Connect your customers and trading partners to more product information, so you can protect your brand and build greater brand trust.
The 2D barcode can hold a large amount of data in a small space, and can be scanned by consumers’ smartphones, which means the following benefits for brand owners:
Improved traceability and recall management: Provides item-level traceability which cannot be achieved with 1D barcodes, which improves product safety and recall management, and ultimately reduces costs and risks for the brand.
Brand protection and anti-counterfeiting: Provides detailed product information and provenance to consumers and trading partners, which prevents the risk of counterfeit products and protects the brand.
Greater brand trust: Provides consumers with reassurance they’re buying the legitimate brand through product authentication.
Improved consumer engagement: 2D codes can encode webpage links, so when the consumer scans the code, you can direct them to further information about the product or brand, such as manuals, video guides or engaging content.
Save space on packaging: More information can be held in a smaller barcode, which frees up valuable packaging space.
Error protection: 2D barcodes are equipped with built-in error protection keeping data intact and readable even when the code is scratched, ripped, or marked through.
Start by evaluating the existing barcodes on-pack to determine whether you need 2D barcodes, and how to use them.
For example, existing QR codes on packaging can be updated to encode the GTIN in a URL format, so the 2D barcode can be scanned for both price lookup at POS and by a consumer on their smartphone, leading them to a GTIN-specific webpage.
Once you have determined the use case for 2D barcodes, pick a pilot product, line or category to test the barcode before rolling it out across all product lines.
Decide whether to use the GS1 DataMatrix or QR code, depending on your use case.
Work out which encoded data you need to add based on your use case and find the relevant GS1 Application Identifiers.
Ensure software, hardware and databases are updated to source and add data that needs to be printed.
In some cases the encoded data is no more than a GTIN, and barcodes can still be printed on pack before packaging.
However, other use cases will need the 2D barcode to be printed with packaging to allow for the variable data (e.g., expiry date, serial number, batch/lot code). This will require in-line printing.
You may already have experience printing variable data in line, with human-readable batch/lot numbers and use-by dates. However, 2D barcodes may still require updates to in-line printing systems.
Talk to Matthews Australasia about which equipment will best fit your printing and labelling needs.
It depends on the product information you want to share on packaging. If there is no need to add additional machine-readable data (such as batch/lot number or use-by date), changing to 2D barcodes is not needed.
All brands need to include, at a minimum, the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) in every barcode on pack if it will be scanned by consumers or at retail POS.
Start discussions with solution providers early. They can recommend and help guide you towards the right coding, labelling or data capture solution for your needs, which will ensure a smooth transition for all involved.
Not yet. Many retailers are still only using linear scanners, not optical scanners, which means they cannot scan 2D barcodes at this stage.
Until updates have been made across all retailers, you need to include both the 1D and 2D barcodes on your products.
Human readable interpretation (HRI) text refers to text printed exactly as it is encoded in the barcode. For 2D barcodes encoding a large amount of data, it is not practical to display all the data in HRI form.
It is mandatory to print the GTIN (at a minimum) underneath a GS1 DataMatrix barcode. This enables manual processing of the GTIN at POS when the barcode cannot be scanned.
GS1 Application Identifiers (AI) are used to enable scanners to understand what information it is reading. An AI code is required in front of each piece of data.
Each AI is a numeric code made up of two, three, or four digits.
Common AIs include:
01 Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)
391 Sell price
310 NET weight in kgs
17 Use by/ Expiry date
15 Best before date
10 Batch/Lot number
It depends on the scanning environment, print quality and resolution. The most important factor is to ensure it can be read by scanners.
Check the GS1 General Specifications (section 5.12.3.1) for the minimum and maximum sizes allowed for 2D barcodes on products scanned at retail point-of-sale.