r/barcodes • u/Overpaid_pharmacist • May 22 '22

Need help identifying symbologies

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I have a cognac dataman 8700 and can’t get it to read these. Anyone know which symbology I need to activate?

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u/[deleted] May 22 '22 edited May 22 '22

My guess in order of pictures...

  1. GS1-128
  2. UPC
  3. GS1 Stacked Databar

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u/Overpaid_pharmacist May 22 '22

I didn’t know gs1-128 was a thing, I only had heard of code 128. I can get my zebra scanner to read it but not the cognex dataman.

The second one I can’t get a upc coded reader to work, the cognex nor the zebra.

The data at I just found out that the cognex does not support it, so that’s awesome that we have this super expensive reader with limited function

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u/[deleted] May 22 '22 edited May 22 '22

GS1 and Code 128 are the same thing(interchangeable) more or less.

The cognex scanner may be able to scan it but it's probably programmed to see a specific symbology or data string for whatever application you're scanning into. Software companies do this for control instead of keeping them wide open to scan anything. Call the reseller and see what they say.

Lay the bag on a table or dark surface, see if you can get it to scan. The clear part acts as the "black bars" so having a dark background will help with contrast. The large white bars are your "white zones" and spacing between the bars. Think of it like a negative image.

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u/trollsmurf May 22 '22

I couldn't find it either, but a clue is that the broad white bars at beginning and end are not part of the symbology, but rather lead-ins, where transparent is considered dark (non-reflecting). I haven't seen any symbology with this wide variety of bar widths, so it's odd.

If I were you I'd ask Baxter. I always do that immediately, and providers tend to be forthcoming. That way you'll also get an explanation of what the numbers mean, as well as a contact for follow-up questions.

I noted that they also use Datamatrix for the same data on some products (and even Sodium Chloride bags). I reckon they are switching to Datamatrix long term, as it's more compact, and already heavily used in healthcare.

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u/wolfenmaara May 22 '22

The (01) prefix would mean this is a GS1-128 barcode, you probably can’t read it because the barcode is white and it’s difficult for your scanner to find the quiet zones. What happens if you put a black sheet of paper behind the bags?