Primary Barcodes
Primary barcodes, or product barcodes, are those barcodes used at retail point of sale and are often referred to as a GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) barcode. They are generally of GTIN-13 format and contain a static number that uniquely identifies that trade item. GTIN-8, GTIN-12 and GTIN-14 can also be used in some instances. GTIN-13 format barcodes can also be used to contain variable measure weight or price information. Retail barcodes are generally included within the artwork used for the retail packaging and printed in that process. If however the barcodes need to be applied on to the retail packaging, or directly on to the product in the case of many industrial products, there are several reliable methods.
Printing Product GTIN Barcodes
Barcodes with static information can be pre-printed on a self-adhesive label and applied manually or automatically with a Label Applicator (LA). A more flexible option is to print and apply the retail barcode labels with a Label Printer Applicator. This method is also able to apply GTIN’s with variable information.
If the barcode is required on flexible plastic packaging, as used for example in the packaging of snacks, confectionary and fresh produce, a Thermal Transfer Overprinter (TTO) can be used to print directly on to the retail packaging. The TTO is installed directly on the flow wrapper or vertical form fill sealer.
Both the TTO and LPA options can also print human readable information in addition to the retail barcode. Use-by-dates, batch codes, product descriptions, nutritional panels and ingredients lists can all be easily printed.
GS1 Australia co-ordinate the use and allocation of all retail and trade barcodes in Australia. Matthews is a GS1 Strategic Alliance Partner (the first marking and coding company to hold this status) so can help you choosing the best barcode for your application.
Eliminate barcoding errors
Matthews specialises in integrating any coding equipment into your business, to enhance your production and streamline getting product to market. All of our barcoding solutions can be integrated in to our iDSnet packaging code management solution to ensure the right barcode is printed on the right product at the right time to eliminate barcoding errors. This can be supplemented barcode scanners and machine vision inspection to verify barcodes.
Common technologies for printing GTIN barcodes