| EAN-13 is the abbreviation of European Article Number, a barcode protocol and standard used in supermarkets and other retail industries. EAN-13 is established based on the UPC-A standard established by the United States. The EAN-13 barcode has one more country/region code than the UPC-A barcode in order to meet the needs of international applications. . The UPC-A barcode is a barcode symbol used to track goods in stores. It is only used in the United States and Canada. It was developed by the United States [Uniform Code Council] in 1973 and has been used since 1974. It It was the earliest barcode system used for product settlement in supermarkets. EAN-13 consists of a prefix code, manufacturer identification code, product item code and check code, a total of 13 digits. Its encoding follows the principle of uniqueness and can ensure that it is not repeated worldwide. EAN International, referred to as EAN, is a non-profit international organization founded in 1977 and headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Its purpose is to formulate and improve globally unified commodities The barcode system provides value-added services to optimize enterprise supply chain management. Its member organizations are located around the world. EAN-13 barcodes are mainly used in supermarkets and other retail industries. |
| There are many alternatives to barcodes, such as Bokodes, QR-Code, RFID, etc. But they cannot completely replace barcodes. They each have their own advantages and disadvantages, depending on your needs and scenarios. Bokodes are data tags that can store more information than barcodes in the same area. They were developed by a team led by Ramesh Raskar at the MIT Media Lab. Bokodes can be captured by any standard digital camera To read, simply focus the camera at infinity. Bokodes are only 3 mm in diameter, but can be magnified to a sufficient degree of clarity in the camera. The name Bokodes is a combination of bokeh [a photography term for defocus] and barcode [barcode] A combination of two words. Some Bokodes tags can be rewritten, and the Bokodes that can be rewritten are called bocodes. Bokodes have some advantages and disadvantages compared to barcodes. The advantages of Bokodes are that they can store more data, can be read from different angles and distances, and can be used for augmented reality, machine vision and Near field communications and other fields. The disadvantage of Bokodes is that the equipment to read Bokodes requires an LED light and a lens, so the cost is higher and it consumes more power. The production cost of Bokodes labels is also higher than that of barcode labels. QR-Code is actually a kind of barcode. It is also called a two-dimensional barcode. They are both a way of storing data, but they have some differences, advantages and disadvantages. QR-Code can store more Data, including text, pictures, videos, etc., while barcodes can only store numbers or letters. QR-Code can be scanned from any angle, while barcodes can only be scanned from a certain direction. QR-Code has an error correction function, even if it is partially damaged It can also be identified, while barcodes are more susceptible to damage. QR-Code is more suitable for contactless payment, sharing, identification and other scenarios, while barcodes are more suitable for the management and tracking of goods. Theoretically, QR-Code can replace all functions of one-dimensional barcodes. However, many applications do not require barcode labels to store large amounts of data. For example, EAN barcode labels for retail goods only need to store 8 to 13 Just a number, so there is no need to use QR-Code. The printing cost of QR-Code is also slightly higher than that of one-dimensional barcodes, so QR-Code will not completely replace one-dimensional barcodes. |