Barcode birthday: October 7th is the 60th anniversary of the barcode patent

According to regulator GS1 UK, there are now more than five million individual barcodes in use around the world.

Sunday, 7 October is the 60th anniversary of the barcode patent, filed in the US in 1952.

However, the distinctive black-and-white stripes did not make their first appearance in an American shop until 1974 – because the laser technology used to read them did not exist.

GS1 said the QR code was not a threat to the traditional linear barcode.

A QR (Quick Response) code is an image made up of dots, which can contain more data than a barcode.

“They have different purposes – the barcode on the side of a tin of beans is for point-of-sale scanning. It ensures the consumer is charged the right amount and updates stock records,” said Gary Lynch, chief executive of GS1 UK.

“The QR code’s main purpose is to take the person that scans it to an extended multimedia environment. Technically you can combine the two but nobody’s asking for that right now.”

The first item to be scanned by a barcode was a packet of chewing gum in an Ohio supermarket in 1974.

But the black-and-white stripes did not get a universal welcome, with some wine manufacturers refusing to incorporate barcodes onto their labels for aesthetic reasons.

Now it occasionally doubles as body art, with pos star Pink among those who sport a barcode tattoo.

“Barcodes are an icon and rightly so – we’re quite pleased about it,” said Gary Lynch.

“But if one of my daughters had one in homage to her father I’d be rather upset.”

 

Clyde K. Valle

Clyde is a business graduate interested in writing about latest news in politics and business. He enjoys writing and is about to publish his first book. He’s a pet lover and likes to spend time with family. When the time allows he likes to go fishing waiting for the muse to come.

Recent Posts

White House 2024: Voter Fraud Claims Flood Social Media

Misleading allegations, rumours and outright lies about voting and fraud are flooding online spaces in…

1 day ago

Spain: At Least 158 Killed In The Country’s Worst Flooding Disaster

At least 158 people have died in Spain's worst flooding disaster in generations. On October…

4 days ago

Russia Fines Google $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, Surpassing Global GDP

Google has been fined two undecillion (a two followed by 36 zeroes) roubles by a…

4 days ago

Financing Your Home Remodel: 7 Tips for Success

Embarking on a home remodel is an exciting journey, promising enhanced comfort, increased property value,…

2 weeks ago

Donald Trump Serves Up McDonald’s Fries While Kamala Harris Celebrates 60th Birthday with Church Choir

The US presidential candidates continued to campaign across key swing states on October 20. Footage…

2 weeks ago

America PAC: Elon Musk Promises to Award $1M Each Day to Swing States Voters

Elon Musk has said he will give away $1 million a day to a registered…

2 weeks ago