Barcode Registration Service in Dubai, UAE

Barcode Registration Service in Dubai, UAE

10 Steps to Barcode Your Product

The most important implementation resource for barcode registration are the over 100 GS1 Member Organisations in countries all around the world. GS1 is a not-for-profit organization that develops and maintains global standards for business communication. The best known of these standards is the barcode, a symbol printed on products that can be scanned electronically.  GS1 has 114 local member organisations and 1.5 million user companies.

This guide takes new barcode users through the basic steps they must do for barcode registration in Dubai.

Get a GS1 Company Prefix

Before a company can begin using barcodes, they must first assign the numbers that go inside the barcode, called GS1 Identification Keys. The first step in assigning a GS1 Identification Key is to obtain a GS1 Company Prefix from a GS1 Member Organisation. The GS1 Company Prefix provides a way for companies to create identification keys for trade items, logistic units, locations, parties, assets, coupons, etc. which are unique all around the world. GS1 Company Prefixes are used by 1.3 million companies worldwide as the basis for creating unique numbers to identify everything in the supply chain

Assign numbers 

After receiving a GS1 Company Prefix, a company is ready to begin assigning identification numbers to their trade items (products or services), themselves (as a legal entity), locations, logistic units, individual company assets, returnable assets (pallets, kegs, tubs), and/or service relationships. The process is simple. Your local GS1 Member Organisation can provide you with specific information about how many numbers you can assign based on the length of your GS1 Company Prefix.

Select a barcode printing process 

To begin, you should decide what you are barcoding and if the barcode will carry static or dynamic information inside it. If the information is static (always the same), the barcode can be printed using traditional printing presses directly on the package (e.g., paper milk carton) or on a label that is applied to the package (e.g., label on a gallon milk jug.) If the information is dynamic, then either digital or a combination of digital and traditional printing will be required. 

Select a "primary" scanning environment 

The specifications for barcode type, size, placement, and quality all depend on where the barcode will be scanned. By knowing where your barcode will be scanned you can establish the right specifications for its production. Barcodes to be scanned at the retail point-of-sale will need to support omnidirectional scanning. If the barcode will be scanned at point-of-sale as well as in the warehouse, you will need to use a symbol that accommodates point-of-sale scanning but printed in a larger size to accommodate scanning in the distribution process. Barcodes on healthcare items to be scanned in hospitals and pharmacies do not require omnidirectional scanning, unless the items are also scanned at retail point-of-sale.

Select a barcode

Selecting the right barcode is critical to the success of your barcode implementation plan. 

• If you need to barcode a trade item that will be scanned at the retail point-of-sale (POS), first symbol of choice is the EAN/UPC symbol. This symbol is guaranteed to be scanned by POS systems all over the world. In some cases, GS1 DataBar symbol may be applied. 
• If you are printing a barcode with variable information like serial numbers, expiry dates, or measures, then you will use GS1-128, GS1 DataBar, or GS1 2D symbols. 
• If you want to encode a URL into a barcode to make extended packaging information available to the end consumer, then you should use a GS1 2D symbol. 
• If you need to barcode an outer case to be scanned in a logistics environment, and you want to print directly on corrugated carton, ITF-14 may be the choice for you

Pick a barcode size

After the correct barcode symbol is specified together with the information to encode in it, the design stage begins. The size of the symbol within the design will depend on the symbol specified, where the symbol will be used, and how the symbol will be printed. 

Format the barcode text 

The text beneath a barcode, called Human Readable Interpretation (HRI), is important because if the barcode is damaged or of poor quality to begin with, then the text is used as a back-up.

Pick a barcode colour 

The optimum colour combination for a barcode symbol is black bars with a white background. GS1 barcodes require dark colours for bars (e.g., black, dark blue, dark brown, or dark green).

Pick the barcode placement 

When discussing symbol location, we are referring to the symbol placement on the design. When assigning symbol placement first the packaging process should be considered. You should consult the packaging engineer to make sure the symbol will not be obscured or damaged (e.g., over a carton edge, beneath a carton fold, beneath a package flap, or covered by another packaging layer). After determining the proper placement, the printing company should be consulted. This is because many printing processes require barcodes to be printed in a specific orientation to the feed direction of the web or sheet.

Build a barcode quality plan 

ISO/IEC 15416 Barcode Print Quality Test Specifications for Linear Symbols describes a method for assessing the quality of barcode symbols after they are printed. An ISO-based verifier looks at the symbol in the way a scanner does but goes further by grading the symbol's quality.