Imagine a world where everyone could produce their own barcodes and place them on their products. Imagine the chaos this would cause – there would be an abundance of duplications and inaccuracy. Thankfully, thirty years ago Australian retailers adopted the GS1 procedure of barcoding and numbering as the preferred standard for trade.

GS1 Australia is a service-based, non-for-profit organisation that licenses authorised barcode numbers, or GTINs (Global Trade Item Number), for Australian businesses. The company was created by Australian businesses, for Australian businesses, and is the only authorised provider of GS1 barcode numbers in Australia.

As the prevailing system today, all retailers will instruct businesses to abide by the GS1 numbering and barcoding standard. When trading products to a retailer system, businesses will need to distinctly identify their product with a GS1 barcode, which will have a unique GTIN.

Having GS1 Barcodes on a product, carton or pallet ensures that each barcode number you are licensed to use is unique. No other businesses can use your barcode numbers or barcodes on their products. No more confusion.

When creating a design for the retail market that we know will incorporate a barcode, we aim to follow a set of simple procedures quite early in the design phase to ensure a successful outcome.

Physical requirements such as size, height, colour and location of the barcode are very important. Barcodes that do not comply cause inefficiency in the supply chain, as they do not scan reliably. The specifications below relate to the more commonly used barcodes.

Size:
The size of the barcode will depend on the symbol type and the intended scanning environment. Barcode scanning is more reliable when the barcode size is greater than the minimum required.

Bar Height:
Once the size of the barcode has been determined, for EAN/UPC barcodes it is important to ensure that the height remains in proportion to the size, and does not drop below the minimum specified.

Quiet Zone:
The Quiet Zones for linear barcodes are the solid, light areas before the first bar and after the last bar. For two-dimensional barcodes, the Quiet Zone is the light area around the barcode. These areas are extremely important as they allow the scanner to recognise the beginning and end of the barcode. Any obstruction or reduction in the Quiet Zones will most likely result in scanning difficulties.

Colours:
The colours and type of ink you choose for your barcodes are important. As a scanner reads a barcode using an infrared light source it sees the symbol differently to the human eye.

As designers adding a barcode to your product packaging, we need to ensure the barcode will scan at the checkout. Here are some simple recommendations we have discovered when printing barcodes for clients:

Always check the barcode on the proof and make sure it meets the GS1 standards. Double, triple check that the right barcode number is being used. Ask for a high-resolution proof so you can be sure of the quality of the print. Have the barcode printed in monotone – black and white only. Make sure the barcode is crisp and clear – no bleeding or smudging.

Far from being there for decoration, barcodes are a practical part of product packaging that can’t be done half right, it is imperative all specifications are met for the barcode to work. After all, there is no point in having a beautifully designed product that fails to scan at the register – it will almost certainly spell the end of an otherwise successful product.

For more information regarding barcodes or any other design inquiries contact our team at  www.theloftgroup.com.au or (08) 9228 1799.