Bartex

Coastal is now combining the latest technology of printing bar codes with variable information and the Flexo-Graphic printing process.

This is the result: Tags and labels with variable bar code information combined with the versatility of BARTEX. The possibilities of variable data are limitless. Click a type for more information.

The technology of BARTEX allows the printing to be in virtually any size, height, or density (small or large). Features include consecutive numbering, alpha-numeric, multiple variable information in various fonts, and vertical or horizontal forms.

The combination of the Flexo-Graphic printing process and BARTEX makes it possible to produce tags and labels with multicolor printing, die cutting, varnishing, and laminating.

BARTEX makes the tags or labels of your choice possible.

UPC/EAN

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UPC (Universal Product Code) is the most popular and most frequently used of all bar codes. Its most common application is in the grocery industry to price products and control inventory. UPC is designed to match the number of the product with information such as the manufacturer, product, and price. UPC codes are administered by the Uniform Code Council in Dayton, Ohio. This organization controls specifications for all UPCs to ensure that the strict guidelines are met.

UPC is a fixed-length, numeric-only code. Two versions that are the most commonly used today are UPC version A, which has twelve digits, and UPC version E, which has six digits. UPC-E is popular for applications in which space is limited for the placement of the code.

UPC is well-suited for grocery applications. It provides a high read rate even as the product moves rapidly past the scanner. Some other considerations for the scan ability of UPC lie in the fact that the codes can be placed on products that are to be frozen, wet, or shrink wrapped.

EAN (European Article Numbering) is the European counterpart of the UPC. EAN is also a fixed length code that is numeric only. The two popular versions are EAN-8, which has eight digits, and EAN-13, with thirteen digits. Like UPC, the EAN start and stop bars are longer than the character bars.

Code 39

Code 39 is an alpha-numeric code. This symbology includes 43 characters: A-Z, 0-9, and characters for a dash (-), period (.), dollar sign ($), slash (/), plus sign (+), percent (%), and a space. Each character in Code 39 is made up of five bars and four spaces. Of these nine bars and spaces, six are always narrow and three are always wide. There is also a start and stop character to initiate and to stop the reading. The bar code shown is a typical Code 39.

Code 39 is a bi-directional bar code. This means that a stop can be read first and the number read backwards, and it can still be recognized in its proper sequence.

In 1977, the U.S. Department of Defense created the Logistic Application of Automated Marking and Reading Symbols (LOGMARS) Study. In 1981,the LOGMARS Study chose Code 39 as the choice for alpha-numeric marking and required that the code appear on government shipments and containers. Another reason that Code 39 is popular in forms usage is that it is able to be printed with a numbering head.

I2 of 5

I2 of 5 (Interleaved 2 of 5) is often thought of as a numeric-only counterpart to Code 39. Whereas Code 39 has become the standard in alpha-numeric coding, I2 of 5 enjoys a similar status in the industries that use numeric-only information. Like Code 39, I2 of 5 is also recommended for use on corrugated shipping containers.

I2 of 5 is a high-density, bi-directional code that encodes characters as well as spaces. Each character is made up of five bars or five spaces (not both). Each character has two elements that are wide and three elements that are narrow. Since this code is a variable-length code, it must be printed with a frame around the code to ensure an accurate read. The frame serves as a block to guard against a short diagonal read. Shown in Figure 1 is the Interleaved 2 of 5 bar code for the number 1021.

The I2 of 5 code derives its name from the fact that each character is made up of five spaces or bars and that two characters are interleaved together. In this code, the odd-positioned numbers are first, third, fifth, etc., whereas the even-positioned numbers are second, fourth, sixth, etc. Positions of the code are represented by the spaces. For instance, the number 19 has its 1 represented by the bars and its 9 represented by the spaces. Since the characters are all coded as pairs, any number with an odd number of digits must be padded with a zero. For instance, the number 710 is encoded as 0710 so that all characters (in this case the 7) can be paired and interleaved with others.

Codabar

CODABAR is used primarily for inventory purposes as it is numeric only. Commonly used on log tags, lumber tally tags, and asset labels. The code is bidirectional and occupies less space than Code 39.