes And More

By Keren Kipfer


You can find bar codes printed in our food products when you look for them on the side of the packaging especially the ones made in the United States. You can find them at the back side of a product. One of its functions is to make it easier for store checkers to easily add up the cost of your total grocery bill but they are not only placed there for that purpose. Let us discuss their several important functions aside from the one mentioned before.

These bar codes are known as UPC codes, which stand for Universal Product Code. These originate with a company called the UCC or the Uniform Code Council. They usually have a normal black bar on a white background print with several numbers found at the bottom. Part of the code is readable only to a machine or scanner, but the number portion provides helpful information for vendors and customers.

A manufacturer's identification number is found at a 12-digit code which is composed in a standard UPC code. The one who manufactured the product can be found at the first six digits of the code while the remaining next five digits of the code indicate the actual product. The check digit is the final number entered to all the previous numbers calculated together in a special mathematical formula. To avoid using the same code on more than one product and retire these codes as these products are removed from shelves, a UPC coordinator is required.

Sodas, pastas, tomato sauces and the millions of other products we buy usually have number codes 0,1,6,7 and 8 which represent most of the products in a grocery store that are manufactured by companies such as Kraft, Coca-Cola, Kellogg's or any other manufacturer. On the other hand, items sold by weight, such as meat and vegetables or fruit feature a 2. A number 3 is for different for medicine and other pharmaceutical items the numbers 4, 5, or 9 are placed on coupons.

You may notice that bar codes are not the only ones printed on the packaging of different food products. Manufacturers also print the batch number and expiration date. A special kind of printer, known as an ID coder or ID printer is used to do this. Domino coders, Imaje coders, Maxima coders and VideoJet coders are few of the many brands of coders that you can find in the market. You should not overlook the expiration dates because it can help one determine if these products are safe for consumption or use. Quality and freshness of our food is of utmost importance since this is vital for our daily lives.

ID coders or printers will require special inks and make-up fluids in order for them to function. It is advised to use high quality inks to avoid damage to your machines. You can buy several inks and fluids directly from manufacturers. However, doing so may cost you a lot of money. You can buy the same type of product at a more affordable price when you look for a product ID company that specializes in creating high quality generic versions of VideoJet ink, Domino ink, Maxima ink and all the other major brands. It is much cheaper to purchase and they are as effective as the ones sold directly from manufacturers.




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