Barcode Software?

[Aperture]

Hi. Is there any freeware out there where you can print out bar codes on a generic printer and then scan them using a generic scanner? By scanner I mean like you would scan a picture or document with, not a specific barcode scanner. Then could the barcode information be linked to certain documents and folders on the mac? Sorry if this is far-fetched. Just Wondering.

Thanks

<edit>Any Universal Binary Freeware or Runs In Rosetta</edit>

 

[imacintel]

Hi. Is there any freeware out there where you can print out bar codes on a generic printer and then scan them using a generic scanner? By scanner I mean like you would scan a picture or document with, not a specific barcode scanner. Then could the barcode information be linked to certain documents and folders on the mac? Sorry if this is far-fetched. Just Wondering.

Thanks

<edit>Any Universal Binary Freeware or Runs In Rosetta</edit>

Try PayGo Sp.

Sprry, not freeware.

Also, to scan try EvoBarcode.

 

[MisterMe]

Hi. Is there any freeware out there where you can print out bar codes on a generic printer and then scan them using a generic scanner? By scanner I mean like you would scan a picture or document with, not a specific barcode scanner. Then could the barcode information be linked to certain documents and folders on the mac? ....

Most of what you are asking for is not possible. First off, you may find several bar code printing applications here. The device that prints the barcode cannot read them. For that you need a bar code scanner. Using a generic scanner--whatever that means--will mean that you will require very sophisticated and expensive software.

 

[Makosuke]

Using a generic scanner--whatever that means--will mean that you will require very sophisticated and expensive software.

This would not require sophisticated software at all--quite simple, really, as evidenced by the barcode scanner in Delicious Library that just uses a video camera and works fine (far worse image than that produced by a scanner).

But... just because it's not complicated doesn't mean it exists, and I'm not aware of any software that does that for barcodes you generated.

Sounds like you want something like those 2D barcode squares that mobile phone cameras can read off a screen or magazine to get an email address or whatever. Maybe that's an area to try looking in, though I'm not optimistic you'll find anything.

 

[robbieduncan]

This would not require sophisticated software at all--quite simple, really, as evidenced by the barcode scanner in Delicious Library that just uses a video camera and works fine (far worse image than that produced by a scanner).

The barcode reading part of DL is very sophisticated. Wil Shipley either blogged or podcasted about it at some point. It's a fine-tuned hand crafted algorithm that, according to him at least, is an order of magnitude faster than the other solutions he tried.

 

[ChrisBrightwell]

double post. sorry.

 

[ChrisBrightwell]

Basic barcodes can be printed with any barcode font on any printer. Any scanner should be able to scan those barcodes, assuming you adhere to the standard for that particular code.

If all you want is to create an inventory system, for example, I'd recommend "Code 39". Fonts can be had easily on the 'net and they're pretty simple to decode.

The difficult part is finding a piece of software that will do what you want with the decoded barcode data. The easiest solution is probably a custom PHP/MySQL app that uses a PHP and a scanned barcode to query something from the DB.

Any manufactured software solution is going to be expensive and will most likely not be exactly what you want.

 

[ChrisBrightwell]

The barcode reading part of DL is very sophisticated.

I suspect a large part of that is due to the checksum in the UPC standard and having to decode it against a lookup table to find out what, exactly, you're scanning.