Barcode Labels
Assistance with design
and how to request a quote
SageData is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
If you are going to design barcode labels it is helpful to know what options are available (including material and layout) and what limitations need to be observed. This article provides assistance with the design of the label, and explains how to request a quote, and the impact some of the design considerations may have on the quotation.
Information to assist those completing the request for quote for barcode labels.
Material for Barcode Labels
A variety of materials are available. The most common material is plastic.
This is available in standard or tamper resistant varieties.
The standard material is weather resistant, which means that you can apply it to your car
windscreen, and it will still be there when you sell the car.
Tamper resistant is processed so that it cannot be easily removed. If an attempt is made to remove it, the material breaks up, which not only makes it difficult to remove completely, but also prevents someone from moving a barcoded asset tag from one item to another.
Additional materials are available, from cloth through aluminum to ceramic. We offer a strong plastic label which can be attached by tie wrap. We have materials with a wide range of adhesive properties. And we can also supply with an over-laminate for increased durability. Contact us for more information.
How to Choose the Best Barcode Symbology
Currently the preferred symbology is Code 128, which we recommend for most applications. Only in special circumstances (such as a technical requirement for backward compatibility) would we recommend another format. Older formats such as Interleaved 2 of 5 have significant deficiencies, and are best avoided where possible. Problems arising can included false positive reads.
How to Choose the Start Number for Material Management Applications
Our recommended format for tracking numbers is a six digit number, all
numeric, incrementing by one, no duplicate labels, and starting at the number 100000 (one
hundred thousand). There are a number of reasons for this, some subtle, but some which
can cause problems, sometimes years down the road.
This recommendation is based on our analysis of existing systems, and issues which have
caused problems or inefficiency.
Contact us for more details on numbering sequences, and why we don't recommend printing
labels "two up".
If you found this useful, you might also want to review:
- 2D barcode labels
- barcode labels - background
colors
- custom labels printing
QAOK5019
