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There are a number of challenges that you will face as an entrepreneur. Some of the struggles that you will run into will be obvious, such as the need to expand your client base. However, entrepreneurs will also encounter will be less obvious. One example is the need to make sure the barcodes on your products are properly designed.
There are many design elements that play a critical role in the success of any marketing strategy. Entrepreneurs frequently focus too heavily on superficial design elements pertaining to the aesthetics of their products and packaging. Although aesthetic features play an obvious role in driving sales and building brand equity, other design factors are at least as important.
Barcodes are important design features that cannot afford to be overlooked. The first barcode was developed back in 1951, although the first one wasn’t scanned until 1974. They have played an important role in retail management, because stores use them to track inventory and ensure customers are charged accurately.
However, barcodes have become even more important these days. Retailers aren’t the only ones monitoring barcodes. Customers have started to depend on them more as well, since almost all major mobile devices have QR scanning.
You can’t afford to ignore the growing importance of barcode design. One poll cited at the GS1 Connect Conference 2017 found that 84% of customers use a QR scanner on their phone to get more information about products that they are purchasing. A similar percentage of customers said that they would not make a purchase if product information was incorrect.
What Is A Barcode?
A barcode is a special code that is imprinted on products. It is composed of vertical bars of varying sizes. Every barcode is based on a hexadecimal code that is translated according to the width of each bar.
Machines can scan the bars and convert them into a unique code corresponding to an individual product. This is an essential step for bringing a new product to market. Plus, it much easier for retailers to keep track of different products. If the retailer makes the database of product information publicly available, then customers can also scan barcodes to learn more about the product as well.
Quality Control Tips For Barcode Design
You need to make sure that your barcode is properly designed to reap the benefits of the technology. You might run into a number of issues otherwise. Here are some important design guidelines to follow closely.
Ensure Size And Dimensions Are Appropriate
The most important aspect of barcode design is getting the size and dimensions right. In general, larger barcodes can be scanned more easily.
However, it isn’t always feasible to use a large barcode. The size and dimensions will obviously be constrained by the size of the packaging. You will have more difficulty determining the proper dimensions with smaller product packages.
The good news is that there are a number of new applications that help identify the ideal size and dimensions of barcodes. They will make sure it is large enough to read, without taking up too much space or affecting the label design.
Use The Best Color Combination
You need to make sure that there is as much contrast as possible between the barcode and the background. In order to accomplish this, you must make sure that there is a strong differentiation between the background and bar colors.
The best approach is to use a white background with black bars. Extensive data from countless retailers has shown that this has the best contrast possible.
Use An Industry Standard Barcode Printer
Barcodes will be much more legible if they are printed by the right machine. You should make sure your machine is used by other retailers. You will know that the barcode will be more legible and printed in a standard format that scanners will recognize.
Make Sure The Quiet Zones Are Clearly Defined
Quiet zones designate the beginning and end of the barcode. They are essential for making sure that the code is properly read. Otherwise, the scanner might identify other characters on the packaging and assume they are part of the code. This would obviously need to an inaccurate scanning.
You need to make sure that the space is large enough that they can be read correctly. You also need to make sure that the quiet zones are made with bold lines so that they can be easily recognized.
