A barcode printer is a computer peripheral designed to print bar code labels or tags on physical items. Barcode scanners are usually used to automatically label retail items with UPC or EANs, or to automatically tag bulk goods with a serial number. They are also used in medical applications to help doctors identify which patient is sick and needs further care. Barcode technology was first developed in the 1960s and has been used widely ever since as an efficient method of inventory control. Barcode technology is used in many areas of manufacturing, retail, the postal service, and the military.
In addition to the obvious advantage of quick printouts, barcode technology also provides a convenient method for keeping track of products by using barcodes on different items. A barcode is a nine-digit number that is generated from a series of black and white bars and stripes, which are made up of vertical lines, and which can be encoded by nine different codes, which are all mutually related in some way. Barcode technology is becoming increasingly popular in many retail applications, but the ease of use and common use has led to its widespread use as a generic label printing method for a wide range of physical products.
There are basically two types of Barcode Printer technologies - direct thermal and parallel transfer. Direct thermal printers use heat to transfer paper between two panes of plastic or glass. Parallel transfer printers scan a barcode directly onto the product, then a series of mechanical drives or electronic circuitry transfers the data from the scanner directly to the paper. Most printers designed for use with barcodes have very intuitive software that makes it easy to enter data, and they are also generally very user-friendly.
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