Barcodes decoded for new users

The common retail bar code is surrounded by mystery for many new users. They often complain at the difficulty they have finding out who to ask and where to go to get the barcodes they have been told they need. A web search on “barcodes” can throw up thousands of references, some purely commercial and aimed at selling printers of scanners, some – such as those that offer to sell individual bar codes – decidedly dodgy. GS1 undertakes a surprising range of activities that extend into many areas of electronic business as well as logistics, but barcodes are its core. The GS1 global website has pages aimed at the intending user of GS1 Standards. For more information on what you need to know, click the links to GS1 New Zealand and the GS1 global page for barcodes and barcode implementation.