Barcode Problems - real examples of what goes wrong
The following barcodes were all submitted to a major UK retailer - and rejected!
We have created full barcode verification reports to explain exactly what went wrong.
If you'd like to see a verification report that includes a full reflectance profile, look at the report for Tetleys Smoothflow or John West Tuna Lunch or Mrs Mays.
EAN 13 |
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| 1 |  |
This print quality of this EAN-13 is reasonable, but the quiet zone on the right hand side is too small. The bearer bar is too close to the barcode on the right hand side so the symbol fails. |  |
| 2 |  |
This EAN 13 barcode label does not entirely obscure the incorrect barcode beneath it. Unfortunately the barcode on the label is also out of spec - it is 61%, but should be 75%. | |
| 3 |  |
The cardboard material used for this label is too dark (to red light). Even though the slightly mottled appearence of the background may be attractive - giving a suitably "recycled" look for an organic product, variations in the reflectivity of the material mean that the barcode is out of spec. | |
| 4 |  |
The print quality of this EAN 13 barcode is reasonably good, however, the light margin on the right of the code is too small - so the barcode fails | |
| 5 |  |
This EAN 13 barcode has been printed by flexography (flexo) - and there are tell-tale artifacts of flexo printing near the printed edges of the printed image which result in a barcode that does not meet the standard. In this case, a large magnigfication of barcode may have improved the quality. Remember, the higer the magnification, the more tolerance in the barcode. | |
| 6 |  |
This EAN13 barcode has been printed with insufficient quiet zone on the left. The bars are also too wide. | |
UPC |
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| 7 |  |
This barcode has been printed by gravure, a method that is not appropriate for laminated packaging of this type. The glossy surface of the packaging is also reducing the chances of a first time scan. | |
ITF 14 |
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| 8 |  |
This Code 39 barcode is the wrong symbology, ITF14 should have been used. | |
| 9 |  |
The lack of quiet zones on either side of this ITF14 barcode, have made it impossible to decode the data correctly. | |
| 10 |  |
This barcode has been printed so badly that it was only possible to decode one small section. It has been printed thermal transfer, which is an excellent printing method for producing high quality results. However, the print head appears to have blown elements, the barcode has been printed in the wrong orientation, and the printer has been running too fast. Disaster! | |
| 11 |  |
This ITF barcode has been printed too small, and the box surrounding the barcode is infringing on the light margins | |
| 12 |  |
This barcode fails because the user has applied the wrong type of barcode. A Code 39 barcode has been used, but for General Distribution, an ITF14 must be used. The printed quality of the code is also poor. | |
| 13 |  |
This print quality of this ITF is quite good - despite the error in the wide/narrow ratio. However, the barcode has the wrong check digit. | |
GS1 128 |
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| 14 |  |
This print quality of this GS1-128 barcode is good, unfortunately it has been printed bellow the minimum size specified for this type of code. | |
| 15 |  |
This GS1-128 barcode contains the correct data, but the very poor method of printing has caused multiple problems. The bars are too light,too thin and contain a number of light bands. Also the barcode has been printed bellow the minimum size specified for this type of code. | |
| 16 |  |
This GS1-128 barcode has been printed bellow the minimum size specified for this type of code. The barcode has also been printed on a direct thermal printer, which is capable of very high quality, but in this case the bars are not dark enough compared to the background. This is probably because the printer has not been set up correctly. | |
