Scanning GS1 DataBar barcodes

Is your business ready to scan GS1 DataBar barcodes?

Many manufacturers are now choosing to use this barcode on their products – with the expectation that the barcode can be scanned throughout the supply chain, and at retail point-of-sale, from 2014.

To ensure that your business is ready to scan GS1 DataBar barcodes, please follow the steps below. 

Learn more about GS1 DataBar

Check existing scanners

To check whether your scanners,new and second-hand, are compatible with GS1 DataBar, you can:

• Contact your scanner supplier
• Check our global list of GS1 DataBar-ready scanners

You can also request a Scanner Test Card from GS1 to check scanners yourself.

Plan your migration

If your scanners are not able to read GS1 DataBar barcodes, we recommend you plan a migration immediately. Your supplier of scanning equipment should be able to tell you which scanners are compatible with GS1 DataBar – almost all new equipment is.

In the meantime, you will be able to manually key in the number that appears with the GS1 DataBar barcode.

However, as manufacturers start adding more data to GS1 DataBar barcodes – such as expiry dates, batch numbers and so on – your business will benefit from having scanners that can capture this information and automatically add it to your information systems.

You should also look at your systems to ensure they can cope with the introduction of Application Identifiers and this additional data.

Start scanning

Once you have GS1 DataBar-ready scanners, you can scan the barcodes in the same way that you scan EAN/UPC barcodes.