| Barcode Resolution and Barcode Scanning |
Everywhere we can see barcodes, but do you ever know, there are lots small and large barcodes beside us, how do they decide the size and location for that? When you buy a product with a big carton, you can find a large sticker on carton, the barcode on the carton is also long and wide. And that wide barcodes we call low resolution and it is for scanning barcode automatically on the assembly. Because the barcode readers on the assembly is far away from the barcode so that the precision is lower
Barcode Scanner is based on optics. We use single-lens telescope as an example to explain resolution and distance are in inverse proportion. The telescope (The age of European Discovery, the captain used to explore) must be adjusted between two lenses distance to see clearly.
When we want to see different objects, we have to adjust the lens constantly to test the definition and use the naked eye to determine the best. But in the structure of Barcode Scanner, the position of the lens is fixed. The maker will
design it to be well read in a certain range. Just like photographers take photographs for us, he will ask us to move our step to make photographs clear. In other hand, when the barcode and the Barcode lens are fixed. We need to change the resolution of barcode (change the width of barcode).
The barcode far away requires wider and the near barcode requires thinner. The best Resolution of barcode is the best way to read in different ranges. It is the same idea that you do not want to sit at the first line or the last line in the movie theater to watch movie.
Now hand-held barcode scanner will not have this problem because the user will move the scanner from the far to the close. When it approaches the best resolution, it will read the barcode. At this moment the lights on the barcode scanner will be extinguished and let user know the barcode was already well-read.
The resolution of barcode also affects the size of sticker.
When the resolution gets higher and the barcode will be smaller. So we can use small stickers. But there is still a maximum resolutions limited.
The specifications for the barcode scanners will figure it out. And the best resolution to read barcode is about 0.127mm (5mils). That means the smallest barcode can not be less than this value. Said the smallest barcode line can not be less than the marked value. Next time if you see the barcodes with the different thickness, you can understand the different barcode application in different places.
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