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A bar code reader or bar code scanner is a computer peripheral for reading barcodes printed on various surfaces. Like a flatbed scanner, it generally consists of a light source, a lens and a photo conductor translating optical impulses into electrical ones. Additionally, nearly all barcode readers currently produced contain decoder circuitry analyzing the barcode's image data provided by the photo conductor and sending the barcode's content to the scanner's output port.
Many different types of barcode scanners are available. They can be distinguished as follows:
By technology
bar code Pen 
Pen type readers consist of a light source and a photodiode that are placed next to each other in the tip of a pen or wand. To read a bar code, you drag the tip of the pen across all the bars in a steady even motion. The photodiode measures the intensity of the light reflected back from the light source and generates a waveform that is used to measure the widths of the bars and spaces in the bar code. Dark bars in the bar code absorb light and white spaces reflect light so that the voltage waveform generated by the photo diode is an exact duplicate of the bar and space pattern in the bar code. This waveform is decoded by the scanner in a manner similar to the way Morse code dots and dashes are decoded.
Laser barcode scanners
Laser scanners work the same way as pen type readers except that they use a laser beam as the light source and typically employ either a reciprocating mirror or a rotating prism to scan the laser beam back and forth across the bar code. Just the same as with the pen type reader, a photodiode is used to measure the intensity of the light reflected back from the bar code. In both pen readers and laser scanners, the light emitted by the reader is tuned to a specific frequency and the photodiode is designed to detect only this same frequency light.
CCD barcoding Readers
CCD readers (also referred to as LED scanner) use an array of hundreds of tiny light sensors lined up in a row in the head of the reader. Each sensor can be thought of as a single photodiode that measures the intensity of the light immediately in front of it. Each individual light sensor in the CCD reader is extremely small and because there are hundreds of sensors lined up in a row, a voltage pattern identical to the pattern in a bar code is generated in the reader by sequentially measuring the voltages across each sensor in the row. The important difference between a CCD reader and a pen or laser scanner is that the CCD reader is measuring emitted ambient light from the bar code whereas pen or laser scanners are measuring reflected light of a specific frequency originating from the scanner itself.
Camera-Based barcoded sacnning
2D imaging scanners are the fourth and newest type of bar code reader currently available. They use a small video camera to capture an image of a bar code. The reader then uses sophisticated digital image processing techniques to decode the bar code. Video cameras use the same CCD technology as in a CCD bar code reader except that instead of having a single row of sensors, a video camera has hundreds of rows of sensors arranged in a two dimensional array so that they can generate an image.
By housing
Handheld barcode scanner : with a handle and typically a trigger button for switching on the light source.
Pen bar code reader (or wand scanner) : a pen-shaped scanner that is swiped.
Stationary barcode scanner : wall- or table-mounted scanners that the barcode is passed under or beside. These are commonly found at the checkout counters of supermarkets and other retailers.
Fixed position barcode reader : an industrial barcode reader used to identify products during manufacture or logistics. Most often used on conveyer tracks to identify cartons or pallets which need to be routed to another process or shipping location.
PDA barcode reader : a PDA with a built-in barcode reader or attached barcode scanner e.g. Grabba,opticon psion pidion phone symbol intermec 
Types of Connectors
PS/2 port.
Most barcode readers use a PS/2 or USB cable for output: PS/2 cables are connected to the host computer in a Y formation, the PS/2 keyboard port with its first end, to the keyboard with its second, and to the barcode reader with its third end. The barcode characters are then received by the host computer as if they came from its keyboard decoded and converted to keyboard input within the scanner housing. This makes it extremely easy to interface the bar code reader to any application that is written to accept keyboard input. However, this kind of direct input has some drawbacks. You cannot operate with that data, so in case you need to parse a code into several parts you will not be able, and the input will appear wherever the cursor was, so you must be sure it is set in the proper place.
Many readers can also be equipped with an RS-232 output port so that the decoded characters arrive at the computer via one of its RS-232 connectors. You would then need a program called a "Software Wedge" to take the data from the bar code reader and feed it to the application where you want the data to go. Using this interface you gain much more control over how and where your data ends up when you read a bar code.
USB is supported by many newer scanners. In many cases a choice of USB interface types (HID, CDC) are provided.
There are a few other less common interfaces. The proprietary IBM interfaces (port 5B, port 9B and port 17) that use an SDL type connector and are based on an RS485 protocol. OCIA is sometimes still variety of connector

Motorola Symbol scanning 

Metrologic 

Opticon

Zebra Printers 

Seagull Scientific Bartender 

Bluebird Pidion

Baracoda bluetooth

Aceeca

Casio

Grabba data sled

Toyota Tsusho Denso ID Systems

Zebra media labels and ink ribbons

Datalogic

Honeywell

BCS Coding is a Certified Partner for Generitrack's range of barcode software. We can demonstrate, supply, customise and implement the full range of Generitrack software. Generitrack is our partner of choice for low-cost, easily deployable barcode solutions.
Using 2D codes you can record information such as laptop number, basic software information, and where the laptop is allocated.

Axicon barcode verifiers CCD based verifier conform to the latest ISO/ANSI print quality
standards (ANSI x3.182, ISO/IEC15416-1). Our equipment has been independently tested and
conforms to ISO/IEC15426-1.
Their simple to use barcode verifier design reduces user error and eliminates product damage
whilst providing the highest level of accuracy achievable for verification. Simply install
the software on your computer, plug in the verifier and you can be confident that your barcodes are being checked to the highest standards.
The Axicon barcode verifiers are in widespread use throughout retailers, manufacturers and national standards bodies worldwide. 
Axicon  verifiers work in conjunction with either windows PC or with Macintosh. A verification report can be produced using any standard Windows printer. If your verification equipment is required to be fully portable, the Axicon 9025 portable display unit can be supplied in addition to the verifier
What is Bar Code Verification? QUALITY CONTROL FOR BAR CODES!
Verification measures the printed quality of the bar code to international (ISO) standards.
This is the standard used by retailers worldwide. According to international standards,
verification is mandatory for all companies either designing or printing their own bar
codes, ensuring that an acceptable image is created.
Despite the complex nature of verification equipment it should be simple to use and display
the results in clear, easy to interpret terms. The Verifier should be the bar code expert in your organization, removing the burden of knowledge from your staff. If the format of the bar code is incorrect, the size too large or too small or the print quality unacceptable, the symbol will fail to scan. The supply chain is broken. The number needs to be entered manually – perhaps incorrectly. A customer incorrectly charged. Wrong goods ordered or dispatched.
In many cases a poorly printed barcode is worse than no bar code at all.
Why Verify?
Bar code quality is vital, as every time a bar code fails to scan, costs are incurred. At
best the data is required to be input manually whilst at worst deliveries are rejected.
A recent survey by the e-centre (EAN UK) put the cost of poor quality bar codes at over £500 million. Until recently, many retailers have accepted these costs as a ‘fact of trading life’. However, an ever increasing number of major retailers are now taking a very different approach by passing these costs back to suppliers. Goods are returned and fines imposed. For repeat offenders the ultimate sanction can be, and has been, delisting as a supplier.
Insurance
At its most basic level, verification is an insurance policy helping to assure you that your bar code will scan first time at all levels in the supply chain, thus enhancing your
supplier/customer relationship.
But it’s more than that. As part of an effective QA system it can help you win business. Are your competitors using verification? Are they questioning the quality of your bar codes with your customers? Is it affecting your business?
Why Can’t I Just Use A Scanner?
Scanning is no substitute for verification as no two bar code readers are identical. They vary from wands to lasers to cameras, from manually operated to automatic. Ambient light will vary as will the distance of scanning. A bar code that is ‘checked’ with a wand gives no guarantee that it will be readable with another wand, let alone a laser based unit.
A barcode verifier is a scientific device, taking precise measurements of each individual bar and space and the amount of light reflected from each. More advanced units will
automatically identify the symbology and magnification, check data structure and validate the content as well as providing diagnostic information. It is all very well knowing that your bar code is incorrect but a verifier must be able to identify the problem to allow you to take the necessary corrective action.
Why was the ISO/CEN/ANSI method introduced?
Prior to the Current ISO standard of verifying printed bar code symbols, only two factors were taken into consideration:
• Dimensional accuracy of the bars and spaces.
• Reflectance values of the bars and the background (PCS).
This traditional method would have been a reasonable way of assessing the print quality, except that there was no agreed way of determining where bar edges actually were or how and where reflectance measurements should be made. As well as this, bar codes were being measured with differing beams of light (apertures). Both of these factors resulted in a wide variation of results between verifiers.
With the variety of uses for bar codes and the wide range of printing techniques used, it was felt that a more scientific approach was needed. In particular it was noted that different scanners and the differing environments in which these were used resulted in some aspects of poor print quality being more significant than others. Simple reflectance measurements were also found not to be helpful when the contrast might vary within the symbol. A definition of where a bar-space transition actually occurred was required as were specific aperture sizes dependent upon the symbology and size of bar code.
These were then the main elements of the method that was initially written up as an ANSI standard for barcode verification. This was then adopted by CEN and eventually became an ISO standard. A Scan Reflectance Profile (an analogue graph of the reflectance values of a defined wavelength of light from a bar code symbol across a scan path) was to be analysed and specific measurements made from this profile in order to grade the scan. It was also specified that a single scan was not enough for an overall symbol grade to be decided and scans should therefore be taken at up to ten different heights within the symbol. The average of these results then becomes the overall symbol grade.
This method of barcode verification has proven to be a thoroughly scientific approach but one that is also accepted and generally understood by users of bar codes throughout the world. The grading method is also easy to understand and different grade requirements can be set for various applications of bar code technology without the method needing to change. In recent testing of verification equipment from various manufacturers, the method has also proved to solve the main problem with the traditional approach, as it was found that different pieces of equipment gave the same results when applied to reference symbols.
What is checked/ what is not checked in barcode verification? 
Reflectance
Contrast
Decode
Light margins
Bar gain
Defects
Check Digits

Not Checked
Human readables
Location
Height
Truncation
Orientation

Advanced Checks
Magnification (X Dimension)
Wide to Narrow Bar Ratio
Application standards
(Coupons, variable weight, etc...)
UCC.EAN-128 data validity
RSS Data validity
Full encodation
Integral check digit
Data format

Case study: What are the common problems with on-demand printers ?
As the number of people printing outer case bar codes on-demand has increased, so has the number of product rejections. The vast majority of these are a small number of basic print quality issues on thermal printers that should be identified prior to dispatch and which
should never have been allowed to enter the supply chain if barcode verification had been used.
Voids in barcodes Labels printed in ‘ladder format’: White lines running parallel to the length of the bar code. Some retailers are now operating a zero tolerance approach to such bar codes . See Below.
Labels printed in ‘picket fence format: White lines running through the height of the bar code. Massive problem that can mean that part of the bar (or even a whole bar) is missing.
Leading to failure for the ISO grades defects, decodeability and decode. See Below.
Bar gain. Incorrect speed and/or temperature settings. Result: Bars too wide, spaces too small. Generally causing the bar code to fail for decodeability.
Light margin infringements: Bar code too big for the label; incorrect positioning on label; text too close to the bar code. Result: An automatic grade F for decode.
Managing Quality through barcode verification
Barcode quality is perhaps more important now than ever before. The use of automated systems in warehouses and distribution centers is becoming more widespread. For these systems to work effectively, the format, data content and the print quality must all be accurate. The more sophisticated forms of bar codes such as UCC/EAN-128 demand an extra level of quality management that is barcode verification.
The only way to guarantee both the print quality and the data content of your bar code is by using the correct barcode verification equipment. An ISO grade bar code Verifier will check that the printing of your bar codes is of an acceptable quality. Some will also be able to give you details of the UCC/EAN-128 data content as well as matching the bar code number to a product; ensuring that your packaging will not be a problem to your trading partners. This cannot be done by eye or with a standard bar code scanner.
By incorporating barcode verification into your quality assurance systems you can ensure that your bar codes read first time, every time.
Be part of the barcode verifier solution not the problem.
Why do we think Axicon have the best verifiers?
Here is a list of what we believe are key competitive advantages of the Axicon CCD barcode verifiers and of the Axicon verifier software.
barcode verifier read-head for every market. All utilising the Axicon software, each read head has been developed as a solution to specific requirements.
barcode verifier PC- 6000 series - Curved mouthpiece is a unique feature. Allowing
verification on even the smallest cylindrical products.
barcode verifier PC- 7000 series – 100% accuracy on deeply fluted corrugate. Specifically designed to eliminate the problems of wand based verifiers on corrugate. Front flap ensures ambient light does not become an issue.
barcode verifier PC- 6500 series – 6,10 and 20mil apertures. 5” wide mouthpiece means that this unit is the answer for the on-demand retail supply chain. Covers the majority of EAN-13, UPC, UCC/EAN-1

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