BRITISH STANDARD BS EN 1649 2004 AIDC technologies — Operational aspects affecting the reading of bar code symbols The European Standard EN 1649 2004 has the status of a British Standard ICS 35 040 ??[.]
BS EN 1649:2004 BRITISH STANDARD AIDC technologies — Operational aspects affecting the reading of bar code symbols The European Standard EN 1649:2004 has the status of a British Standard ICS 35.040 ?? ? ?????? ???? ??? ??? ?? ???????? ? ?? ? ?? ?? ?? ?????? ? ?? ? ???????? ??? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? BS EN 1649:2004 National foreword This British Standard is the official English language version of EN 1649:2004 It supersedes DD ENV 1649:1996, which is withdrawn The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee IST/34, Automatic identification and data capture techniques, which has the responsibility to: — aid enquirers to understand the text; — present to the responsible international/European committee any enquiries on the interpretation, or proposals for change, and keep the UK interests informed; monitor related international and European developments and promulgate them in the UK — A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its secretary Cross-references The British Standards which implement international or European publications referred to in this document may be found in the BSI Catalogue under the section entitled “International Standards Correspondence Index”, or by using the “Search” facility of the BSI Electronic Catalogue or of British Standards Online This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract Users are responsible for its correct application Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity from legal obligations This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 25 August 2004 Summary of pages This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, the EN title page, pages to 20, an inside back cover and a back cover The BSI copyright notice displayed in this document indicates when the document was last issued Amendments issued since publication Amd No © BSI 25 August 2004 ISBN 580 44345 Date Comments EN 649 EUROPEAN STANDARD NORME EUROPÉENNE EUROPÄISCHE NORM August 2004 ICS 35.040 Supersedes ENV 649:1 995 English version AIDC technologies - Operational aspects affecting the reading of bar code symbols Techniques d'identification automatique et de saisie des données - Aspects de mise en oeuvre affectant la lecture des symboles en codes barres AutoID-Technologien - Einflussgrưßen auf die Lesung von Strichcodes This European Standard was approved by CEN on July 2004 CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any CEN member This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German) A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the Central Secretariat has the same status as the official versions CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION C OMITÉ EURO PÉEN DE NO RMALIS ATIO N EUROPÄIS CHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG Management Centre: rue de Stassart, 36 B-1 050 Brussels © 2004 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CEN national Members Ref No EN 649:2004: E EN 649:2004 (E) Contents Foreword Scope Normative references Terms and definitions Requirements 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.1 4.1 4.1 Closed or open system Pre-existing standards Data to be encoded Symbology selection Optical Parameters 1 Symbol quality Symbol Application Labels Positioning of the Symbols Environmental Conditions Health and Safety Considerations Global Environmental Considerations Annex A (informative) Symbology character sets Annex B (informative) Symbology features Bibliography 20 EN 649:2004 (E) Foreword This document (EN 649:2004) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 225, "Bar coding", the secretariat of which is held by NEN This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by February 2005, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by February 2005 According to the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following countries are bound to implement this European Standard : Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom This document supersedes ENV 649:1 995 EN 649:2004 (E) Introduction I m p l em e n tati on of th e tech n ol og y of ba r cod i n g re q u i re s th e ori g i n ators of th e b a r cod e m arki n g , an d th ose wi sh i n g to m ake u s e of th e b a r cod e s to cap tu re d a ta re l ati n g to th e m a rke d e n ti ty a u tom ati ca l l y, to work to a com m on ap p l i ca ti on sta n d ard Th e a p p l i ca ti on sta n d a rd m a y m ake refe re n ce to p u b l i cl y a va i l a bl e sp e ci fi cati on s for th e u n d erl yi n g te ch n i ca l a s pe cts of th e ba r cod e s ym b ol a n d of th e eq u i p m e n t for i ts prod u cti on a n d re ad i n g B y m e a n s of s u ch p u b l i cl y a va i l a b l e s ta n d a rd s , th e p rod u cers of s ym bol s a n d th ose wi s h i n g to re ad th e s ym b ol s ca n b e a wa re of th e req u i rem e n ts wh i ch m u s t b e m et b y a n y s ym b ol p rod u cti on an d sym bol re a d i n g eq u i p m e n t wh i ch th e y sp e ci fy for th e i r re sp ecti ve s ys te m s Th i s d ocu m en t a l so p rovi d e s th e m a n u fa ctu rers of b oth b a r cod e m arki n g an d b a r cod e re a d i n g e q u i p m e n t wi th th e req u i re m e n ts to wh i ch th at eq u i p m e n t m u st com p l y, for th a t a pp l i ca ti on Th i s d ocu m e n t provi d e s th e m e a n s b y wh i ch b od i e s wh i ch a re m aki n g a p pl i ca ti on s ta n d a rd s for i n d u s tri e s can e n s u re th a t a l l re l e va n t te ch n i ca l re q u i rem e n ts are a d d re s sed d u ri n g th e s ta n d ard s m aki n g p roce s s EN 649:2004 (E) Scope This document specifies the operational aspects affecting the reading of bar code symbols which must be considered in the preparation of application standards It defines the subjects which must be addressed by application standards if they are to provide practical guidance to the user industries for whose use they are developed Normative references The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document For dated references, only the edition cited applies For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies EN 556:1 998, EN 573, EN 2323, Bar Coding — Terminology Bar Coding — Multi-industry transport label Bar coding ― Symbology specification ― “Code 6k” EN ISO/IEC 541 6, Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques - Bar code print quality test specification - Linear symbols (ISO/IEC 541 6:2000) Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques - Bar code symbology specifications - PDF41 (ISO/IEC 5438:2001 ) EN ISO/IEC1 5438 ISO/IEC 646:1 991 , Information technology — ISO 7-bit coded character set for information interchange ISO/IEC 8859–1 :1 998 Information technology — 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets — Part : Latin alphabet No Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques – Bar code print quality test specification – Two dimensional symbols ISO/IEC 541 ISO/IEC 541 Maintenance Information technology EAN/UCC Application Identifiers and Fact Data Identifiers and ISO/IEC 5420 Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Bar code symbology specification — EAN/UPC Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Data Carrier Identifiers (including Symbology Identifiers) ISO/IEC 5424 ISO/IEC 6022, Information technology International symbology specification Data matrix ISO/IEC 6023, Information technology International symbology specification – MaxiCode ISO/IEC 6390 Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Bar code symbology specifications — Interleaved of ISO/IEC 8004 — QR Code Information technology-Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Barcode symbology General EAN ▪ UCC Specifications (EAN International, Brussels, 2004) EN 649:2004 (E) Terms and definitions F or th e p u rp ose s of th i s d ocu m e n t, th e term s a n d d efi n i ti on s g i ve n i n E N 56 : 9 a n d th e fol l owi n g a pp l y 3.1 closed system a p pl i cati on wh i ch i s i n te n d e d for u se b y a cl os ed g rou p of u s ers , typ i ca l l y wi th i n a s i n g l e org a n i sati on or su b j e ct to a s pe ci fi c ag ree m e n t N O TE E xi s ti n g cl o s ed s yste m s a re u s e d s u bj e ct to b i l a te ral a g re em e n t b etwe e n th e p a rti ci p a n ts 3.2 open system a pp l i ca ti on i n wh i ch i n d e p en d e n t p arti e s m ay fre el y pa rti ci p a te a n d i n wh i ch b i l ate l ag re em e n ts are n ot n e ce s s a ry 3.3 application standard sp e ci fi ca ti on d efi n i n g th e m eth od b y wh i ch a n d d i ti on s u n d e r wh i ch a u tom a ti c i d e n ti fi ca ti on a n d d a ta ca p tu re te ch n ol og y m a y b e a p p l i e d to a p arti cu l ar p u rp ose, pres cri b i n g , for e xa m p l e , d ata form a ts , op ti ca l req u i re m e n ts a n d sym b ol og y re l a te d p a ram e ters a s su b s ets of th e tota l ran g e d efi n e d b y re l e va n t te ch n i ca l s ta n d ard s Requirements 4.1 Closed or open system Th e d e ve l op e r of a sta n d a rd sh a l l d ete rm i n e i f th e syste m to wh i ch th e a p pl i ca ti on s ta n d ard a p p l i e s i s a cl os e d or a n op e n s ys tem 4.2 Pre-existing standards B e fore com m e n ci n g th e m aki n g of a n e w ap p l i ca ti on s ta n d ard , carefu l s i d erati on sh ou l d b e g i ve n to th e p oten ti a l of a d opti n g a n e xi sti n g sta n d a rd M a n y cu rre n tl y u se d ap pl i cati on sta n d ard s are re a d i l y a d a p ta b l e to sp e ci fi c i n d u s try u se s wh i l s t rem n i n g total l y com p a ti b l e wi th th e i r e xi sti n g u s e s B roa d e n i n g th e s cop e of e xi s ti n g i n te rn ati on a l , m u l ti i n d u stry sta n d ard s, provi d e s for th e rea d y tra d i n g of b a r cod e m arke d i te m s i n te rn ati on a l l y a n d b e twe e n i n d u s try se ctors a n d i s , th e refore, th e prefe rred op ti on I t sh ou l d b e n oted th at th e prol i ferati on of stan d a rd s i s a wa ste of re s ou rce s an d i s tra ry to th e p ri n ci p l e s of s ta n d ard i s ati on EN 649:2004 (E) 4.3 Data to be encoded 4.3.1 Type of Data to be Encoded The choice of symbology will be influenced by the type of data to be encoded; which can be: — — — numeric alphanumeric ASCII other character sets which, particularly in high capacity two dimensional symbologies, may be accessed by the use of the AIM : ECI — Part Annex A includes details of those symbologies which support this standard The character set required to encode the data content shall be a subset of the encodable character set of the symbology There are symbologies covered by European and International Standards, the encodable character set of which meet all these requirements For a given application, the character set used may be a limited part of the total character set available NOTE The character sets encodable by symbologies covered by European or International Standards are described in annex A 4.3.2 Data string length 4.3.2.1 Linear symbols The data string length to be encoded will influence the length of linear bar code symbols The specification of long data strings, and the resultant long symbols, may be the cause of symbols being difficult to scan with a high degree of reliability and ease It will also limit the choice of bar code printing and reading systems which may be used for a particular application In particular some types of bar code readers may have limitations in the data string length which may be decoded and transmitted to the host system 4.3.2.2 Two dimensional symbols For some applications the data string length to be encoded may exceed that which can be encoded in a linear symbol In such cases high capacity two dimensional multi-row bar code or matrix symbols can be used In their largest sizes these may permit up to two thousand characters of data to be encode in a symbol Some two dimensional symbologies permit the decoded data from more than one symbol to be concatenated into a single data string, thus enabling very large amounts of data to be encoded in a set of symbols 4.3.3 Data check characters For applications where key entry is used, or where data security is critical, data check characters as distinct from symbol check characters should be used The system of data check characters used will depend upon the application, a suitable algorithm may be selected from those described in ISO/IEC 7064 EN 649:2004 (E) 4.4 Symbology selection 4.4.1 General Wh en s el e cti n g a s ym b ol og y or s ym bol og i e s for an y p a rti cu l a r a p p l i ca ti on e ve ry a sp e ct of th e a pp l i ca ti on sh ou l d b e s i d e re d Th e sym b ol og y wh i ch i s sp e ci fi e d for u se i n an a ppl i cati on sta n d a rd , sh ou l d b e on e of th ose sym b ol og i e s cove re d b y E u rop e an or I n tern ati on a l S ta n d ard s N O TE An n e x B co m p a re s th e fe a tu res of two d i m e n si on a l s ym b o l o g i e s s tan d a rd i se d b y C EN a n d I S O /I E C 4.4.1 Linear symbols Th e fol l owi n g e xce p ti on a l fa ctors sh a l l b e taken i n to si d era ti on d u ri n g th e se l ecti on of a s ym b ol og y for a n a pp l i ca ti on a) “ EAN/UPC” Symbology (ISO/IEC 5420) Th i s sym b ol og y s h a l l b e u s ed on l y i n a ccord a n ce wi th th e E AN ▪ U C C G e n era l S pe ci fi ca ti on s b) “ Interleaved of 5” Symbology (ISO/IEC 6390) I n I n terl e a ve d of s ym b ol s , th e b a r p attern s of th e s tart a n d s top p atte rn s m a y be fou n d a s th e re s p e cti ve e n d a n d beg i n n i n g of certa i n e n cod e d s ym b ol ch a racters wi th i n th e sym b ol Th e re i s th e refore n o g u ara n te e th a t a p a rti a l s ca n of th e s ym b ol wi l l n ot p rod u ce a val i d re a d for a n e m b ed d e d s ym b ol h a vi n g fe we r ch ara cters Two ad d i ti on a l m e as u re s s h ou l d be a p pl i e d to m i n i m i se th e ri sk of s u ch p a rti a l re a d s, fi xi n g th e s ym bol l e n g th a n d ap p l yi n g be are r b a rs: ) F i xe d l e n g th s ym bol s I n a n y ap p l i ca ti o n s ta n d a rd th e n u m be r of ch a racte rs e n cod e d i n a n I n terl e a ve d of s ym bol s h ou l d be fi xe d , a n d re a d i n g or d a ta proce s s i n g e q u i pm e n t for th a t ap p l i ca ti o n s h o u l d be p rog m m e d to accep t on l y m e s s a g e s of th a t d e fi n e d l en g th ) B e are r b a rs Th e p u rp os e of be a rer b a rs i s to re d u ce th e p roba b i l i ty of a va l i d bu t e rron eou s s h ort re a d of th e s ym bol wh e re a s ca n n i n g b e am e n te rs a n d /or l e a ve s th e s ym b o l at th e to p or b ottom B e are r b a rs s h ou l d be a d d ed u n l e s s tech n i ca l s tra i n ts p re ven t i t or u n l e s s th e rea d i n g or d a ta proces s i n g eq u i pm e n t i s prog m m e d for fi xe d l e n g th s ym bo l s I n op e n s ys te m a pp l i ca ti on s wh e re a wi d e n g e of re a d i n g e n vi ro n m e n ts wi l l b e e n co u n te re d , b ea rer b a rs s h ou l d b e ap p l i e d a s a d e fa u l t m e as u re to pre ve n t s h ort re ad s B e a rer b a rs wh e n u s e d s h o u l d b e pl a ce d p e rpe n d i cu l a r to th e b a rs i n th e s ym b o l , ab u tti n g th e to p an d th e b ottom of th e s ym bo l b a rs ove r th e fu l l l e n g th of th e s ym b ol Th e y m a y e xte n d o ve r th e q u i e t zon e s an d m a y a l s o be e xten d e d to form a fram e a rou n d th e s ym bo l i n cl u s i ve of th e m i n i m u m q u i et zon e s Th e u s e of a d a ta ch e ck d i g i t ca n a l s o red u ce (b y a fa ctor of ten ) th e ri s k of d a ta from a s h ort rea d b ei n g a cce p te d b y th e h os t s ys tem EN 649:2004 (E) 4.4.1 Two dimensional symbols The following two dimensional symbologies are European and International Standards: a) “Code 6k” Symbology (EN 2323) b) “PDF 41 7” Symbology (EN ISO/IEC 5438) c) “Datamatrix” Symbology (ISO/IEC 6022) d) “QR Code” Symbology (ISO/IEC 8004) e) “Maxicode” Symbology (ISO/IEC 6023) Where large sized high capacity two dimensional symbols are used in an application, the impact on the data processing system of sorting the large amount of data which is decoded from a single symbol should be taken into consideration in the development of the application NOTE Annex B compares the features of two dimensional symbologies standardised by CEN and ISO/IEC 4.4.2 Number of symbologies to be used The number of symbologies to be specified for use by an application standard shall be carefully considered The use of autodiscrimination in an application where a number of different symbologies are in use can increase the risk of reading errors with resultant corruption of the database The number of symbologies employed in an application and enabled in the reading equipment should therefore be limited to the minimum required to operate that application efficiently If the use of more than one symbology is unavoidable, then the following recommendations should be applied: a) segregate the use of the different symbologies to different parts of the application, and set decoders to decode only the symbology specified for that part of the application b) use symbology identifiers in accordance with ISO/IEC 5424 to ensure that the system can be programmed to recognise the symbology from which the data originated c) apply other checks to the data decoded such as format, string length, data check character and symbol check character validations, to ensure that the integrity of the data decoded is maximised NOTE Large capacity 2D symbols have a number of security features which are incorporated into every symbol, the points mentioned in c) are principally intended for use in applications where linear symbols are used 4.4.3 Symbol security 4.4.3.1 Linear symbols In order to ensure the integrity of data decoded from symbols, provision should be made for the use of a symbol check character in symbologies where these are an optional feature of the symbology, or, in the absence of a symbol check character, for the use of a data check character (using for example one of the types described in ISO/IEC 7064) Systems considerations set out in the relevant symbology standards shall be applied where appropriate, to maximise the security of the reading and decoding of symbols EN 649:2004 (E) 4.4.3.2 Two dimensional symbols All two dimensional symbols have symbol check characters which ensure a very high level of data security Most two dimensional symbologies also have error correction capabilities which can correct errors or erasures in the symbols, which are introduced by printing defects or caused by damage to the symbol after printing The level of error correction applied to some two dimensional symbols can be adjusted: in applications where a high level of security is necessary, a high level of error correction should be specified Application of error correction to a two dimensional symbol has the effect of increasing the non-data overhead of the symbol 4.4.4 Aspect ratio of symbols 4.4.4.1 Linear symbols The application specification may specify the overall space requirements for symbols on items, packaging or labels Where it does so, the standard should ensure that the height to width ratio of the symbol will not be reduced to less than the minimum specified by the standard for that symbology 4.4.4.2 Two dimensional symbols For multi- row bar code symbols the minimum aspect ratios or Y dimensions for the rows of the symbol shall conform with the requirements of the European or International Symbology Standard for that symbology The aspect ratio of multi-row bar code symbols is influenced by a number of factors, these include: a) the manner in which the number of rows and columns to be used in the construction of the symbol is specified b) whether or not the number of columns in a PDF 41 symbol is specified prior to the encoding operation being commenced c) for Datamatrix symbols the aspect ratio is dependent on whether the application permits rectangular symbols to be used 4.4.5 Symbol X dimensions The range of X dimensions permitted in an application shall be specified by the application standard Consideration should be given to ensuring that the range of X dimensions specified is compatible with: a) the print resolution of appropriate bar code printing equipment I.e the widths of the elements shall be consistent integer multiples of the printer pixel width b) the optical resolution of appropriate scanning equipment In determining the X dimensions of symbols to be used in an application it should be noted that the symbology specification for some symbologies permits only one X dimension for applications of that symbology In other cases the largest and smallest X dimensions which may be used are limited by the symbology specification Any pre-existing open system with which an application specification must comply must be considered when determining the range of X dimensions which may be permitted in the application 10 EN 649:2004 (E) 4.4.6 Wide to Narrow Ratio Wh ere a n a p p l i ca ti on stan d a rd sp e ci fi e s th e u se of a two wi d th s ym b ol og y, a cce p ta b l e rati os of wi d e to n a rrow e l e m e n ts s h al l b e sp e ci fi e d ti os i n th e n g e 0: wi th i n th e : N O TE to : to 0: I S O /I E C S ym b ol og y S ta n d ard s for two wi d th sym b ol og i e s, sp e ci fy Th e a p p l i ca ti on sta n d a rd m a y sp e ci fy a si n g l e rati o or a n g e of ti os l i m i ts, i t s h a l l n e ve r b e l ess th a n th at s e t ou t i n th e s ta n d a rd for th a t sym b ol og y Th e s m al l e r ti os m a y n o t b e s u i ta b l e wh e re th e X d i m e n s i on i s s m a l l : re fer to th e s ym b ol og y s ta n d a rd s fo r p re ci se d e ta i l s 4.4.7 Other Factors Influencing Symbol Specification O th e r factors wh i ch s h ou l d b e s i d e re d wh e n s p e ci fyi n g th e s ym b ol s wh i ch a re to b e u s e d for a p arti cu l a r a p pl i cati on i n cl u d e : a) b) th e type s of s ca n n e r wh i ch wi l l b e u se d i n th e a pp l i ca ti on wh ere ve yor m ou n ted s ca n n e rs are u s e d , ve yor s p e e d a n d ori e n tati on of th e s ym b ol to th e s ca n n e rs sh a l l b e s i d e re d wh e n s pe ci fyi n g th e s ym b ol d i m e n s i on s wi th ) th e s ym b ol l e n g th ; ) th e b ar h e i g h t of th e s ym bol c) s p e ci a l d i ti on s re l ati n g to th e en vi ron m e n t i n wh i ch sym b ol s a re to be s ca n n e d sh ou l d b e si d e re d Con d i ti on s s u ch a s d i re ct s u n l i g h t, l on g n g e re a d i n g , s u rface s wh i ch a re we t, fros ted or u n u s u al l y l i t, m a y req u i re s p eci a l su b strates or pri n ti n g m eth od s a n d carefu l s i d e ti on of s ym b ol si ze to e n su re g ood sca n n i n g p erform a n ce d) su b strate s or p ri n ti n g te ch n i q u es wh i ch m a y ca u se wi d e va ri a ti on s of pri n t q u a l i ty m a y l i m i t th e ch oi ce of s ym b ol og i es wh i ch a re su i ta b l e for th at a pp l i cati on e) som e a p p l i ca ti on s of two-d i m e n si on a l sym b ol s req u i re s p eci a l si d e rati on of th e i l l u m i n a ti on req u i re d for th e rea d i n g of th e s ym bol d u e to th e wa y i n wh i ch th e el e m en ts of th e sym b ol a re form e d , ( e g p ee n i n g or e n g vi n g i n to m e ta l or p l a sti c su rfa ce s) Th e typ e s of re a d e rs req u i re d for s u ch a pp l i ca ti on s n e e d sp e ci al s i d e ti on i f th e re ad i n g of th e sym b ol s i s to b e a ch i e ve d s u cces sfu l l y, a p pl i ca ti on s p e ci fi ca ti on s sh ou l d p rovi d e a d vi ce to th e u se r wh e re su ch s ym b ol s m u s t b e u s e d 4.5 Optical Parameters 4.5.1 Introduction B a r cod e s ym b ol s e n cod e i n form a ti on wh i ch i s m a ch i n e rea d a b l e I n ord er th at th e e n cod e d i n form a ti on can be re a d an d corre ctl y i n te rp rete d b y b a r cod e re a d ers , i t i s e s se n ti a l th a t th e sym b ol s m eet th e te ch n i ca l req u i rem e n ts of th e re a d e rs Th es e pri n ci pa l l y i n vo l ve e n su ri n g th a t th e sym b ol prod u cti on m e th od s em p l oye d , a n d th e b ar cod e re a d ers u s ed , are com p a ti b l e 11 EN 649:2004 (E) 4.5.2 Scanner Light Source The light source which illuminates the bar code symbol during reading will produce light at a particular wavelength or over a particular bandwidth of wavelengths The application specification shall specify the particular wavelength of light to be employed by the bar code scanners used for that application Care should be taken when choosing special light sources Where it is a requirement of the application that more than one wavelength of light may be employed, these shall be specified, e.g “633 nm and 900 nm” They shall not be specified in terms similar to “633 nm to 900 nm” The most commonly employed light sources and the wavelengths at which they emit light are, at the time of writing of this standard — — — — — Helium neon laser, red light 633 nm Visible laser diode, red light 675 nm Near infra-red laser diode, not visible 780 nm Light emitting diode, red 635 nm to 660 nm Light emitting diode near infra red to infra red, not visible 720 nm to 950 nm NOTE A few bar code scanners employ white light sources, with filters on the return path of the optical system to convert the returned light to the wavelength most suitable for the optical detector used in the scanner NOTE Camera or vision systems used for the reading of bar code symbols, most often employ white light, though for some special applications where fluorescent or phosphorescent inks are used, the light source may be ultra-violet 4.5.3 Symbol Production The method of production used for bar code symbols, shall produce symbols which are compatible with the wavelength of light specified for the bar code readers used in that application It is particularly important that where wavelengths of light in the infra-red or near infra-red range are specified for the readers to be used in an application, that the symbol production methods selected, shall produce symbols with sufficient contrast at the selected wavelength The symbols for use in an application shall be produced by a systematic method which assures the maintenance of minimum required standards of symbol quality, or be subject to quality control of the symbols according to EN ISO/IEC 541 4.5.4 Matching the Symbol and the Reader For each application, the requirements of the reading of the symbols shall be considered in determining the symbol specification The application standard shall ensure that proper guidance is provided to its users, relating to the correct methods of specifying bar code symbol production methods and equipment and the bar code reading systems, to ensure that the X dimensions of symbols are matched to the characteristics and optical specifications of the scanners used in that application NOTE The use of unmatched symbol production or reading methods will reduce the reliability of the system due to the introduction of excessive optical noise, or reduced ability to resolve the narrowest elements in the bar code symbol 4.5.5 Quiet Zones Application standards shall strongly emphasise that the Quiet Zones are an integral part of the bar code symbol and that under no circumstances shall any other printed matter be permitted to intrude into the Quiet Zones The application standard shall also specify that the Quiet Zones of bar code symbols shall conform with the requirements of the appropriate CEN and ISO/IEC Symbology Standard NOTE Where more than one symbology is used it is recommended that the quiet zones should be as large as possible without it affecting the symbology specification 12 EN 649:2004 (E) 4.6 Symbol quality 4.6.1 Introduction The application standard shall specify a means by which symbol quality is controlled This may be by specifying systematic production methods for the symbols, which will provide assured symbol quality, or by specifying appropriate test methods such as those defined by ISO/IEC Standards 4.6.2 Linear symbol quality For the quality control of linear bar code symbols is EN ISO/IEC 541 6, specifies test methods and a symbol quality, grading scheme Where the use of EN ISO/IEC 541 is specified, an acceptable symbol grade shall be specified for symbols measured according to the methods described in this standard NOTE The use of different symbol grades for different parts of an application, such as different production methods or different scanning environments, may be advisable 4.6.3 Two dimensional symbol quality symbol quality Two dimensional symbols of two types are standardised by CEN and ISO/IEC, one type is the multi-row bar code symbol e.g PDF 41 7, the other is the matrix symbol e.g Data matrix For the quality control of multi-row bar code symbols, the test methods and grading of symbol quality is based upon the methods defined in EN ISO/IEC 541 An additional graded parameter, unused error correction, is required to be measured in two dimensional symbols, the measurement method and grading of this parameter are described in ISO/IEC 541 For the quality control of two dimensional matrix symbols, ISO/IEC 541 specifies test methods and a symbol quality, grading scheme Where the use of ISO/IEC 541 is specified, an acceptable symbol grade shall be specified for symbols measured according to the methods described in that standard NOTE The use of different symbol grades for different parts of an application, such as different production methods or different scanning environments, may be advisable 4.7 Symbol Application In an of application where more than one bar code of the same symbology encoding different data is used, the standard shall have rules which clearly differentiate the purpose each symbol, ISO/IEC 541 defines techniques for doing this 4.8 Labels 4.8.1 Introduction Where symbols are not directly marked onto an item, a label may be used as an intermediate carrier for the bar code symbol or symbols, and human readable information 4.8.2 Transport Applications Applications which involve the marking of goods for transportation, shall use EN 573 as the basis of this part of the application standard 13 EN 649:2004 (E) 4.8.3 Non Transport Application F or a p pl i cati on s or p arts of a p p l i ca ti on s n ot i n vol vi n g tra n sp orta ti on , th e si ze of th e l a be l , th e n u m b er of b a r cod e d h u m a n re a d ab l e fi e l d s wh i ch a re com p u l s ory, a n d th e n u m b e r of e ach wh i ch a re opti on a l , s h al l b e cl e a rl y d e scri b e d Th e u se of e ach fi e l d s h a l l b e d efi n e d b y th e stan d a rd a s s h a l l th e req u i rem e n ts for fi xe d or va ri a b l e l e n g th s of d ata i n a fi e l d Th e l a you t of b oth ba r cod e d a n d h u m a n re a d ab l e fi e l d s, s h a l l b e cl e a rl y d e scri b e d b y th e s p e ci fi cati on , a s s h al l th e ori e n tati on of th e fi e l d s re l ati ve to th e i n ten d e d ba s e l i n e of th e l ab e l 4.9 Positioning of the Symbols D u e si d e ti on s h al l b e g i ve n to th e ci rcu m stan ce s i n wh i ch s ym bol s on i te m s wi l l b e re q u i red to b e re ad Th e p os i ti on of th e sym b ol on th e i tem wi l l b e m ore cri ti cal i f an u n atte n d e d , ve yor m ou n te d scan n er i s to b e u s ed Wh e re h u m an i n te rve n ti on i n sca n n i n g i s i n ten d e d , sym b ol p osi ti on i s l e ss cri ti ca l , h o we ve r th e sca n n i n g op e rati o n wi l l b e m ore effi ci e n t i f ope rato rs kn o w th at sym b ol s wi l l u su a l l y b e p l ace d i n p arti cu l a r l oca ti o n s 4.1 Environmental Conditions 4.1 0.1 Introduction Th e a p p l i ca ti on stan d a rd sh a l l p rovi d e a ss i s ta n ce to i ts u s e rs i n sp e ci fyi n g m eth od s b y wh i ch th e re a d ab i l i ty of s ym bol s m ay b e re ta i n e d , u n d er th e e n vi ron m e n ta l d i ti on s wh i ch th e sym b ol wi l l e n cou n te r d u ri n g i ts n orm a l l i fe cycl e 4.1 0.2 Symbol Abrasion S ym b ol s m a y b e d am ag e d b y ab s i on d u ri n g th e m e ch a n i ca l h an d l i n g of i te m s, or by th e ru b b i n g tog e th er of su rface s d u e to th e m oti on of i te m s re l a ti ve to on e a n oth er, d u ri n g tra n s porta ti on Th e a p pl i ca ti on sta n d ard s h ou l d b e i n form ati ve to i ts u s e r, a bou t th e ri sk of s u ch d eg d ati on of sym b ol q u al i ty Th e corre ct se l e cti on of sym b ol l oca ti on a n d th e u s e of p rotecti ve l a m i n a te s m a y b e a d vi sa b l e i n s om e a p pl i cati on s F or a p p l i ca ti on s wh i ch u s e h i g h ca pa ci ty two d i m e n si on a l sym b ol s th e a pp l i ca ti on stan d a rd sh ou l d p rovi d e ad vi ce on th e l e vel of error correcti on wh i ch s h a l l b e a p p l i e d to th e sym b ol , to com p e n sate for d am ag e l i kel y to b e i n cu rred b y sym b ol s i n th a t a pp l i ca ti on Th e l e ve l of error corre cti on a p pl i e d sh ou l d a l s o be b a s ed u p on th e re q u i re d l e vel of s e cu ri ty for th a t a p pl i cati on 4.1 0.3 Other Factors Afte r th e s ym bol h as b e en p ri n te d , oth e r p rod u cti on proce ss e s m a y effe ct i ts re a d a b i l i ty e g sh ri n k wra p p i n g or s te am cl e an i n g of tai n ers Th e a pp l i ca ti on s ta n d a rd sh a l l be i n form a ti ve to i ts u s e rs a b ou t th e ri sk of s u ch d eg d a ti on of s ym b ol q u a l i ty an d s h ou l d sp eci fy wa ys of red u ci n g th i s 4.1 0.4 Scanning Methods B a r cod e s ca n n e rs wh i ch req u i re tact wi th th e ba r cod e s ym b ol d u ri n g th e sca n n i n g proce ss, e g wa n d s ca n n ers, can ca u s e d eg d ati on of th e s ym b ol Th e pri n ti n g m e th od , n u m b er of p oi n ts a t wh i ch sca n n i n g i s req u i re d an d a n y p ost p ri n ti n g protecti on a p p l i e d to th e sym b ol , wi l l a l l re d u ce th e occu rre n ce of s ym bol d am ag e Th e u s e rs of a p p l i ca ti on s ta n d a rd s , sh ou l d b e p rovi d e d wi th g u i d a n ce on a n y fe atu res of th e i r ap p l i ca ti on wh i ch wi l l ca u se th e d eg d ati on of s ym b ol s a n d wh i ch m a y th erefore req u i re d u b l e p ri n t m e th od s to b e u se d , or p ost pri n ti n g prote cti on to b e a p pl i e d 14 EN 649:2004 (E) 4.1 Health and Safety Considerations Ap pl i ca ti on s ta n d a rd s sh a l l d raw th e a tte n ti on of i ts u s e rs , to a n y m atters wh i ch req u i re sp e ci fi c atten ti on to s i d era ti on of h ea l th a n d s afe ty Th e se s h al l i n cl u d e form a n ce to l a se r s afety req u i rem e n ts, h a zard wa rn i n g l ab e l l i n g req u i re m e n ts a n d req u i re m e n ts rel ati n g to eq u i pm e n t safety N O TE E N 5–1 p ro vi d es i n form a ti o n on th e u se of e q u i pm e n t wh i ch u se s l a se r l i g h t s ou rces 4.1 Global Environmental Considerations App l i cati on sta n d a rd s s h al l d w th e a tte n ti o n o f u se rs to th e n ee d to u se m a te ri al s a n d proce ss es wh i ch a re su stai n a b l e a n d wh i ch m i n i m i se th e ri s k of d am ag e to th e en vi ron m e n t 15 EN 649:2004 (E) Annex A (informative) Symbology character sets A.1 Introduction One of the distinguishing features of bar code symbologies, are the range of characters which they can encode For the symbologies currently standardised by CEN the character sets encodable are defined here A.2 ISO/IEC 5420 Information technology ― Automatic identification and data capture techniques ― Bar code symbology specification ― EAN/UPC For this symbology the encodable characters are: — the numeric values of to (ASCII values 48 to 57 inclusive, in accordance with ISO/IEC 646:1 991 ) A.3 ISO/IEC 541 Information technology ― Automatic identification and data capture techniques ― Bar code symbology specification ― Code 28 For this symbology the encodable characters are: — — 28 ASCII characters (ASCII values to 27 inclusive, in accordance with I SO/IEC 646:1 991 ) 28 extended ASCII characters (ASCII values 28 to 255 inclusive, in accordance with ISO/IEC 8859-1 : 998) A.4 ISO/IEC 6388 Information technology ― Automatic identification and data capture techniques ― Bar code symbology specification ― Code 39 For this symbology the encodable characters are: — — the alphanumeric characters A to Z and to (ASCII values 65 to 90 inclusive and 48 to 57 inclusive, in accordance with ISO/IEC 646:1 991 ) seven special characters space $ % + - / (ASCII values 32, 36, 37, 43, 45, 46 and 47 respectively, in accordance with ISO/IEC 646: 991 ) NOTE Encodation of other ASCII character values in the range to 27 inclusive, in accordance with ISO/IEC 646:1 991 , can be achieved using a procedure which requires two bar code characters per encoded data character A.5 ISO/IEC 6390 Information technology ― Automatic identification and data capture techniques ― Bar code symbology specifications ― Interleaved of For this symbology the encodable characters are: — the numeric values to (ASCII values 48 to 57 inclusive, in accordance with ISO/IEC 646:1 991 ) A.6 EN 2323 Bar coding-Symbology specification Code 6K For this symbology the encodable characters are: — — 16 28 ASCII characters (ASCII values to 27 inclusive, in accordance with I SO/IEC 646:1 991 ) 28 extended ASCII characters (ASCII values 28 to 255 inclusive, in accordance with ISO/IEC 8859 -1 :1 998) EN 649:2004 (E) A.7 EN ISO/IEC 5438 Information technology ― Automatic identification and data capture techniques ― Bar code symbology specification ― PDF41 For this symbology the encodable characters are: — — — 28 ASCII characters (ASCII values to 27 inclusive, in accordance with ISO/IEC 646:1 991 ) 28 extended ASCII characters [ASCII values 28 to 255 inclusive, in accordance with PC437] supports the AIM Global ECI Standard, permitting other character sets and data formats to be encoded NOTE A reference to the source of Codepage 437 can be found in the Bibliography [1 ] A.8 ISO/IEC 6022 Information technology ― Automatic identification and data capture techniques ― Bar code symbology specification ― Data matrix For this symbology the encodable characters are: — — — 28 ASCII characters (ASCII values to 27 inclusive, in accordance with ISO/IEC 646:1 991 ) 28 extended ASCII characters (ASCII values 28 to 255 inclusive, in accordance with ISO/IEC 8859-1 :1 998) supports the AIM Global ECI Standard, permitting other character sets and data formats to be encoded A.9 ISO/IEC 6023 Information technology ― Automatic identification and data capture techniques ― Bar code symbology specification ― MaxiCode For this symbology the encodable characters are: — — — 28 ASCII characters (ASCII values to 27 inclusive, in accordance with ISO/IEC 646:1 991 ) 28 extended ASCII characters (ASCII values 28 to 255 inclusive, in accordance with ISO/IEC 8859-1 :1 998 supports the AIM Global ECI Standard, permitting other character sets and data formats to be encoded A.1 ISO/IEC 8004 Information technology ― Automatic identification and data capture techniques ― Bar code symbology specification ― QR Code For this symbology the encodable characters are: — — — — the alphanumeric characters A to Z and to (ASCII values 65 to 90 inclusive and 48 to 57 inclusive, in accordance with ISO/IEC 646:1 991 ) nine special characters space $ % * + - / : (ASCII values 32, 36, 37, 42, 43, 45, 46 , 47 and 58) 8-bit byte set in accordance with JIS X 0201 (Latin and Kana Characters) Kanji characters (Shift JIS values 81 40hex - 9FFChex and E040hex – EA9Ehex These are values shifted from those of JIS X 0208) 17 EN 649:2004 (E) Annex B (informative) Symbology features There are four bar code symbologies which are currently European and/or International Standards, each of these has its own characteristics and features As an aid to those preparing application standards, the characteristics and features of these symbologies are shown in table B.1 Table B.1 FEATURES Character Set Encodable b Numeric Alphanumeric ASCII Symbol Compulsory Check Character Optional Character Self Checking Variable Length Length in x dim to Numeric encode characters Alphanumeric ASCII f Non Data Overhead in x g Symbol Characteristics Discrete width a b c d e f g 18 ― Symbology features “Code 28” ISO/IEC 541 YES YES YES YES NO YES YES 112 78 78 35x NO NO SYMBOLOGY “Code 39” ISO/IEC 6388 YES YES YES NO c YES YES YES 239 239 447 x[45+(c-1 )] YES YES “EAN/UCC” ISO/IEC 5420 a YES NO NO YES NO YES d NO 95 NA NA 8x NO NO “Int of 5” ISO/IEC 6390 YES NO NO NO YES c YES YES e 35 NA NA 8x NO YES See 4.4 See Annex A See 4.4.4 EAN symbology and the associated UPC symbology use fixed length symbols, these are: - EAN-1 encoding digits - EAN-8 encoding digits - UPC-A encoding digits - UPC-E encoding digits in symbol characters - digit add-on encoding digits - digit add-on encoding digit When used in accordance with EAN General Specification, two digit or five digit add-on symbols may be used in combination with EAN-1 3, UPC-A or UPC-E symbol “Interleaved of 5” symbols can only encode even numbers of digits The use of variable length “Interleaved of 5” symbols should be avoided, see section 4.4.1 For the purposes of calculation the following parameters are used - For Code 39 and Interleaved of 5, the wide to narrow ratio is set at 3:1 - For Code 39 an inter-character gap of x is used - Quiet zones are not included - C = the number of characters including start and stop characters - For Code 39 and Interleaved of 5, the non data overhead includes symbol check character Discrete symbologies may be printed by mechanical numbering box methods, whereas continuous symbologies may not