GS1 DataBar codes (formerly known as RSS codes – Reduced Space Symbology) are linear codes, similar to EAN-13 codes. Therefore, they can be read using the same scanners, provided that these scanners have the option to read GS1 DataBar symbology.
In the GS1 DataBar family of symbologies, there are seven symbologies, four of which have been adopted by the GS1 organization for use at retail points of sale due to their ability to be read omnidirectionally (Table 1).
Due to their specific structure, GS1 DataBar codes can have a height more than half that of EAN-13 codes and still be read without difficulty by omnidirectional scanners. This is particularly important for small packaging, where placing a full-sized, omnidirectionally readable EAN-13 code is not possible. In such cases, manufacturers currently reduce the height of the bars in the code. Such a reduced code often loses the ability to be read on the first pass over a barcode scanner, which involves the need to manipulate the packaging to read the code. This causes specific time losses for retail chains. To avoid reducing the code, it is sufficient to use a GS1 DataBar-14 code instead of an EAN-13 code –
if the space intended for printing the EAN-13 code is too low, or a GS1 DataBar-14 Stacked code –
if the space intended for printing the EAN-13 code is too narrow.
The EAN-13 code encodes a GTIN-13 number, while the GS1 DataBar-14 code encodes a GTIN-14, which, compared to the GTIN-13, also contains an indicator digit. Both codes therefore contain a similar amount of data, and that is why comparing the sizes of these codes best reflects the difference in size between the EAN-13 and GS1 DataBar codes.
Table 2 presents an example of the width and height of these codes for dimension X = 0.25 mm. Figure 1 shows an example of reading an EAN-13 code. This code consists of two parts: the left part, encoding 6 digits (the digit “5” located on the left side of the code is not directly encoded in the bars of the code, but is encoded using variable parity of the combination of sets A and B for the 6 characters of the left half of the code) and the right part, also encoding 6 digits. A barcode scanner can scan and decode these two halves of the code separately, then combine them and thus reconstruct the entire content of the code. So, for example, while moving a product from the left side of the code to the right, the barcode scanner first reads the left half of the code (Figure 1.a), and then the right (Figure 1.b).
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 4/2007.