I work for a global consumer goods company - we print probably billions of (1d) bar codes on packs per year.
1d bar codes will go extinct, but only after every scanning system at every retailer has changed to recognize 2d bar codes/qr codes. This will likely take decades.
In the meantime, there will be a world where 2d bar codes and 1d bar codes will coexist on packs. With the additional confusion that many packs already have qr codes, either for consumer information or for internal tracking at the plant (batches for quality control), so we will probably have a little zoo of qr codes for a while, until they all finally can be merged.
How do manufacturers print QR codes on packaging that potentially could change daily, like in the case for expiration dates? 1D barcodes don't ever change so they can be easily printed in mass on the packaging.
On-demand printing. It's how expiration dates are currently already being printed on products during production. The only difference is that it goes from "put it literally anywhere" to "put it inside the space intentionally left blank".
And that's exactly why they went with QR codes. The 2D barcode for checkout just contains a valid URL in a well-known format, so it can do double-duty as link-providing QR code for customer information. And because QR codes can store a lot of data, adding the batch information from the current tracking-only Datamatrix is trivial.
There will be no "wrong" barcodes to scan, just redundant ones for legacy devices.
If you look at ALDI, they print multiple 1D bar codes that take the entire length of the box. This greatly decreases the time needed at the checkout stand to orient and scan the box.
Didn't ditch at the one near me. They greatly expanded self checkout actually and are down to 1 lane with an employee ringing people up as opposed to ~12 self checkout stations
What I found amusing is that the article claiming bar codes are dead is being displayed on devices with dozens if not hundreds of components with bar codes (matrix codes) on them.
max-ch · · focus · HN ↗
1d bar codes will go extinct, but only after every scanning system at every retailer has changed to recognize 2d bar codes/qr codes. This will likely take decades.
In the meantime, there will be a world where 2d bar codes and 1d bar codes will coexist on packs. With the additional confusion that many packs already have qr codes, either for consumer information or for internal tracking at the plant (batches for quality control), so we will probably have a little zoo of qr codes for a while, until they all finally can be merged.
wildzzz · · focus · HN ↗
crote · · focus · HN ↗
crote · · focus · HN ↗
There will be no "wrong" barcodes to scan, just redundant ones for legacy devices.
joezydeco · · focus · HN ↗
<a href="https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/12/one-stick-butter-five-https-739685348.jpg?resize=300" rel="nofollow">https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/12/o...
I don't see chains like ALDI agreeing to anything else until they can prove the same speed and accuracy as the mega-1D print.
ondra · · focus · HN ↗
earthtograndma · · focus · HN ↗
BonnieBrown · · focus · HN ↗
_the_inflator · · focus · HN ↗
Jevons paradox in full force.
pseudohadamard · · focus · HN ↗
What I found amusing is that the article claiming bar codes are dead is being displayed on devices with dozens if not hundreds of components with bar codes (matrix codes) on them.