Bar Code Decoders

Bar code decoders use a receiver mechanism to read a barcode and then convert the code into usable data. Bar code decoders can be handheld devices or built-in to a larger system, such as a check-out scanner at a grocery store. Bar code decoders are also used for inventory control, processing sales information, gathering customer data, or monitoring the distribution of products from the factory floor to the warehouse or loading dock.

The type of bar code decoders used most commonly today are called visible laser diode (VLD) scanners or readers. A VLD bar code reader uses a series of lasers to scan and read the product code. The laser diode aims a laser beam onto a series of fixed and rotating mirrors that focus several laser beams onto the bar code. Reflected light from the bar code is processed by photo diodes which convert the physical shape of the black bars in the bar code first into an electrical signal and then into a digital one. Barcode decoders can also use light emitting diodes (LEDs) or be composed of a charge-coupled device (CCD) similar to an image scanner.

Bar code decoders come in a variety of configurations depending upon the application. Handheld scanners have ergonomically-shaped handles with a trigger or button for turning on and aiming the light source. A pen- or wand-shaped bar code decoder is swiped across the printed barcode. A stationary barcode decoder can be mounted on a table, bench, or wall, where a product is passed over a window or opening, allowing the laser to contact the bar code. This type of bar code equipment is common in supermarkets and other retail stores.

Bar code decoders use many standard symbologies to read bar codes. Bar code decoding symbologies may be one-dimensional, like the universal product code (UPC) seen on most consumer products. They can also be a more complex, two-dimensional set of vertical lines. Barcode decoding equipment may also read DataMatrix code or MaxiCode, which uses a series of alternating black and white hexagonal symbols with a bulls-eye shape in the center.

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Part Numbers for Bar Code Decoders