The difference between 1D, 2D and 3D barcodes

As you can imagine barcodes are evolving and are being used in more and more ways in todays world, this would explain why we now have 2D and 3D barcodes whereas when barcodes first started being used they were only 1D.

1D barcodes are the normal linear barcodes which are mainly used on products being sold in retail stores they consist of black vertical lines with the barcode number shown below the lines, these will be what consumers are provided with when they buy barcodes for their products.

They are read horizontally by barcode scanners, by means of the scanner reading the black lines and the white spaces between the lines to decipher the barcode number. You get two different formats, you get the UPC format which is the older format and consists of 12 digits and you get the newer EAN format which consists of 13 digits. They are not able to store much information and are therefore best used to represent product information in retail stores, stock inventory etc anything that requires minimal data input.

The 2D barcodes are made up of a pattern displayed in the form of dots and squares and are able to be read by more than just a barcode scanner, they can be read using a smartphone as well, which plays greatly into the ever-growing use of smart phone technology today.

The 2D barcodes are becoming increasingly popular among businesses today as a means of advertising and promotions as these formats are able to store vast amounts of information like URL addresses. This allows companies to use a 2D barcode, mainly QR codes which is an acronym for quick response codes, to direct consumers directly to their websites, menus, promotions or any web-based information that they may want to put forth.

As these barcodes are able to store such a large amount of data they are also often used to store pertinent information from their databases on these codes and reduces the use of referring to a main global database as regularly.

There are so many ways in which these codes can be used by businesses that it would be impossible to list them all, but we encourage you to delve deeper into research on 2D barcodes and see some of the very interesting ways in which you can benefit from them in your daily business procedures as well as the different types of 2D barcodes available.

3D barcodes are not as commonly used as 1D and 2D but are very useful for companies who work with and manufacture products that are needed to withstand harsh elements such as heat. These barcodes are able to be permanently placed on an itemthey can even be engraved on or included on the mechanical part or product in the manufacturing stage. This format of code is fairly new and still being explored by manufacturing companies.

A great perk with 3D barcodes is that they are virtually unable to be altered, which is a benefit when it comes to inventory and the risk of human error. These barcodes are mainly used on large parts or machinery which will need to be traced and kept track of as they are being transported. 3D barcodes are read by scanners by reading the difference in height of the bars and spaces, very different to how 1D barcodes are read.

That is where we will leave you for now but we can assure you that very soon we will have loads more formats of barcodes being created to store more information and to streamline businesses.

With the use of barcodes in businesses one day we will have no way in which human error can occur and this will save companies large amount of money in the long term as well.

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