ManageArtworks Viewer Capabilities – Part 4

Barcode Verification

ManageArtworks recognises the following Barcode types:

1. 1D Barcodes

a) Code39

b) EAN8

c) EAN13

d) Code128

e) UPCA

f) UPCE

g) RSSLimited

h) Pharmacode

i) MSI

2. 2D Barcodes

a) QR

b) MicroQR

c) Aztec

d) DataMatrix

e) MaxiCode

The system not only recognises the barcode, but also provides the technical details of the barcode. This includes

1. Type: Barcode Type. Example: EAN13
2. Class: Barcode Class. Example: Barcode 1D
3. Value: Actual Barcode Value. Example: 89****
4. Quality: Barcode Quality. 1 reflects best quality
5. Direction: Direction of Barcode: example: Left to Right
6. Confidence:

a) All barcode confidence values begin at 100.

a) 1D barcodes – Confidence values are decreased as the widths of the bars vary over the barcode.

b) 2D barcodes – Confidence values decrease based on the amount of error correction used in decoding the barcode.

c) Barcodes which use checksums – If a checksum error is detected, the confidence is set to 50.

Confidence values less than 30 are considered unreadable and any data returned is not considered reliable.

1. Scan Grade: A barcode grade is used to determine whether a code will scan easily. The ANSI grades are on an A to F scale, with A being the best.
2. Magnification: This denotes the barcode density. The width of the narrowest bar or space is referred to as the X dimension,
3. Minimum and Maximum reflectance: A barcode image must have a minimum amount of reflective difference between the barcode and the background, for the scanner to be able to recognize it. If the background is too dark or the barcode is too light, the scanner will not read it and the scan will fail.
4. Global Threshold: This is the halfway point between the maximum and minimum reflectance
5. Symbol Contrast: Difference between Minimum and Maximum reflectance.
6. Edge Contrast: The difference between bar reflectance and space reflectance of two adjacent elements.
7. Modulation: Modulation is the difference in reflectance of the light and dark elements of a symbol
8. Defects: Defects are graded by calculating the ratio of the maximum element reflectance non-uniformity to symbol contrast
9. Decodability: It is a measure of how close the printed bar code is to its nominal dimensions. Decodability is graded from 4 to 0.

Click here for Part 1