Oct 26, 2021 by Mark Dingley
2D barcodes are now part of our everyday lives, so it makes sense for them to appear in supermarkets and on things we buy. Well, now, thanks to Woolworths this is a reality.
When Woolworths decided to switch from the traditional 1D barcode to a GS1 Datamatrix barcode across their fresh produce, meat & seafood categories, it marked one of the biggest changes the industry has seen since the 1970s. So, why is this important for suppliers to know and understand? When the time comes for you to start printing 2D barcodes, if you are not implementing the correct standards or don’t have technology that is capable of printing 2D, your products won’t make it onto supermarket shelves.
To avoid this happening to your business, continue reading below for what you need to know when getting started with 2D data embedded barcodes.
GS1 DataMatrix is a compact, two-dimensional barcode which holds a large amount of data in a small space. At its maximum, a DataMatrix symbol can store a large amount of alphanumeric characters, which may include manufacturer ID, a unique serial number and more.
The code is structured in a square or rectangular pattern. In the case of Woolworths GS1 DataMatrix all codes will be a square pattern (equal X and Y dimensions).
