Barcodes have become integral parts of all industries, a development driven by early innovation and creative problem-solving. And they are still evolving. Only recently have we seen developments with initiatives such as the GS1 Digital Link and Digital Product Passport – which you will learn more about later in this article.
This article explores the role barcodes will play in our future and introduces some developments and trends to keep an eye on.
The history of barcodes
The first barcode patent was filed in 1949 and included a bull’s-eye pattern of concentric circles designed to be readable from any angle.
However, the bulky and expensive scanners needed made the design impractical for wide use. And so the concept remained dormant for the next two decades.
In 1970, a committee was formed to establish a uniform grocery product code, which led to the development of a linear barcode design superior to the bull’s-eye code in printing quality. Thus, in 1973, the Universal Product Code (UPC) was introduced, with its iconic black-and-white bars of varying width.
In the following years, other barcode formats were introduced, such as the European Article Number (EAN) – the UPC’s European equivalent – and Code 128, a barcode popular for shipping, logistics, and supply chain management.
Although they revolutionized numerous industries, these traditional barcodes had one major drawback: They could only encode small amounts of data, due to their single-direction design, which also gives them their name: one-dimensional (1D) barcodes.
That’s why, in 1994, QR Code was born. Developed by a Japanese company for efficient tracking of automobile parts during manufacturing, it can hold significantly more information than traditional 1D barcodes and can be scanned from any angle.
Other 2D barcode symbologies soon followed. Initially, they were mostly used in industrial settings. But with the rise of smartphones capable of reading QR Codes, they gained popularity in everyday life.
The shift to 2D barcodes: recent trends
The shift to 2D barcodes is driven by their superior data capacity and versatility. While 1D barcodes are still in use, 2D barcodes, such as QR Codes and Data Matrix, are quickly becoming the new industry standard.
On the one hand, 2D barcodes are capable of encoding detailed product information. On the other hand, they can be scanned from any direction, unlike 1D barcodes. This improves efficiency in industries such as retail and logistics.
Just as the development of 2D barcodes was driven by a need for more data encoding capabilities, most recent developments are. Let’s have a look at GS1 Digital Link, GS1 Sunrise 2027, and the Digital Product Passport.
GS1 Digital Link
GS1 Digital Link is a global standard that turns 2D barcodes into gateways for real-time digital content. The Digital Link is a URL encoded in a barcode, which can provide different information depending on who scans it. In this way, warehouse workers would receive different information than consumers.
The key benefit of GS1 Digital Link is that it replaces several barcodes in a single code for multiple uses. In this way, it drives initiatives such as GS1 Sunrise 2027 or the European Digital Product Passport.
GS1 Sunrise 2027
GS1 Sunrise 2027 is a global initiative led by GS1, the non-profit organization that sets standards for business communication, including barcodes. At its core, the initiative plans to replace all traditional 1D barcodes, such as UPC, with more advanced 2D barcodes at the point-of-sale by the end of 2027.
2D barcodes enable encoding of more information, such as expiration dates, batch/lot numbers, and URLs linking to other information, enhancing traceability and consumer engagement.
Digital Product Passport
The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a digital record of a physical product that contains key information on its identity, compliance, environmental impact, and circularity. It is part of the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan.
By scanning a barcode that links to a cloud-hosted digital passport, stakeholders can access specific information. In this way, the DPP aims to increase transparency across the entire supply chain and supports the circular economy by providing information that helps extend product lifetimes, optimize product use, and facilitate reuse or recycling.
Hardware evolution: Mobile scanning is the future of barcodes
The shift from 1D to 2D barcodes was partly driven by the ability of ordinary smartphones to scan them. Now, smartphones are capable of even more – thanks to modern barcode scanner software.
Mobile barcode scanners are surpassing consumer-level performance and replacing expensive dedicated devices, even in industrial settings, thanks to workflow-enhancing features and ruggedized devices.
The Scanbot Barcode Scanner SDK scans all common 1D and 2D barcode types reliably, even in less-than-ideal conditions. Its performance is unaffected by damaged, blurry, or tiny barcodes, even in bad lighting.
The SDK features multiple workflow-enhancing capabilities, including Multi Scanning and Batch Scanning, which speed up any workflow by enabling users to scan multiple barcodes at once or in succession.
At all times, the Scanbot Barcode Scanner SDK prioritizes data privacy and security by utilizing on-device processing, a technology that enables it to run its powerful barcode scanning capabilities without requiring a connection to servers.
You can see for yourself how the SDK performs and try our free barcode scanner demo apps.
