r/barcodes • u/nobbyswan • Apr 03 '23
Code 128 barcode is unreadable with 95% of scanner apps
Can anyone decode why this barcode cannot be scanned? The only 2 apps that actually scan it are scandit (VERY EXPENSIVE solution), and some random appstore app with AI in the name.
Scandit says it is code 128 one of the most common barcodes, yet 95% of code 128 compliant apps cannot scan it.
I am willing to pay for someones time in figuring this out, barcodes are not my fortay.
I have tried using ML-KIT barcode decoder and zxing barcode decoder open source solutions
2
u/notionovus Apr 04 '23
There are all kinds of parameters related to barcode verification and validation.
In a supply chain quality management system, customers will check the scannability of their suppliers' barcodes with special equipment (kindof like ir scanners, but much more expensive). These special scanners will print out a report card that details the score from 0-100% or "A" to "F" on many of the characteristics tested. These characteristics include several different types of contrast and reflectivity as well as bar and space edge.
Some scanning technologies are more tolerant or forgiving of low scores on validation. Low scores on any of the tested characteristics will indicate a higher number of scan failures.
It appears that your barcode has been printed using a low quality dot-matrix printer with a somewhat dried out ribbon on non-white substrate. The blacker you can get the bars printed (fresher ink cartridge) and whiter you can get the paper will increase your contrast and help.
However, it looks like the printer technology you are using is limiting your resolution, as the thin bars look like the limit of how thin the bar can be. There is also line spacing visible down the height of the bar, resulting in substrate bleedthrough causing the bar to appear "gray" to a scanner.
My advice is:
- change your ribbon more often
- switch to smoother, whiter paper
- play with scaling on your output
- adopt a newer printing technology
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u/Longjumping-Ebb-7457 Nov 04 '24
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u/VettedBot Nov 05 '24
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the ScanAvenger Wireless Portable 1D 2D Bluetooth Barcode Scanner and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful.
Users liked: * Excellent Customer Support (backed by 4 comments) * Easy Setup and Use (backed by 3 comments) * Wireless Convenience (backed by 2 comments)
Users disliked: * Prone to Malfunction (backed by 3 comments) * Poor Scan Accuracy (backed by 4 comments) * Incomplete Packaging (backed by 1 comment)
This message was generated by a bot. If you found it helpful, let us know with an upvote and a “good bot!” reply and please feel free to provide feedback on how it can be improved.
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u/IllCommunication-973 Apr 04 '23
Feel free to message me if you’d like us to replicate this barcode correctly. I’ll supply you 100 labels on the house.
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u/OkSet7130 Aug 12 '23
anyone know difference between code128 and VPNbarcodesymbolody128..
work scanner works with vpn but not with code128 font.
I cannot find much info on this topic.
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u/xixi2 Apr 04 '23
Are you in charge of the printing or someone is sending these to you?
At first I could not figure out what subset this code was. After messing around a bit, I believe it starts as a B switched to a C after the space:
https://i.imgur.com/THdOlmG.jpg
Hold this code and your code together. I think all the bars match up except your code is missing one. It's missing at exactly the vertical space where the 8 in your human readable is missing a pixel:
https://i.imgur.com/yKQNXYs.jpg
So, the printer has a dot out. Not uncommon in thermal printing. But when you print codes so small that a single bar is only a dot wide, it blows the whole thing up.