Barcode Scanners / Readers for Every Application: Fast, Accurate, and Reliable

Explore our selection of essential barcode scanners tailored for various business needs. Discover top-notch brands such as Zebra, Datalogic, Cipherlab, Star, Newland, Youjie, Zebex, Honeywell, RJS and more.

Browse through a diverse range of barcode scanning options, including ultra-rugged, handheld, wireless, cordless, RFID, mobile computer, and other types. Our barcoding specialists are available for a consultation to help you choose the best barcode scanning device for your needs at a cheap price. Also explore our suite of barcode software for your business needs. Find the ideal solution for seamless operations.

• Instantly Track Inventory
• Reduce Errors & Misprints
• Verify Shipments Fast
• Improve Efficiency & Compliance
• Automate Data Collection

Application areas:

• Inventory Management & Stock Taking
• Shipping & Receiving & Logistic
• Warehouse Operation WMS
• Fleet Management
• Retail & Supermarket & POS Systems
• Cycle Counting
• Food Traceability

Introduction of 8 Major Barcode

There are over a dozen types of barcodes serving different purposes and systems all over the world – some of which are more recognizable than others. Which type you need depends on how you'll be using them. Scroll to whichever category/categories are most applicable to your use.

Barcodes for global retail and supermarket

If you're selling to the big box stores mentioned above, you will need one of the following: UPC barcodes or EAN barcodes. These are the two main types of barcodes used across the world for point-of-sale products. Which one you need is dependent on where in the world you're selling.

1. UPC barcode (Universal Product Codes) is used by countries like the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. The UPC-A and UPC-E variations are used on most major retail products in those countries. UPC-A is the standard version, containing 12 numbers. UPC-E barcodes are condensed versions for smaller products and contain only 6 numbers.

2. EAN barcode (formerly European Article Numbers, now International Article Numbers) is used in most of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It's customary to use the EAN-13 barcode (comprised of 13 numbers) or the EAN-8 barcode (compressed version containing only 8 numbers).

Barcodes for in-house retail and trading

For internal inventory management and small-scale point-of-sale systems, there are two main types of barcodes: Code 39 and Code 128 barcodes.

3. Code 39 barcode is also known as USD-3 and Code 3 of 9 barcodes. They allow numbers, uppercase letters, spaces, and the following symbols: . $ - + % /. Unlike UPCs and EANs, there is no character limit for Code 39 barcodes, so they can be as short or long as necessary to store the required information.

4. Code 128 barcode is utilized a larger selection of characters compared to Code 39 barcodes. They use upper and lowercase letters, punctuation, numbers, and the following symbols: ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) - _ + = [ ] \ : ; " ‘ , < . > / ?.

Code 128 barcodes also maintain no character limit. It's recommended, however, to keep it under 30 characters as longer codes are more difficult for scanners to read. Our Code 128 barcode generator cuts off at 30 characters for this reason.

Barcodes for specialized uses such as logistic

The remaining barcodes are equally as popular, but have very specific applications. You may encounter them throughout the supply chain or use them in your marketing.

5. Codabar barcode is used predominantly in logistics-based operations like libraries, shipping companies, blood banks, and photo labs. Also known as Code 2 of 7, these barcodes use numbers, letters A-D, and the following symbols: $ - + : /. Other barcode types today are able to carry more information, but Codabar barcodes remain popular in these industries because they are easily printable. Anything from dot-matrix printers to typewriters can create Codabar barcodes.

6. Interleaved 2 of 5 barcode (or ITF 14 barcodes) is comprised of numbers only and must include an even number of digits. Each set of digits combines to create a piece of the visual barcode. These barcodes can often be seen on corrugated boxes containing packaged products. Interleaved 2 of 5 doesn‘t appear at the checkout counter, but it plays a major behind-the-scenes role tracking the billions of containers shipped globally. The data it encodes choreographs highly complex worldwide supply chains.

7. Data Matrix barcode is a two-dimensional barcode able to encode text and numeric data in a square grid pattern. Like QR codes, Data Matrix can pack substantial data into a tiny printed symbol. Data Matrix symbols also contain built-in error detection and correction to recover data if the code sustains damage. They can still be decoded even if up to 30% of the symbol gets obscured or destroyed.

Barcodes for specialized uses such as retail, membership, coupon and security check

8. QR (Quick Response) code is different from the other barcodes included in this list in that they're 2-dimensional. While the barcodes discussed up to this point have all been horizontal in nature only, QR codes are squares – the data is stored both horizontally and vertically.

This means they can hold substantially more data. Another difference between QR codes and traditional barcodes is their use as a customer-facing tool. Brands have been using QR codes as another way to give customers information. They can contain unique content such as contact information, text, and web addresses.