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REA PC-Scan with Laser Device Barcode measuring device User`s

1. EL tO DR a In this symbology the measurement values of bars and spaces are shown alternately in a line The character gap is also here specified as an absolute dimension The contrast is specified as Reflectance difference short cut Refl Difference This is the difference between space and bar reflectance REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 82 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 5 2 2 5 Code 39 family The Code 39 family includes Code 39 standard Code 39 Full ASCII Code 32 Code 39 UPU and the PZN Code Code 32 is used on pharmaceutical packaging in Italy The PZN Code is used in Germany on pharmaceutical packaging The general Code 39 including Full ASCII is used in industry government and trade This code is used because of its secure code construction Code 39 UPU was defined by the international post organisation Universal Postal Union Code 39 UPU is optional The other Code 39 variants are supplied as standard The evaluation is described below using the example of a standard Code 39 Specification of symbology and code contents SYMBOLOGY CODE 39 CODE TE229 Table Traditional detailed evaluation B B B B B S S S S 13 36 4 19 5 star
2. eese 66 5 2 2 1 EAN UPO Code Tamil 1 5 Rais e setate a or ss tinet are 66 5 2 2 1 1 Tolerance values and module widths for EAN UPC codes ee 69 5 2 2 2 COGS 128 TAMMY e cO 70 5 2 2 3 Code family 2 OFS M dateees 76 5 2 2 3 1 2of5 Interiga DEE 76 52232 IE C ec 78 52 233 25 Frachipost tepionallern ee eege 78 5 2 2 3 4 Code 2 of 5 IATA optional rnit rtp a 79 52235 Code 2 of 5 5 Bar Optional atro tror t PEU rho aote pee ee un 80 5 2 2 3 6 Code OF 5 3 Bar Optional aaa Sc ea b pae ead een 80 5 2 2 4 The GODABAR TArmily cs aruis dee u 81 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 3 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 3 Be 24 el Een CEET 81 5 2 2 4 2 CODABAR Monarch optional ae i hi te e se Dra e Seat 82 5 2 2 5 Code 39 E LEE 83 5 2 2 6 ee ee EE 84 5 2 2 7 MSi G d optional TEE 85 5 2 2 8 2 5 H ft amp Wessel optional ee 86 5 2 2 9 eet EE 87 5 2 2 10 Pharma code and Mini Pharma code optional s see 88 5 2 2 11 Measurement program optional A essen ANNE 89 6 Seene 91 6 1 Specific device and function error MESSAGES EE 91 6 2 Error messages due to faulty barcodes s sese nene 94 6 3 Error messages on EAN 128 data structure se essen 97 7 Description of the evaluations metre EL
3. ssu EE nennen nnn 29 4 7 ees i D ER 30 4 8 PC Scan menu bar on the monitor secessu aot dote egt tp teen ttr e P HE ctt tene iret 30 4 8 1 Elsa see t ES 30 4 8 2 MGASUNG m T P c 31 4 8 2 1 PCS Static reflectance measurement EEN enne nnn 31 4 8 3 DUO se pu e tet cu t ULM MEE 32 4 8 3 1 Iria eetulids cn eat 32 4 8 3 1 1 Size specification for EAN 128 codes EAN 128 SIZE sse see 33 4 8 3 1 2 Size specification for ITF 14 codes ITF 14 SIE 34 4 8 3 1 3 PCS 34 4831 42 Film mea SUC emer eno ce eee eise ise veste deuten Coi ee beer itii ice oti eed 35 48 3 1 5 E lu Ree e EE 36 4 8 3 2 SVMDOIOGY SClOCHON ec oes heat te e eMe NU eMe RUE 38 4 8 3 2 1 Symbology selection Check digit verification s seen 40 4 8 3 2 2 Symbology selection EAN UPC Instore codes s sese 41 4 8 4 Order numbers teen nennen ted rend rs 42 4 8 5 A EE 43 4 8 5 1 SELUD PHNIEF cases cet tun coz eave see nash ee en 43 4 8 5 2 Pritibopti ns Tor TODO EDHEITTOUL za rare 44 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 2 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 2 4 8 6 EI ee e ee 45 4 8 6 1 COSS anne atu M Dd tuac E Eee 46 4 8 6 2 Graphic display of contrast values sss nnne 47 4 8 7 Pel eR G 47 4 8 7 1 Multiple measurement
4. 7 1 10 Result of the CEN ANSI evaluation The result of the CEN ANSI evaluation is determined from the worst value of the above seven parameters the weakest link in the chain determines the strength of the complete chain The result is referred to as the scan reflectance profile grade If the barcode verification device is set to single measurements then the scan reflectance profile grade is the final result In case of an average measurement the initial setting for the number of measurements must lie between 2 and 10 A maximum of 10 scan reflectance profile grades will be determined The average value of these scan reflectance profile grades is the final result and is referred to as the Overall symbol grade Average values are also derived from the seven individual parameters These average values are for information only and have no effect on the scan reflectance profile grade Similar or identical values often occur as for the Overall symbol grade so that this impression can sometimes be given The REA ScanCheck II displays these values as follows Average measurement Display Printer ANSIGR 2 2 C D Overall symbol grade 2 2 C D CENGR 2 2 1 Overall symbol grade 2 2 1 In case of an individual measurement ANSIGR C D Scan reflectance profile grade C D CENGR 2 1 Scan reflectance profile grade 2 1 The printed report also shows the following lines Multiple measurement REQ Actual N D 4 4 0 REQ is the setti
5. Date and time of measurement taken from PC clock Decoded symbology Decoded code content as also transmitted by a scanner ROD OO JO O1 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 62 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 5 2 1 1 Report section ISO IEC 15416 evaluation individual measurement ISO 15416 EVALUATION Selected grade 1 Scan reflectance profile grade 3 Decode Edge contrast Symbol contrast odulation Rmin Rmax Defect Decodability Bar deviation Heading ISO IEC 15416 evaluation Selected grade this is the required minimum quality see section 4 8 7 10 Measured or achieved quality grade Decode parameter Minimum edge contrast parameter Symbol contrast parameter Modulation parameter Rmin Rmax parameter Defects parameter 10 Decodability parameter 11 Bar deviation in percent in relation to the module width for information only 0700 NEO Que All evaluation criteria are described in section 7 1 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 63 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 5 2 1 2 Report section ISO IEC 15416 evaluation multiple measurement ISO 15416 EVALUATION Selected grade 1 Scan reflectance profile grade gt 3 00 B 3 CEN ANSI table Scan Average Decode Edge contrast
6. 52 Character 170 7 44 16 65 57 T GAP 38 Character 35 8 7 FAQ 56 35 18 Character 43 Symbol 323 Table Traditional detailed evaluation Track 2 B S B S B FF bar 41 4 133 109 136 88 114 GAP 57 Character 184 5 116 82 121 77 136 Character 212 Symbol 338 Track 2 always represents only 2 characters Then comes the FF bar which must be at a distance of 55 mm from the actual code 5 2 2 10 Pharma code and Mini Pharma code optional The Pharma code is a control code printed on the flaps of pharmaceutical packaging and on the side of instructions leaflets Other names for this code are the Binary code Sick code Laetus code or Weber code This code has no start and stop code Scanning from the left to right or from the right to left will lead to different decoded code contents When printing this code colours are sometimes used for the individual bars which cannot be scanned with a scanning device using red light such as red orange and beige These missing bars will lead to incorrectly decoded code content Prior to scanning therefore and after selecting the Pharma code the correct number of bars may be entered in the menu Symbology selection If a bar is not recognised an error message will be generated Apart from the size and the lower tolerances the Mini Pharma code is identical The deviations of the narrow bars wide bars and spaces are output succes
7. A columns The two B values are the extreme values of the width of neighbouring bars and spaces together The B values are determined from the table Traditional detailed evaluation B columns The average value is an average value of all bar deviations The values of the A columns from the table Traditional detailed evaluations are added together and then divided by the number of bars The max values are the maximum allowed tolerances Size information Z module 341 Size 103 SC 2 The Z module is the measured module width The figures are given in micrometers um In the case of the EAN code the size information refers to the size 1 specified in the standard This corresponds to 100 96 The standard specifies a module width of 330 um for this size If the measured Z module width here 341 um is divided by the module width at size 1 always 330 um and the result multiplied by 100 then this gives the size in percent the so called magnification factor The information SC 2 range SC 0 to SC 9 comes from an old DIN standard in which a SC value is allocated to certain sizes in percent The SC figure is only used in Germany The SC sizes can also be found in the specifications of GS1 Germany formerly CCG see section 5 2 2 1 1 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 67 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Table Traditional detailed evaluati
8. A light or dark value can be determined These two reflectance values are used to determine the PCS Print Contrast Signal value the barcode contrast and the ratio Rmin Rmax This function is useful to check the reflectance values of colours before the barcode is printed The following window appears on the monitor PCS Light 84 x Dark 2 PCS 1 gt SC 82 X gt Rmin Rmax 0 024 First the light value is marked by the black dot in the checkbox The laser spot is now positioned on the required background colour The dark value is then clicked with the mouse and the laser spot placed on the required bar colour If PCS SC or Rmin Rmax is then clicked with the mouse the calculated values from the two previous statically measured reflectance values are displayed For accurate positioning of the laser beam on very small printed areas the carriage can be moved to the left or right in small steps by briefly pressing the Store button or Pos button respectively REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 31 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 8 3 Code This menu item includes two sub items Setup allows a series of preliminary settings Selection is the dialogue for activating bar code symbologies jointly or individually 4 8 3 1 Initial settings The initial settings are accessed under Setup The following d
9. Because of this procedure the tolerance limit is therefore always 100 95 The REA PC Scan shows the absolute values in micrometers um with the permissible tolerance what would in this case 10um deviation and a tolerance limit of 100 um 1000 um 1 mm 100 um 0 1 mm 10 um 0 01 mm Positive values or values without a prefix indicate an increase of the measurement size and negative values a reduction Depending on the barcode symbology being verified a selection of the following parameters appears on the verification report REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 108 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 7 2 1 2 1 Bar width deviation The bar width deviations are designated on the verification report by the word BARS These are in all cases two number values representing the extreme values From all bar deviations the two values are identified between which all the other bar deviations lie In the ideal case both values will be 0 The REA ScanCheck II gives these two number values in percent in relation to the permissible tolerance see previous section 7 2 1 2 The REA PC Scan shows the unchanged values in micrometers um together with the permissible tolerance Example REA PC Scan Bars 24 5 max 80 The identical values for the REA ScanCheck II Bars 30 6 tolerance is always 100 96 and therefore not shown 7 2 1 2 2 A
10. Options in the menu bar If this function is activated a text file will also be created in addition to the raw data whenever a measurement is stored In this case each file name gets the extension TXT The text file can be found and opened by using the chosen file name together with the extension txt The text file contains all information in the same order as a printed report Exception is the reflectance profile and the histogram graphics Both is lost because the text format does not allow the embedding of graphics 4 8 7 17 Save as CSV file Save as CSV file exports the measurement data to a tabular file The saving takes place automatically as soon as the function is activated In contrast to the normal storage function different files are created according to the symbology If Code 128 codes are being measured the file CODE128 CSV is created All Code 128 measurements are stored consecutively in this file In the case of EAN codes the corresponding file EAN CSV is created LM Saving as CS normal Autom saye measurement v Saving TXT file Save setup There are two variants Normal provides one line with measurement data per measurement in the table Trad Det is the version which also provides the table with the traditional detailed evaluation In this variant 4 lines in the CSV file are used per measurement The data provided can be imported for further processing by a spreadsheet d
11. Symbol contrast odulation Rmin Rmax Defect Decodability Scan reflectance profile grade 3 Overall symbol grade 14 Bar deviation 9 Heading CEN evaluation Selected grade this is the required minimum quality see section 4 8 7 10 Measured or achieved quality grade Heading ISO IEC 15416 evaluation table of multiple measurement Number of measurements performed between 2 and 10 Decode parameter one figure per measurement Minimum edge contrast parameter one figure per measurement Symbol contrast parameter one figure per measurement modulation parameter 10 Rmin Rmax parameter one figure per measurement 11 Defects parameter one figure per measurement 12 Decodability parameter one figure per measurement 13 Results of the corresponding individual measurements 14 Overall result average value of scan reflectance profile grades 15 Bar deviation in percent in relation to the module width for information only ON DT All test criteria are described in section 7 1 In lines 6 to 12 an average value is shown at the end of each line in square brackets These figures are average values for the corresponding parameters Since these figures are not used directly for calculating the overall symbol grade in line 14 these figures are for information only and therefore shown in square brackets In the ANSI 3 182 UCC5 evaluation the output is in principle identical The only difference is that the grades are
12. from 150 to 200 is allowed or in module width 0 495 mm to 0 660 mm In a footnote to the EAN General Specifications the range from 75 to 80 is also allowed This applies with restrictions to print on demand Print on demand is usually label printing in the fresh goods sales area for products such as fresh fruit vegetables or meat or cheese These labels are normally printed using thermal direct printing REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 32 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH These printers usually have a resolution of 200 or 300 dpi At these resolutions a possible size for the EAN code is 75 to 76 96 The next possible size step is either 113 96 or 102 96 This is usually too large while 75 is out of the normal specification ISO IEC 15420 does not allow the size range 75 96 to 80 96 This will possibly be changed at the next revision of the standard In order to be able to perform measurements to these specifications the REA PC Scan offers three different setting possibilities Retail 0 264 mm to 0 66 mm or 80 to 200 96 This is the standard setting for the retail trade according to ISO IEC 15420 Retail GD General Distribution 0 495 mm to 0 660 mm 150 to 200 This is the standard setting for EAN codes for transport packaging and transport labels On Demand Retail print on demand 0 248 0 66 mm 75 200 96
13. spacebar or by menu A positive film or negative film traditional evaluation is displayed as the result ATTENTION The CEN ANSI evaluation to ISO IEC 15416 is not needed since the results are partly nonsense and partly misleading The measurement results are similar to the traditional evaluation for printed codes we MB a ag ag EE E ea Le Jer EAN 13 4900654123454 Brot FILM ISO 15416 EVALUATION Jaj xj dee 0 m ze Du Jl sei 5 3 Wulli LULA TA BW POSTIVE FILM TRADITIONAL EVALUATION Bymbol Error LT ur max e u eege 145727 G 2005 Bar rafiectaece2 amp S max s yu Eze BWE DIFF max 8 u wc 0 LL 1 008654 123454 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 25 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The first and most important check is the symbology and the code content The next check is the setting of the bar width correction BWC value appears black on the screen In case of an incorrect setting the initial setting should be corrected see section 4 8 3 1 4 and the measurement repeated The correct size of the bar code symbol is checked by control the correct value for the Z module The process continues with a check of the bar width correction The BWCDIFF figure should ideally be 0 If this is the case the preset bar width correction BWC matches the measured bar width correction Th
14. such as EAN 128 and ITF 14 there is also a size specification based on the EAN 13 Size The number value of the MF Magnification Factor normally corresponds to the module width in millimetres REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 110 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 7 2 1 4 Traditional detailed evaluation The traditional detailed evaluation consists of a table which shows the relevant individual bar space and B or E value deviations for each barcode character The description of the table arrangement is given in section 5 2 2 of the description of the printed reports The extreme values and the average value are determined from the table The REA PC Scan shows the traditional detailed evaluation on the screen To do this the corresponding icon must be clicked with the mouse The difference between the percentage display and the information on the absolute measurement values between the REA ScanCheck II and the REA PC Scan also applies here The traditional detailed evaluation is transmitted or printed by pressing the Print L button on the REA ScanCheck II For reasons of space the traditional detailed evaluation is not shown on the display of the REA ScanCheck II In case of the REA PC Scan the print of table must be enabled in the menu print options 7 2 1 5 Module width In barcode terminology the term module width is defined as the X
15. this is in this case 0 62 Most barcode symbologies have a fixed limit of a minimum 0 75 for PCS The EAN UPC codes have a variable limit which is derived from a logarithmic formula in the symbology standard EN 797 Annex E2 ISO IEC 15420 Annex F2 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 107 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Later software versions of the REA PC Scan and the REA ScanCheck Il allow the PCS value to be deactivated completely in addition to specifying the above two variants Since the CEN ANSI method provides a whole range of conclusive contrast values the PCS measurement has decreased in importance The PCS value and the parameter Rmin Rmax of the CEN ANSI evaluation both assess the bar reflectance in relation to the space reflectance The bar reflectance has in both cases the greater influence The objective of both parameters is to achieve the best possible bar darkening R min Rmax has a limit of 50 between Grade 4 Pass and Grade 0 Fail Higher number values are worse than small number values PCS has as the limit 75 96 or variable for EAN UPC codes In the case of the PCS value smaller number values are worse than larger number values The different assessment causes stricter requirements to bar darkening if the PCS value is being used If the PCS value is not being used the more generous limit of Rmn Rmax applies as the li
16. 099 min 0 64 11 2328 06 2005 Background 8 min 32 Measurement 0 10 Bar reflectance1 max 28 Order Nr REA PCScan Bar 5 max 101 y Z Module 330 B value kl max 49 y Size 100 Average 3 Result of the traditional evaluation for a multiple measurement with 10 measurements In the CEN ANSI evaluation for the individual parameters the quality will be specified as a percentage and as a grade from 4 to 0 or A F The grades are allocated to certain ranges of percentage values e g symbol contrast of 40 96 to 55 is grade 3 or B In the multiple measurement an average value will then be calculated from the results of the individual measurements scan reflectance profile grade The average value is the arithmetical average of the individual scan reflectance profile grades The result is designated as the overall symbol grade The average values of the individual verification parameters are provided for information only These average values do not however lead to the final result of a multiple measurement Decode Edge contrast Symbol contrast Modulation Rmin Rmax Defect Decodability Selected Grade 3 Bar width deviation 4 4 0 4 0 4 0 4 0 4 0 4 0 Symbol Grade 4 00 A 1 Result of the CEN ANSI evaluation multiple measurement Following the last measurement of a multiple measurement the percentage is no longer displayed for the individual parameters but instead the average value from all measurements and f
17. 128 Code 128 UPU must therefore be activated individually within the Code 128 family 4 8 3 2 1 Symbology selection Check digit verification Next to some symbologies a rhomboid is displayed which is the switch to enable or disable check digit verification symbology 2 5 INT _ 2 5 INT 4 ITF 14 ITE_14 Check digit off Check digit on After clicking the rhomboid the corresponding check digit version modulo must be selected in the bar below Check digit version for 2of5 Interleaved Modulo 10 Xi Modulo 11 SS Modulo 43 Frachtbrief Only those versions can be switched on which are allowed for the relevant symbology After selecting the version a black dot appears in the rhomboid If the user needs to check which version is activated the corresponding box next to the symbology must be clicked The activated version will then be displayed The verification is switched off by clicking the bar containing the check digits If the check digit verification has not been switched on for a particular symbology this will be displayed on the monitor after the measurement by a pictogram with the text CRC The pictogram appears at the bottom right of the monitor next to the traditional evaluation m Z Module 368 CRC Ratio 2521 CPI 8 56 The printed report gives in this case the message No check digit verification If the check digit is incorrect the REA PC Scan gives an error message shown in the error message window
18. 2 line of a line pair spaces e 26 108 20 46 69 start character 3 bars 2 spaces 28 107 117 95 69 Bars 1 character 129 106 121 51 GAP 1011 Spaces and character space 17 character p 118 qp 107 104 1 Bars 2 character 113 90 95 103 GAP 1092 Spaces and character space 2 character 3 58 11 116 93 111 156 97 94 86 GAP 1010 4 101 105 27 127 37 105 104 115 165 GAP 1093 8 35 110 91 27 124 124 130 84 151 GAP 1047 e 8 111 137 150 45 Stop character 3 bars 2 spaces The sizes and extreme values in the report are identical to the information for the 2 5 Interleaved code 5 2 2 3 6 Code 2 of 5 3 Bar optional The character layout of this symbology differs from that of the other 2 of 5 symbologies This symbology encodes a character in a combination of bars and spaces This procedure is for example comparable with Code 39 This symbology is also knows as 2 5 3 bar matrix Specification of symbology and code contents SYMBOLOGY 2 5 3 BAR CODE 12348 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 80 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Table Traditional detailed evaluation B Bar S Space B S B S B Principal view pro character bars and spaces e 317 32 51 36 53 GAP 963 start character 1 200 41 53 27 217 GAP 964 1 character bars
19. 6 168 31 3 109 186 158 53 124 184 GAP 864 4 96 77 1 116 17 81 118 132 131 GAP 977 5 7 153 52 92 76 125 95 89 99 GAP 986 e 67 86 70 Stop character 2 bars with intermediate space GAP stands for character gap and is the width of a space between two characters The character gap is normally printed with of one module The width of the character gap can be varied within relatively broad limits For this reason the overall character space dimension is shown instead of the deviation dimension The sizes and extreme values in the report are identical to the information for the 2 5 Interleaved code REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 79 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 5 2 2 3 5 Code 2 of 5 5 Bar optional This symbology is also referred to as 2 5 5 bar Industrial and dates from the year 1968 One area of application for example is photo envelopes Apart from the start and stop characters the characters are identical to those of the 2 of 5 Interleaved code As with 2 of 5 IATA the spaces contain no information Specification of symbology and code contents SYMBOLOGY 2 5 5 BAR CODE 12348 Table Traditional detailed evaluation B B B B B Principal view 1 line of a line pair bars S S S S Principal view
20. 8 e 39 17 47 Stop code The specification of the size information and the metric extreme values are given in the same way as for the 2 5 Interleaved code 5 2 2 8 2 5 H ft amp Wessel optional The Code 2 5 H amp W is derived from the 2 5 Interleaved code The code has a fixed length of 4 characters These four characters are encoded into bars and spaces just as with the 2 5 Interleaved code There is no start character The stop character is only a thick bar Due to the missing start character and the rudimentary stop character this code must be activated separately for measurement Specification of symbology and code contents SYMBOLOGY H ft tWessel CODE 2211 Size information Apart from the ratio specification no size information is given The thin elements must have a dimension of 2 mm and the wide elements 5 mm Ratio 2 5 1 If the code deviates from this ratio the error message Ratio error will be displayed Metric information with extreme values and average value Bar 106 591 max 600 u Space 222 272 max 600 u Average value 335 As for the Code 2 5 Interleaved the extreme values of the bar and space deviation and the average value are displayed According to the specification the code should be scanned at a wavelength of 900 nm The contrast results of the REA PC Scan at either 670 nm or 635 nm are therefore not very conclusive REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005
21. Adapting the barcode graphics to the printer resolutions leads to unacceptable results because defined ratios of bar widths and space widths are destroyed if the graphics is adapted Laser Printer use usually a dot overlapping to get smoother edges A bar code printing software needs to recognise dot overlapping because otherwise the required defined ratios of bar and space widths are also destroyed REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 117 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 8 2 1 5 Inkjet printing Contrast With inkjet printing contrast problems occur when a highly absorbent substrate is used or too little ink is applied The carrier substrate causes many problems due to the direct print onto the substrate and therefore has a major influence on the print quality e g defects varying absorbency and brightness In industrial applications for example packaging is labelled directly using inkjet printers The quality of the packaging paper varies greatly which causes contrast problems This can be remedied to a certain extent by the adjustment of the printer Metrics Inkjet printers normally print edges with a slightly irregular outline This is caused by the absorbency of the paper and the unevenness of the individual dots on the paper This can be remedied by using another type of paper higher printer resolution or faster drying inks A further
22. Additionally the check digit in code content below the histogram is shown in red color Some barcode symbologies such as EAN UPC Code 128 ITF 14 2 5i Frachtpost PZN etc have fixed specified check digits Switching the check digit verification on and off is not possible for these symbologies The rhomboid in the symbology selection is not displayed REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 40 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 8 3 2 2 Symbology selection EAN UPC Instore codes The Instore setting refers exclusively to the EAN 13 and UPC A code These codes have a special application which is referred to as INSTORE The relevant specifications can be found in the GS1 General Specifications or in the national GS1 manuals based on these specifications By definition instore codes are only valid within a store or at best within a chain of stores An instore code is clearly identified by the number 2 at the first position from left This also applies to the 12 digit UPC A code and the EAN 8 code Only if the UPC A code is decoded as an EAN code does it appear as a 13 digit code UPC A instore codes are then clearly identified by the first two digits 02 from the left The REA PC Scan decodes UPC A codes always with 13 characters EAN 8 codes in the instore variant are not affected by this setting In difference to normal EAN codes a second check digit
23. GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 12 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The REA PC Scan is now ready for operation After pressing the ON button the green LED lights up The software is started either by double clicking the desktop icon or via the entry in the start menu First the basic calibration is carried out see section 3 4 and the correct serial port selected 3 3 Serial port The communication between the REA PC Scan laser device and the REA PC Scan Windows software takes place via a serial port Serial ports are also referred to as COM ports in the PC environment Most PCs have two serial ports COM1 and COM2 The REA PC Scan Windows software uses COM2 as default setting If the REA PC Scan Windows software starts and the main screen appears without any error message the REA PC Scan laser device has been recognised If the message Can t open COMx appears this means the port is not available In such a case either the port does not exist or is already being used by another program such as a fax program for an analog modem PDA software or similar REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 13 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH If the REA PC Scan laser device cannot be found the following error message appears No Laser device found Select another port or check i
24. Laser beam aperture The laser beam opening is at the bottom of the carriage Angle of beam 45 to the front manual be used or should other ways of operation be carried out this Caution Should other operating or adjusting devices than those stated in this may lead to dangerous radiation exposure REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 129 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 10 2 Declaration of Conformity Declaration of Conformity We REA Elektronik GmbH Teichwiesenstra e 1 D 64367 M hltal Waschenbach Germany declare under our sole responsibility that the product Barcode verification device REA PC Scan manufactured in our above production facilities in the year 2005 complies with the following standards e ISO IEC 15426 1 Automatic identification and data capture techniques Barcode Verifier conformance specification Part 1 Linear symbols The barcode verification device REA PC Scan is a device which includes the minimum functionality mandatory and the optional functions optional e ENV 12647 Barcoding Test requirements for barcode verification devices The barcode verification device REA PC Scan is a grade A verification device to ENV 12647 The recommended functions listed in the standard in excess of the required standard are also fulfilled by the REA PC Scan These standards contain definitions of reference
25. OFF is selected The relevant selected PCS value appears on the screen If the PCS is not displayed the PCS evaluation is switched off Both PCS variants are always shown on the printed report Depending on the setting the deactivated variants are marked in the printed report by means of square brackets e g PCS EC min 0 65 min 0 75 The relevant deactivated PCS value or both PCS values with PCS OFF do not affect the result of the traditional evaluation The setting is made simply by clicking the required variant Detailed information on the PCS value is given in section 7 2 1 1 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 34 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 8 3 1 4 Film measurement This area is used to make the basic initial setting between the measurement of film masters and printed codes Z MODUL Film EAN Printed Codes Retail 0 264 0 66 mm ru Retail GD 0 495 0 66 mm Digital Film On Demand 0 248 0 66 mm Film EAN 128 7 ITF 14 Positiv gt All sizes 0 250 1 016 mm Negativ General Distri 0 495 1 016 mm Internal use 0 250 0 495 mm RER BWC DHL 0 330 0 500 mm am PCS Evaluation _ off en wx The setting Film enables the measurement of films according to ISO IEC 15421 The setting Digital Film has slightly more generous tolerances than the setting
26. Ort Location Localit Datum Date Rechtsg ltige Unterschrift Signature M hltal 01 10 2005 e fr Au AL a Jo REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 131 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 11 Guarantee conditions REA Elektronik guarantees that the devices supplied are free of material or manufacturing faults This guarantee applies for 12 months from date of dispatch and will be invalidated in the event of incorrect installation improper use or damage to the device either by accident or neglect Repair under guarantee If the device purchased fails to function properly within the above guarantee period REA Elektronik will repair the device free of charge In order to avoid unnecessary costs you are requested to check the information contained in the operating instructions carefully before coming to the conclusion that the device is defective or not functioning properly Returning the device The equipment case supplied must be used whenever returning the device for repair The device must be returned at the cost of the sender and suitably insured for the value of the device REA Elektronik or its relevant representative will return the device carriage paid following repair under guarantee Express delivery can also be arranged if required Express deliveries will be charged in accordance with the extra costs incurred General guarantee cond
27. This complements the size range for the retail trade by the range 75 to 80 for on demand printing 4 8 3 1 1 Size specification for EAN 128 codes EAN 128 SIZE In the same way as for EAN UPC codes GS1 also defines certain size ranges for EAN 128 The complete range lies between 0 25 and 1 016 mm This is sub divided into two ranges The first range is intended for internal applications or for agreed applications between two parties This is the range from 0 25 to 0 495 mm The range from 0 495 to 1 016 mm is provided for General Distribution In order to meet these specifications REA PC Scan offers 3 setting possibilities All sizes 0 25 to 1 016 This setting is used if no special restrictions on the complete range are required General Distribution 0 495 to 1 016 mm This setting is used for codes on transport packaging palettes and the like This is the default setting REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 33 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Internal Use 0 25 to 0 495 mm This setting is intended for internal EAN 128 applications The odd number value of 0 495 mm was defined as the limit in order to define a standard lower limit for EAN 13 EAN 8 codes on transport packaging and EAN 128 and ITF 14 This odd number value results from the enlargement factor of 150 96 applied to the EAN 13 code DHL Express 0 33 to 0 5 mm D
28. bar widths space widths or bar position variations These errors are usually interpolation errors Interpolation errors are caused by enlargement or reduction of the barcodes due to graphic processing Every processing stage causes inaccuracies due to interpolation errors because everytime the new size and internal barcode relations are recalculated Barcodes images for prepress use must always be produced in the correct size and applied without further changes REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 113 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Further problems can occur due to different resolutions at the individual stages up to the point of film exposure If the initial graphic has a resolution of 2540 dpi and the graphic then undergoes prepress processing which for reasons of speed converts the resolution to 300 dpi and the exposure is then set to 1800 dpi each of these stages will create interpolation errors due to the resolution conversion The film master will show considerable deviations which initially appear difficult to explain Every processing stage should therefore work with the same resolution A further source of errors at low resolutions is an unsuitable code size At a resolution of 200 dpi all elements can only be whole number multiples of 125 um and at 300 dpi only whole number multiples of 84 67 um If the barcode does not maintain this patter
29. by the user see section 4 8 3 2 1 is incorrect The check digit verification must be deactivated or the code corrected Incorrect check digits can occur with badly printed barcodes in which individual characters are incorrectly decoded 241 Second check digit incorrect Certain barcodes have a second check digit EAN Instore code or MSI Code If the second check digit does not exist and the verification is activated or if the 2nd check digit is incorrect for the same reasons as for the preceding error message this error message may be displayed 242 Left Quiet Zone 243 Right Quiet Zone Every barcode needs a clear area or quiet zone to the left or right of the first or last bar The minimum width is laid down in the corresponding barcode specification or standard The specifications and standards always define only one minimum quiet zone width without any tolerance To avoid a quiet zone error label design or prepress need to enlarge the quit zones to meet the effects of tolerances in the printing process or the code positioning 247 Centre Quiet Zone Some symbologies have an add on code which is separated from the main code by a centre quiet zone This centre quiet zone may not exceed or fall below certain widths This error message appears if the centre quiet zone width does not comply with the relevant specification 248 Ratio error The ratio defines the ratio between wide and narrow bars The ratio may vary between 2 1 and 3
30. calculated from these reflectance values The user also has the facility of choosing between the worst and best contrast case The basis for the worst case is the reflectance values of the minimum edge contrast ECmin The basis for the best case is the reflectance values of the symbol contrast SC see also section 7 1 5 If the PCS value lies outside the tolerance this is due either to the bar or space reflectance A reduction of the bar reflectance has a greater influence on the PCS value Depending on the printing process or material being used it may be necessary to increase the space reflectance and or reduce the bar reflectance EAN UPC codes have a variable limit for the PCS values The other codes have a fixed limit of 75 96 for the PCS The PCS assessment can be deactivated if demand for bar darkening is low The CEN or ANSI evaluation additionally defines the parameters edge contrast symbol contrast modulation and Rmin The modulation is calculated as the ratio between the edge contrast and symbol contrast The reason for too low an edge contrast may be too low a contrast in general or uneven printing A further possibility may be too wide bars or spaces A too large aperture also lessens the edge contrast Substrate characteristics influence the edge contrast The symbol contrast is a value which gives information on the maximum contrast difference of the barcode If this value is too low either the bar reflectance value must be red
31. can be verified for instore codes If the field Instore is clicked with the mouse in the symbology selection the following dialogue window appears The list allows selection of the possible instore variants for which the second check digit will also be verified UPC 4 EAN 5 02 20 21 22 23 24 _ E v OK 25 _ If no checkbox is checked for a prefix the verification of the second check digit is switched off If a tick is placed in the UPC column a 4 digit price or weight field will be expected in the right code half to the left of the symbol check digit If the tick is placed in the EAN column a 5 digit price or weight field will be expected in the right code half The 2 check digit will be calculated from this 4 or 5 digit field and inserted in about the middle of the code to the left of the price or weight field The button UPC 4 activates this variant for all prefixes This also applies for the button EAN 5 The CLEAR button deletes all instore settings 26 27 28 29 UPC 4 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 41 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The instore composition is as follows EAN P PN N N N P2 PG PG PG PG PG CD UPC P P N N N N N P PG PG PG PG CD OFF P P N N N N N N N N N N CD P Prefix see above list N Article number P2 200 check digit
32. check digit is sometimes used at the penultimate position which is calculated either according to the Modulo 10 or Modulo 11 process If a 2 check digit is present one of these versions must be activated under Code Selection see section 4 8 3 2 The symbol check digit last digit is always verified and does not need to be activated This symbology uses a coding based on the BCD system This means that a binary will be translated directly into the barcode Numbers from 0 to 9 can be coded The start character consists of only one bar and one space The stop character has two bars and one space A single character has 4 bars and 4 spaces One bit of the BCD number is represented by one bar and one space with a size of 3 modules The evaluation gives the deviations of the bars and spaces per line alternately Specification of symbology and code contents SYMBOLOGY MSI CODE 1234558 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 85 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Table Traditional detailed evaluation B Bar S Space B S B S B S B S 2 69 42 Start code 1 46 23 46 LF 57 1 77 46 1 character bars and spaces alternately 2 41 8 44 6 96 53 56 17 3 48 14 50 8 97 50 89 48 4 47 1 78 47 36 1 54 13 5 50 5 87 39 38 5 84 39 5 45 6 86 38 30 1 69 31 8 82 52 52 12 47 18 48
33. coloured area and a green blue or black frame then printed around it a subtle quiet zone error can cause a defect Such a case can be recognised by means of the reflectance profile Basically the quiet zone widths should always be dimensioned for the size related minimum dimension plus a tolerance for all present inaccuracies Constricted margins lead to defects letterpress relief printing Shadow lines caused by the production of a gravure printing cylinder with mechanical stylus cause defects REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 121 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Bar printing using a screen instead of a spot colour Pearly colours due to such factors as too high a pigment content in the printing ink This effect can be caused by attempts to improve the modulation Registration problems lead to light or dark lines at the bar edges Material defects Material defects are caused either by an uneven surface or colour differences in the surface Uneven surfaces embossed metal covers textured labels wine bottles and other spirits in mould labels with foam effect Carrier materials with drawing A typical case is brown corrugated paper The paper fibres are distinctly different in colour These differences lead to large defects 8 4 Decode This parameter checks the quiet zones the check digit and the element definition In some
34. dense alpha numeric code whose character density may even exceed that of 2 5 Interleaved The variant Code 128 UPU is a variant with defined code contents specified by the Universal Postal Union for postal applications The normal Code 128 and EAN 128 are supplied as standard Code 128 UPU is optional part of optional symbologies Specification of symbology and code contents SYMBOLOGY Code 128 CODE ABC Symbology is the barcode type Code is the decoded contents of the measured barcode symbol Metric information with extreme values and average value Bar 129 16 max 141 u Space 50 114 max 141 nu E valu 68 70 max 77 yg P valu 73 33 max 77 yg Average value 42 The two bar values are the extreme values of the bar deviation determined from the table Traditional detailed evaluation 1 line B B B The two space values are the extreme values of the space deviation determined from the table Traditional detailed evaluation 2 line S S S The two E values are extreme values of the width of neighbouring bars and spaces taken together The E values are determined from the table Traditional detailed evaluation 3 line E E E E REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 70 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The P value is the overall width of a character always consisting of 11 modu
35. higher Windows XP Cm REA In order to install the software click the button Install Software with the mouse The following screen now appears REA PCScan Small baron O View Manual English View Manual German REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 9 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH To start the installation click the button PC Scan SMALL or PC Scan Full depending on the version This opens a screen in which the PC Scan version can be started with the preset languages German English French or Spanish Users of Windows 2000 must install Microsoft TweakUI before the PC Scan installation For Windows 2000 at least Service Pack 2 from Microsoft must also be installed in advance The further installation is self explanatory If an older PC Scan version has been installed this should be deleted before the new installation Alternatively a new folder can be selected as the destination folder instead of the suggested folder At the end of the installation the Readme file can be displayed which briefly describes the changes from version to version The installation is then completed and the DemoShield from which the installation was started can be closed by clicking Exit Further programs such as TransWin and Article Database can also be installed from the CD This is intended for REA Check 3 and REA ScanCheck ll and i
36. if a relevant section is to be displayed or if for a normal code measurement a particular area needs to be documented REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 44 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Traditional short Traditional long These two settings can only be activated alternately or switched off completely If both are deactivated the complete traditional evaluation will be omitted from the report If Traditional short is activated the complete traditional evaluation will be shown apart from the table Traditional detailed evaluation If Traditional long is activated the complete traditional evaluation and the table with the traditional detailed evaluation will always be printed out Histogram The histogram is a small graphic which displays deviations of bars widths in the form of vertical lines A vertical line upward means that the relevant bar has been printed too thick A vertical line downward means that the relevant bar has been printed too thin The two horizontal dotted lines show the maximum permissible tolerance The central horizontal line shows the ideal size if there is no variation The histogram is scaled Depending on the tolerance values a certain length of a vertical line will be based on another defined absolute variation Har retlec Order Nr REA PCScan 12345678 Left margin This determines the width of the left m
37. in the evaluation If the bars become too light this is a case of a film in which the black areas are showing through If the spaces become too dark then the film is letting through too little light or the measurement substrate is too dark REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 26 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 5 Using the round shaped bodies adapter The round shaped bodies adapter is an alternative pressure plate which facilitates the measurement of barcodes on rounded surfaces Measurement with the aid of this plate is only possible if the barcodes are printed picket fence The integral prism enables simple attachment of the test objects REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 27 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH If barcodes are to be measured on such rounded surfaces the REA PC Scan laser device should be placed on its back For safety reasons the base plate should always point away from the user The above illustration shows the view from the rear or inside with the REA PC Scan lying on its back For a clearer view the round shaped bodies adapter is shown with a normal PET bottle The tongue circled in red in the illustration is an additional support This tongue should be used as the only support surface particularly for small tubular
38. large X modules can basically always be read and checked with an aperture smaller than the assigned one On the other hand small codes should never be measured with a too large aperture For EAN codes the following apertures are specified by GS1 International EAN 8 EAN 13 all sizes 6 mil UPC A UPC E EAN 128 all sizes 10 mil ITF 14 X 0 635 mm 10 mil ITF 14 X gt 0 635 mm 20 mil Older specifications contain the following values EAN 8 13 6 mil 80 99 8 mil 100 150 10 mil 151 200 EAN 128 8 mil 25 49 10 mil 50 69 20 mil 70 96 100 ITF 14 10 mil 50 69 20 mil 70 96 101 96 In a closed application the measurement aperture can be determined by means of the scanner aperture The aperture should be smaller or at most the same as the scanner aperture If the aperture size is too big then the size of the laser light dot is larger than a small bar or space The edge contrast and modulation will be decreased If the aperture size is smaller than required by the guide lines above then this is not critical if the code is printed to a reasonable quality Defects will appear with a larger value Aperture too large Aperture Module width Aperture no larger than 80 96 of X REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 22 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH In the setting Film measurement see section 4 8 3 1 4 the m
39. n rl senec ree deng 98 7 1 GEN AINSIVerfICaloEi s tas onset lnc nce N petras otio tei adonde sers 98 7 1 1 The standards Aussee 98 7 1 2 Classification of the code to these standard 99 7 1 3 Decode 100 7 1 4 Minimum adjacent contrast or edge Contrast EC nl 100 7 1 5 Symbol contrast EE 101 7 1 6 urere dl tior ec Em 101 7 1 7 Minimum reflectance Hin 102 7 1 8 prr c E 102 7 1 9 Reset c 103 7 1 10 Result of the GENIANSTPewvaliatlopm ucrocoees tote ee ein 104 7 1 11 Selected grade eek 105 7 1 12 Notes on average measurement EEN rennen nnne nnn 105 7 1 13 The scan reflectance profile iot kleine 106 7 2 Traditional evaluati N nr asien errechnen deren 106 7 2 1 Explanation of terms of the traditional evaluation sees 107 7 2 1 1 Contrast results of the traditional evaluation eem 107 7 2 1 2 Metric results of the traditional evaluation se 108 Jd Barwidaivdevialigiz EE 109 7 2 1 2 2 Average bar width deviation eege pee ee Re ERR REC Race ge ou EEN 109 7 2 1 2 3 Spaces width deviations EEN E enne enne nennen nnn 109 3 24 24 IB WANS and E valllBsai eire tte eire un ed ee er 109 ya NN SEL mrs PT 110 7 2 1 3 Size informati n P H 110 7 2 1 4 Traditional detailed evaluation 4444 0 E nnne 111 7 2 1 5 Moduls Width EE 111 7 2 1 6 Print REPRESS SIA Are leeren 111 7 2 1 6 1 Quality imp
40. plastic cups and the flexible rubber blanket influences the metric accuracy of the bar code and should be taken into account The high speed of this printing process also decreases metric accuracy The machine has to be adjusted and maintained very well to get acceptable results 8 3 Defects Defects in the code include either light areas in the bars voids or black dots in the spaces spots These defects are caused by a poor ink application or rough paper Various corrective actions can be taken depending on the printing process Letterpress printing Use a different paper or increase ink application Flexography Increase pressure not too high to preserve the metrics Thermal thermal transfer printing Use a different paper higher temperature different ink ribbon higher pressure lower printing speed Corrugated Use labels or whiten the substrate before printing Screening Defects can appear with screening in the spaces with bar colors In general the bar code background should be a solid colour The influence of the measurement aperture must be taken into account with regard to the defects The larger the aperture the lesser the defects Instructions on the aperture selection are given in the first chapters of this manual REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 120 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The assessment of the defects in relatio
41. problem is that the individual ink dots appear larger or smaller depending on the carrier material If a lot of ink is absorbed the dot will be larger If it does not the resulting dot will be very small The print resolution results directly from the dot size The effective resolution of the printer thus depends on the substrate being printed In practice therefore the printer must be individually set for every different type of substrate to be printed Batch variations may also necessitate a new printer setting Ink Jet printer may also use dot overlapping like laser printers If so the printing software needs to recognise this to be able to create fitting bitmaps of the barcode to be printed 8 2 1 6 Dot matrix printing Contrast This type of printer is in principle very unsuitable for barcode printing since no straight edges can be printed Contrast problems arise due to wear and drying of the ink ribbon Metrics In dot matrix printing metric problems are caused by the inconsistent shape of the individual dots With older printers the problem is exacerbated as the needles become displaced with the increasing age of the printer If problems occur here another type of printer should be considered such as a thermal transfer printer laser printer or inkjet printer 8 2 1 7 Photo setting This printing process works with a high to very high resolution and the classical errors practically never occur The errors are therefore usuall
42. surface The barcode is usually printed onto the can on a white background Between the white the black bar sometimes shows narrow metal lines next to the bars which leads to defects and should be avoided Sometimes only the white is printed and the bars left in relief These bars act like a mirror and appear black to the scanner and the verification device In practice however it can happen that the cans become scratched the metal does not reflect as necessary or the scanner angle is unfavourable This makes the verification and the scan results difficult to forecast They vary from Error to Very good For this reason REA recommends that this variation is not used 8 7 4 Embossed metal film This material is used for example for sealing yoghurt pots This type of material should not be printed with barcodes since the embossing alters the angle of the reflected light very unevenly resulting in a poor or illegible barcode There are however now manufacturing processes in which the stamping of such films can be largely or entirely dispensed with Actually some metal film manufactures have replaced embossing by printing white pads on the back of the metal film The metal film now has a flat surface and is useable for bar codes Metal reacts to light like a mirror This causes a reduced contrast because light will be reflected away from the sensor of a scanner or a Verifier 8 7 5 Corrugated paper Because of the paper used corrugated p
43. t be used anymore for new projects 5 2 2 3 1 2 of 5 Interleaved The code 2 of 5 Interleaved was developed in 1972 and is used mainly in industry This code has a high character density and because of that this code is very popular It should however be noted that this code construction can easily lead to faulty decoding The B value indicates the bar and the S value the space Bar and Space This symbology interleaves 2 characters The first character is coded using the bars only The second character is encoded using the spaces between the bars of the first character This interleaving leads to a high character density If 8 character or more shall be encoded Code 128 is more efficient in use of space than the 2 of 5 interleaved code only numerical code contents REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 76 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Specification of symbology and code contents SYMBOLOGY 2 5 INT CODE 255004 Metric information with extreme values and average value Bar 2 30 max 304 u Space 31 6 max 304 nu Average value 18 The two bar values are the extreme values of the bar deviation determined from the table Traditional detailed evaluation always line B B B B B The two spaces values are the extreme values of the space deviation determined from the table Traditional detailed evaluation always 2
44. the target value B values The second line contains the deviations of the spaces from the target value S value At the end of the second line comes the P value This value refers to the character width consisting of the bars and spaces in lines 1 and 2 and gives the deviation of a character within the code from the target width The third line contains the E values The E values are combinations of bars and spaces and vice versa The first E value is the deviation of the first bar and the following space The first E value is the deviation of the first bar and the following space The third E value is the deviation of the first space and the following second bar The fourth E value is the deviation of the second space and the following bar The value at the last position of line 3 is the code value character The code value is used to calculate the check digit Specification of symbology and code contents SYMBOLOGY CODE 93 CODE e C O D E 93 Table Traditional detailed evaluation B B B S S S P E E E E Value e 99 122 217 47 start character 116 171 280 129 17 6 49 46 C 271 206 170 12 21 152 123 161 60 5 54 18 130 252 134 41 237 168 36 75 107 15 84 34 O 74 107 177 24 127 164 122 55 3 20 57 13 H 116 113 238
45. under defined and consistent conditions while the traditional method places the focus on the exact metric assessment printing precision The CEN ANSI method has a quality classification into 5 grades 4 3 2 1 and 0 where 4 represents the highest quality and 1 the lowest quality grade and grade 0 represents an error This classification allows the definition of a quality grade which can be adapted for the requirements of an application or to reflect the characteristics of different substrates The traditional method on the other hand only allows the distinction Pass or Fail ANSI UCC5 for example describes quiet zone errors separately as an independent criterion This standard therefore specifies more than 7 basic criteria Technically however this remains identical to the other 3 standards since these only summarise these additional criteria under the parameter Decode The result of the verification always remains the same irrespective of this The specified standards describe the individual parameters fully The following description gives a brief overview 7 1 2 Classification of the code to these standards The classification of the CEN ANSI method is explained in the following table EN ISO ANSI Multiple measurement 4 JA 85 40 3 JB 25 349 1 5 2 49 d D 05 149 o JE below 0 5 The achieved grade is determined by the following seven parameters REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 99 of 1
46. 1 If the ratio is outside this range this error message will be displayed The error message can only occur for barcode symbologies with two different bar widths such as Code 39 or 2 5 Interleaved REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 94 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 249 Error intercharacter gap Some symbologies are arranged discretely which means that individual characters are separated by an intercharacter gap If the width of the intercharacter gap lies outside the permissible specification this error message will be displayed Code 39 etc 250 Contrast error The contrast error is an error message which refers only to the PCS If the PCS value falls below the specified minimum limit this error message will be displayed 251 Metric error The metric error is an error message which refers only to the metric evaluation of the traditional evaluation As soon as a metric parameter exceeds the tolerance limits this error message will be displayed 252 Size error Some Symbologies have a fixed permissible size range EAN EAN 128 ITF 14 As soon as the size of the code exceeds these limits this error message will be displayed 348 Z module too small This error message is a warning which appears for all symbologies which have a lower limit size of the Z module given in the specification e g Code 39 with 191 um 349 Incorrect code
47. 33 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 7 1 3 Decode Only Pass 4 or Fail 0 The following errors produce an assessment of 0 check digit incorrect quiet zone too small incorrect code length incorrect code content or an element definition error If a bar reflectance is higher or a space reflectance lower than the threshold middle line of a scan profile the element determination has failed resulting in a grade 0 If an edge of a bar or a space crosses the threshold more than once due to noise then this also assessed as grade 0 Fail The spaces marked with square dots are elements which have caused an element determination error The threshold is the centre horizontal line and is calculated by the formula Rmax Rmin 2 Element determination error is always connected with low modulation values Causes and improvement possibilities are identical to those for the parameter modulation 7 1 4 Minimum adjacent contrast or edge contrast ECmin The worst reflectance difference between a bar and a space in a complete barcode symbol ECmin Rs Re R and R are the reflectance values of individual bars and spaces Adjacent elements bars and spaces are used to determine several edge contrast values The minimum edge contrast EC min is selected and used to determine the grade Grade 4 EC in gt 15 96 Grade 0 ECmin lt 15 REA Elektronik Gm
48. 33 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Film calibration x Film Film positive BWCcal a C Film negative BWCcal 9 Measurement SYMBOLOGY CODE Offset 0 The corresponding film type must be selected for the calibration measurement Film positive or Film negative The calibration films may show minor variations These are noted on the parchment paper bags in which the film is supplied These values must be entered into the relevant field BWCcal The REA PC Scan laser device is then placed on the film and a measurement carried out by pressing the Scan button on the laser device Performing a measurement with the spacebar or with the mouse in the Measure menu is not allowed at this point After the film has been smoothed down again the calibration measurement is repeated 2 more times until a total of 3 measurements have been carried out The REA PC Scan software determines from the measurement values a correction value which compensates for any remaining inaccuracies caused by the substrate used The correction value is displayed for information purposes in the Offset field The film calibration is ended by clicking OK and the following film measurements are then corrected by the calculated values The film calibration is only valid for the substrate used As soon as another substrate is used the calibration must be repeated
49. 41 100 201 209 43 16 13 88 37 D 239 4133 190 T3 166 172 106 76 69 31 37 22 H 178 150 249 41 LeU gt 194 225 1 18 10 41 58 E 137 127 281 14 115 186 322 78 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 84 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 22 12 59 95 181 180 153 38 142 135 160 77 39 38 45 18 9 135 164 149 9 161 118 145 24 26 3 46 31 3 154 183 94 3 226 141 163 99 72 43 42 47 W 185 54 73 32 Check digit 1 195 152 24 4 10 41 2 421 86 42 145 18 Check digit 2 96 54 69 46 10 46 12 9 190 4204 265 47 Stop character 243 194 178 44 53 39 10 71 The view of the metric extreme values and the size information are identical to the Code 128 display 5 2 2 7 MSI Code optional The MSI Code is used in the Netherlands and Belgium for pharmaceutical packaging similar to PZN and Code 32 This symbology has only very limited self checking possibilities and it is difficult to distinguish it from other symbologies The MSI Code must therefore be selected as an individual code in the symbology selection see section 4 8 3 2 The MSI Code can also contain 2 check digits In addition to the always present symbol check digit last position in the symbol after Modulo 10 a 2
50. 6 34 32 20 32 TE 46 vi 14 13 lt 11 7 34 32 20 32 32 14 13 29 21 R E Elektronik GmbH Value Explanation 104 33 ZU 99 02 32 15 68 81 50 Start character with subset B Change to subset C Display of character value a number pair Check digit Stop character Reverse stop character REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 73 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Table with Code 128 subset and conversion from the reference value Symbol character Subset Subset PC Scan value 5 15 19 18 31 B1 NS n DEE REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 74 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Symbol character Subset Subset PC Scan value REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 75 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH M ee ee value B C A B r r 5 2 2 8 Code family 2 of 5 The Code family 2 of 5 knows several different symbologies The only standardised symbology is 2 of 5 interleaved The other variations have been developed by several companies for different purposes Nowadays the 2 of 5 interleaved symbology remains All others are exotic and out of date and shouldn
51. 9 10 2 Declaration of Gonf rmity n ee ee 130 10 3 Declaration of Conformity tere tette tert handen eng tene pore En er ern 131 11 Guarantee conditions e nnne ren Stt nee Ore An Lee in he 132 12 RN av Se acted EE 133 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 5 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 1 Introduction The REA PC Scan is a precision measuring device for the verification of printed bar codes of different types and accurate measurement of barcode film masters The unit consists of a measuring head laser device and a software to evaluate and display the results The measuring head is motor powered and is controlled by the evaluation software The evaluation software works under Windows 98 Windows NT 2000 and XP It performs the recognition of the individual bar code symbologies and verifies if the measurement results are in conformity with the barcode symbology specific specifications and standards Evaluation and display is carried out according to the traditional method using the symbology standards or specifications together with evaluation to the CEN ANSI method based on the international standard ISO IEC 15416 A reflectance profile of the barcode is also displayed ATTENTION Please note section 3 4 Basic calibration and section 3 5 Transport In order to ensure that the REA PC Scan always provides plausible mea
52. A Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 81 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 5 2 2 4 2 CODABAR Monarch optional CODABAR Monarch was developed in 1972 by Monarch Marking Systems CODABAR Monarch was used on photo bags and blood bags This symbology has 18 different bar widths and can therefore only be printed correctly with high resolution printing processes or special printing units similar to typewriters which can print the different bar widths with corresponding types Specification of symbology and code contents SYMBOLOGY MONARCH CODE d1229d Metric information with extreme values and average value Bar T2l3 38 max 94 nu Max 188 u Space 2 244 max 188 nu Max 94 u Average value 109 The extreme values are determined according to the same formula as for the other symbologies The asymmetrical tolerances determine the different maximum specifications of thin or thick elements Size specification CPI 95 31 The size specification is given only in Characters Per Inch CPI Table Traditional detailed evaluation B Bar S Space B S B S B S B 125 111 89 131 116 155 88 GAP 1680 Startd 134 177 105 137 10 159 88 GAP 1705 155 139 97 154 111 145 114 GAP 1676 120 123 95 165 146 132 67 GAP 1684 92 101 94 155 80 96 104 GAP 1680 98 130 101 155 97 156 90 End d
53. C B B B S S S P E E E E Value Explanation SB 64 163 159 104 start character start with subset B 147 125 174 60 83 16 38 34 A 133 150 81 33 135 101 99 29 2 15 49 20 B 160 117 101 34 139 113 157 31 21 22 4 12 g 196 192 S i 35 193 95 63 89 3 1 97 43 69 24 5 22 1 Check digit 50 12 67 14 19 26 2 10 ST 96 64 95 106 Stop character 100 52 75 28 4 36 12 43 lt 46 95 64 Reverse stop character 75 52 100 22 12 43 20 29 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 72 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation Elektronische Ger te und Systeme Example of a Code 128 evaluation with subsets B and C SYMBOLOGY CODE 128 CODE A5023215006881 B B B S S S P SB 29 8 18 b 13 Aus 1 FIL 10 A 3 1 6 10 34 2 30 de 433 18 8 12 5 48 49 3 53 EK 26 30 PLI T 32 20 ee u 64 44 41 49 41 21 39 23 15 ck ZS 02 ecu 13 20 ck 18 34 17 EA 8 PLD 2 32 29 1 29 d 22 26 Ca 9 27 1 21 15 19 18 21 16 32 16 6 IS m 14 11 00 26 ns Er t39 9 6 ml 28 9 22 68 11 26 16 22 22 4333 10 11 4 4 38 81 11 20 25 3S 20 27 10 58 23 0 S 50 4 34 0 22 42 16 4 Y 15 siS ST 2
54. Dirty scratched or otherwise damaged substrates must be replaced by new substrates In this case the calibration process must also be repeated Measurements of production films must always be made on the calibrated substrate REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 37 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation Elektronische Ger te und Systeme Elektronik GmbH RE 4 8 3 2 Symbology selection In this dialogue window the user determines which symbologies are to be measured and whether multiple symbologies will be distinguished automatically or whether only a certain symbology is to be measured The REA PC Scan software is available in two different versions The version without optional Symbologies also referred to as PC Scan SMALL shows the following dialogue Symbology x EAN 2 5 Code 39 ivi 2 5 INT v Code 39 v EAN 8 TF 14 _ 38 Full ASCH v UPC E _ 228 Frachtpost LJ apy vi 228 ATA Code 32 VISDDIN vi 2 8 5 BAR PZN _ INSTORE CGA CARO nn 1 gt ut Code 128 Codabar i ies M Code 128 v CODABAR Bie EMEN E Code EAN 128 MONARCH Zus Phatma Code apy y Code 33 _ Aini Phasa _ Measuring prog _ Modulo 10 Modulo 11 Modulo 43 Frachtbrief The standard codes are shown in black and can be used The codes shown in grey are optional and are not available in this version The version incl
55. Explorer NG D atei Bearbeiten Ansicht Favoriten Extras E Zur ck 9 suchen Fyordner CHverlauf CD X A Er Adresse a Gi DI 9 Wechseln zu Ordner Wu Desktop i Dateiordner 25 02 2004 13 53 El ig Arbeitsplatz amp Autorun inf 1KB Setup Informationen 09 10 2002 08 31 e 31 Diskette A WP cD Historie doc 20KB Microsoft Word Doku 07 10 2003 15 32 SI win2000 CH zelten bpl 661 KB BPL Datei 01 02 2002 16 00 amp Temp D a 124KB Anwendung 13 11 2001 13 48 amp Daten E 5 setup INI 1KB Konfigurationseinstell 09 10 2002 08 33 10 2003 G a vcl60 bpl 1 2 BPL Datei 01 02 2002 16 00 S Tech auf Real N ZI Gesch auf Real 0 ES Sys auf Real P 7 gt ES ES E EZE EN Typ Anwendung Gr e 124 KB ig Arbeitsplatz REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 8 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH To do this select the CD ROM drive here G On the CD ROM run the file Setup exe by double clicking it with the mouse The following screen then appears REA Software Installation CD Verifier Please choose a button to install software or get more information Windows Operating System Requaremert insta Software Windows 95 98 Windows NT Service Pack 4 or higher Windows Me Contact Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 or
56. FF bar has some other separating distance than the required 55 mm REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 95 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 410 _ Attention Increased tolerances This note is added if films are being measured with the setting Digital Film see section 4 8 3 1 4 In comparison to the standard tolerances Film setting the tolerances here are doubled 412 Info Ratio not target ratio Recommended 1 2 5 Code ITF 14 has a permitted ratio range of from 2 25 1 to 3 1 2 5 1 is defined as the optimum If the ratio is within the permitted range but is still not 2 5 1 this note will be displayed 413 Note Ratio warning The standards for the two bar width barcodes Code 39 2 5 Interleaved Codabar etc specify for the ratio a tolerance range from 1 8 1 to 2 0 1 and from 3 0 1 to 3 4 1 If the ratio lies within this tolerance range this message is displayed Size error max 1 016 all sizes Size error min 0 25 all sizes Size error max 1 016 General Distribution Size error min 0 495 General Distribution Size error max 0 495 Internal Use Size error min 0 25 Internal Use These error messages can occur for the barcode symbologies ITF 14 and EAN 128 Both barcode symbologies allow certain size ranges setting see section 4 8 3 1 for certain applications If the allowed range is not maintained one of these error message
57. Film The setting can be used for larger codes such as EAN 13 or EAN 8 codes from an enlargement factor of 100 96 Digital Film is a definition based only on the ISO IEC 15421 standard If the standard is to be strictly applied the setting Digital Film should never be used Selection can be made between the measurement of positive films or negative films The definition Positive film refers to black bars on a transparent background The definition Negative film refers to transparent bars on a black background In practice the definitions of Positive film and Negative film may be reversed Nevertheless the correct setting according to this description must always be made An important parameter in conventional printing technology is the print gain As a rule of thumb and depending on the printing process the print gain may be approx 30 um for offset printing approx 50 um for gravure printing and approx 100 um for flexo and relief printing If working in reverse i e by printing the light spaces onto a dark carrier material the print gain produces a reduction in the width of the bars In this case a bar width increase BWI is made in advance in order to compensate for the negative effects of the print gain on the bar width In the normal case the bars become wider due to the print gain This is compensated in the prepress stage by the bar width reduction BWR The information to compensate for the print gain is entered in the f
58. GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 49 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH ISO 15416 7 X3 182 ANSI UCC5 Table Ea Scan ib 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Average Decode 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 Edge contrast 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 64 Symbol contrast 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 80 Modulation 4 4 A 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 80 Rmin Rmax 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 1 Defect 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 3 Decodability 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 92 Overall Profile Grade 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Symbol Grade 4 00 Bar width deviation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 The number of measurements is shown at the top of the table in the Scan line The evaluation of the individual parameters follows under the measurement numbers At the foot of the table the individual results of the measurements are displayed in the line Scan reflectance profile grade The final result is the Overall symbol grade in the line below The last information at the foot of the table is the average deviation of all bars within the symbol and the resulting average value These figures are for information only and do not affect the result of the overall overall symbol grade The Average column shows the average values of the individual parameters These average values are for information only and are not used in the final result These information only values are th
59. Grade B A 40A 40A 40A 40A 40A 40A Symbol Grade 4 00 A w 3 182 ANSI UCC5 EVALUATION The reflectance profile in the middle of the screen enables a visual assessment of the reflectance characteristics Details of this are described in section 4 8 6 150 15416 EVALIMTION Bis ES H nii NN WU DA The traditional evaluation is displayed in the lower area of the screen The time and date of the measurement are also shown in the area of the traditional evaluation E TRADITIONAL EYALUATION Symbol Pass PCS SC 0 99 min 0 64 Bar ui 0 max 101 p Z Module 330 16 2228 06 2005 Background 8 min 32 B value 0 max 49 u Size 100 Measurement3 3 Bar reflectance1 max 29 Average Order Nr REA PCScan REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 60 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH An order number see section 4 8 4 and a measurement number see section 4 8 7 8 can be shown below the traditional evaluation in order to be able to arrange and sort verification reports more easily Measurement3 3 Bar refl Z Module 330 Order Nr REA PCScan Size 100 Meas Nr 1 The histogram is displayed right at the bottom of the screen The histogram is a graphic view of the bar deviations Vertical lines upward are plus deviations vertical lines down minus deviations The longer the vertical lines the greater the deviation from the target val
60. HL uses the EAN 128 SSCC serial shipping container code as license plate The DHL size requirements differs a little from the GS 1 size range This is the reason for this separate size selection The REA PC Scan software allows in this section still all Application Identifiers and makes not a restriction to the SSCC only 4 8 3 1 2 Size specification for ITF 14 codes ITF 14 SIZE For the ITF 14 code the GS1 Specification was recently adapted to the specifications of EAN 128 with regard to the size The three setting possibilities All sizes 0 25 1 016 General Distribution 0 495 1 016 mm and internal use 0 25 to 0 495 mm therefore also apply for the ITF 14 code The background and the size ranges are identical to the EAN 128 specifications The older maximum size of 1 2 mm is no longer allowed apart from transitional regulations 4 8 3 1 3 PCS The PCS value is the only contrast value of the traditional evaluation This setting is used to determine whether the PCS will be used or not If the PCS is used one of two settings can be selected The setting PCS SC uses the reflectance values Rmin and Rmax for the calculation of the PCS value The difference between Rmax and Rmin gives the symbol contrast SC The setting PCS EC min uses for the calculation of the PCS value the reflectance values R and R The difference between Rs and Ry gives the minimum edge contrast ECmin If the PCS value is not to be used the setting PCS
61. Identification and data capture techniques Barcode master test specifications ENV 13065 Bar coding Test specifications for Barcode Masters UPC Film Master Verification Manual Standard reference sources Beuth Verlag GmbH Burggrafenstr 7 10772 Berlin Gemany http www beuth de In other countries the local national standardisation organisations supply standards REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 127 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 10 Technical data Power supply 100 to 240 Volt 50 to 60 Hz Modifiable to international plug standards by interchangeable primary adapters Power supply laser device 5 2 V max 0 3 A Laser Laser class Grade 2 Wavelength 670 nm alternatively 635 nm Output 0 5 mW Pulse duration 25 us Beam divergence 0 1 Scan width 155 mm optional 240 mm Ambient conditions Temperature 5 40 C interior areas Relative humidity max 80 96 non condensing Standards CE Standards to Declaration of Conformity Laser safety DIN EN 60825 1993 Mechanical testing Vibration IEC 68 2 6 DIN 40046 Shock IEC 68 2 27 DIN 40046 Thermal testing Constant cold IEC 68 2 1 DIN 40046 Dry heat IEC 68 2 2 DIN 40046 Varying temp IEC 68 2 14 DIN 40046 Cleaning Clean the housing as necessary using a damp cloth Functional testing We recommend monthly functional testing using the test code supplied The use of a p
62. K line and the value of the symbol contrast S line as a vertical line at the left of the graphic The description of the parameters Symbol contrast and Minimum edge contrast can be found in section 7 1 4 8 7 Options Options offers a range of setting possibilities Some of these refer to the measurements The description is arranged so that the operation is described briefly at this point The background information has been restricted to the minimum essential More detailed information on the measurement results can be found in chapter 7 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 47 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 8 7 1 Multiple measurement This sub menu is used to set the number of multiple measurements if an average value is to be established from several barcode measurements Average ES Number of measurements v Display reflectance profile Break average The evaluation for every individual measurement is displayed on the monitor The number of readings and the set number are displayed at the bottom left of the monitor below the date e g Measurement 3 10 3 measurement of 10 CN TRADITIONAL EVALUATION Symbol Pass 11 0328 06 2005 Measurement3 10 Backg Bar re Order Nr REA PCScan On completion of the multiple measurement 10 10 will be displayed here and the acoustic c
63. M24AUG04 007 This is the 7 storage process and the measurement was carried out on 24 August 2004 If the option Store text file is active a text file will be created additionally The file name has the same format except for the first letter T for text instead of M for measurement Test reports with the designation M use the REA PC Scan internal file format This can be loaded again from the REA PC Scan software and displayed The text format can be displayed with text processing REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 29 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH In the initial setting all verification reports are stored in the sub directory DATA of the REA PC Scan installation directory If the path is to be changed a report must be saved to a new directory by selecting Save as The new path then also applies for the STORE function 4 7 Acoustic signals After a measurement the following acoustic signals may be heard 1 x beep Successful decoding and measurement 2 x beeps Decoding attempt not successful The message Not decoded is displayed 1x beep plus 2x beeps Successful decoding but there is some kind of error in the symbol 1 x beep plus long beep Multiple measurements completed 4 8 PC Scan menu bar on the monitor 4 8 1 File Save measurement The measurement is saved under a freely selectable file name The file names
64. N ANSI or ISO IEC standards Beginning with the REA PC Scan software release 3 26 the formerly CEN evaluation is now called ISO 15416 evaluation The formerly ANSI evaluation is called now ANSI X3 182 ANSI UCC5 evaluation 7 1 1 The standards There are at the moment four different applicable standards 1 ISO IEC 15416 Automatic identification and data capture techniques Barcode print quality test specification Linear symbols 2 EN 1635 Barcode test specifications for barcode symbols withdrawn 3 ANSI X3 182 1990 R1995 Guideline for Barcode Print Quality 4 ANSI UCC5 1995 Quality Specification for the UPC printed symbol Standard 1 is an international standard Standard 2 is a European standard which has been withdrawn in favour of ISO IEC 15416 Standard 3 is an American standard not covering EAN UPC codes Standard 4 is an American standard exclusively for UPC codes REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 98 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The differences between these standards lie in the display method of the quality grade CEN ISO 4 3 2 1 0 ANSI A B C D F and in the barcode symbologies covered The assessment of the individual parameters is not affected The differences from the traditional evaluation consist in the fact that in the standards 1 to 4 the barcode is assessed from the point of view of the barcode scanner although
65. PG Price or weight CD Symbol check digit Every individual letter or double letter always stands for exactly 1 digit in the code Different countries lay down different specifications for the use of such instore codes For this reason and depending on the country and application the relevant correct setting must be made here Due to the variability in the use of the 2 check digit the required mode must be clearly specified especially in the case of merchandising carried out by a supplier Note Due to the specification of the EAN and UPC codes the setting for the prefix 02 is always a UPC A code The prefixes 20 to 29 are always EAN 13 codes 4 8 4 Order number After selecting the sub menu Order number any required number or text can be entered here This entry is displayed on the monitor and included in the verification report when a measurement is saved Whether this entry will also be printed out on the report is determined under Print section 4 8 5 2 The order number can be used for any required purposes The maximum length is 60 numbers or letters in any combination In the installation directory of the REA PC Scan software the user or the software can create a file with the name ORDER TXT If this file exists the contents of this file will always be read in as the order number Manually entered order numbers will be overwritten Together with the reporting facilities in a CSV file see section 4 8 7 17 a new order numbe
66. Page 86 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Table Traditional detailed evaluation B B B B B S S S S S 1 158 273 377 150 506 1 character in bars 2 222 505 242 136 257 2 character in spaces 1 107 151 592 222 496 3 character in bars 2 239 502 236 188 228 4 character in spaces 109 Stop bar Apart from the missing start character and the different stop character the table is identical to that of Code 2 5 Interleaved 5 2 2 9 2 5 Siemens optional The Code 2 5 Siemens or more correctly Siemens Code PT80 is derived from the Code 2 5 3 Bar Matrix This code can be found on the rail tickets of the Deutsche Bahn AG The data characters are coded into bars and spaces in the same way as the 2 5 3 Bar Matrix The character table has been changed from the initial code 2 5 3 Bar Matrix There is no start character The stop character is only a thick bar Due to the missing start character and the rudimentary stop character this code must be activated separately for measurement The 2 5 Siemens Code is normally used as a two track code Track 1 is a code with 4 characters Track 2 is a code with 2 characters and one bar at a distance of 55 mm in front of the actual code called FF bar Specification of symbology and code contents SYMBOLOGY 2 5 SIEMENS CODE 9678 Size informa
67. Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R EA Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH REA PC Scan with Laser Device Barcode measuring device User s Manual From Software Version 3 21 REA Elektronik GmbH D 64367 M hltal Waschenbach T 49 0 6154 638 0 Fax 195 REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 1 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1 introduction ee TENE 6 2 Equipment or the E DEE 6 3 Commissioning the REA PG Sean eege de ee ENEE Eege onte duse ues 8 3 1 Software installation EE 8 3 2 Hardware installati e ae ceram a du EH t e E E I eich 10 3 3 Serial DOM avy DP rc RT 13 3 4 Basic Calibration u m 15 3 5 LAS ie ee Be E ML EU C I I a el sr a ree 17 3 6 Test equipment monitoring neue een 19 4 Using the REA PC SCan EE 20 4 1 Operation or the REA POSGOATT i nase Hei 20 4 2 een E e e EE 21 4 3 Measuring a DarCOde sn ee 23 4 4 Measuring a film master le 25 4 5 Using the round shaped bodies adapter sese nen 27 4 6 Function buttons on the laser ET Anna ee er soi actor phe 28 4 6 1 Operation of the PC Scan with the laser device see 29 4 6 2 Scan button Barcode measurement s sse rene 29 4 6 3 Pos button Positioning the laser beam ea tani ete to ep tex ER 29 4 6 4 Print b tt n Report EE ee ar leide 29 4 6 5 Store button Store measurements
68. This sub menu is used to define the free port to which the laser device is to be connected Further details can be found in section 3 3 4 8 7 12 Company name Three lines each one with 32 characters can be entered in this sub menu This company name will be printed on each printed report if the printout has been enabled under Print Print options see section 4 8 5 2 Company name E REA Elektronik GmbH TeichwiesenstraBe 1 64367 Muhltal Waschenbach X REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 53 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 8 7 13 Beep off The beeper can be switched off with this menu point This means that no acoustic signal will be given to indicate successful and or faulty measurements or the completion of multiple measurements 4 8 7 14 Article Look Up This function can only be switched on or off Lompany name Lompany name Beep off Beep off v Article Databank Article Databank Autom save measurement Autom save measurement Switched on Switched off If this function is switched on this only has an effect if the REA Article Look Up software is running simultaneously In this case the code information with code content will be transmitted to the article database by using a communication mechanism of the operating system The Article Look Up opens a window and shows an entered article de
69. a iw s PAARE S Y p H M EL Symb Pass PCS SL em min t Bar Ki mox wir Z otii I0 144427 06 2005 Backgrewmd Em min VS Beau A mer s u Size um urrefwctance mas Sp 2 0 54 125454 The overall result is assessed by means of two screen positions Top right Scan reflectance profile grade result of the CEN ANSI evaluation Here a result appears classified from Grade 0 error to Grade 4 very good If a multiple measurement is carried out the text Overall symbol grade appears instead of scan reflectance profile grade The minimum quality is defined by setting the selected grade If the determined grade is smaller than the selected grade the measurement result will be evaluated as an error and shown in red Bottom left Symbol error or pass This is the result of the traditional evaluation Only Pass or Fail is shown as the result The traditional evaluation and the CEN ANSI evaluation are separate independent methods The results may therefore be different The procedure described in this chapter is adequate for the pure assessment of whether a barcode symbol lies within or outside the required specifications The explanations for the operation of the menu bar and the pictograms by clicking with the mouse are described in sections 4 8 PC Scan menu bar on the monitor and Icons 4 8 9 For the basic functions of bar code verification only the buttons on the laser device are
70. able and less dependent to bar width deviations 7 2 1 2 5 P value The P value is shown using the same system as for the bars The P value represents a complete character within a barcode symbol This information is not given with the REA ScanCheck II but only with the REA PC Scan A complete character contains several bars and spaces which together represent individual letters numbers or special characters Normally it may be assumed that the P value is in order if the bar space and B value deviations are in specification although cases do occasionally arise where this does not apply These rare cases must be checked with the REA PC Scan 7 2 1 3 Size information The size information is a number value which indirectly specifies the space requirement of a barcode There are various displays depending on the symbology CPI Characters Per Inch This is the number of characters per inch 1 inch 2 25 4 mm The size of a character is the P value This size information is always used if there is no special agreement such as for the SIZE or MF RATIO This is the ratio of the thin bars to the thick bars and can only be used for symbologies which use only two bar widths e g Code 39 2 5i and Codabar SIZE The magnification factor of the barcode symbol This information is most important for the codes of the EAN UPC family For this code family the permitted range is 80 200 96 or in special cases 75 to 200 MF For other codes
71. acter from the target value B bar The second line contains the deviations of the three spaces from the target value S space The P gives the deviation of the complete character from the target value The complete character consists of three bars and three spaces The third line contains the E values designating the bars and spaces together The first E value is the first bar with the following space The second E value is the second bar with the following space The third E value is the first space with the following middle or second bar The fourth E value is the second space with the following bar The stop character is shown twice seen once from left to right and once backwards in the direction from the end to the start of the character right to left The column with the designation Value gives the symbol character value Depending on which subset A B or C is being used the symbol character value gives one Subset A and B or two for Subset C other data characters Example The symbol character value 65 gives in Subset A the control character SOH in Subset B the letter a and in Subset C the numbers 6 and 5 See also the table below with the complete character set and the interpretations of the symbol character value in the columns for Subset A B and C Example of a Code 128 evaluation with subset B SYMBOLOGY CODE 128 CODE AB
72. age 2 Order Nr REA PCScan Only successful measurements will be counted In the case of multiple measurements a completed multiple measurement will be counted as one measurement If the measurement number function is activated this information will be printed out and saved 4 8 7 9 Language This sub menu is used to select the language to be displayed on the monitor and used on the printed report At the moment there are four languages available Language x vx gt Deutsch gt Francais E REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 52 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 8 7 10 Select grade This sub menu is used to select the quality grade which has been established as the minimum for the corresponding barcode Count measurements Language Selected Grade Serial Port Company name Beep off Article Databank During measurement the calculated grade is compared with the selected grade If it falls below the selected grade the result is highlighted in red colour When operating the REA PC Scan with a mouse the grade can also be changed by directly clicking the field after Selected grade Selected Grade 3 Overall Profile Grade 4 A The setting Selected grade has no effect on the measurement result Only the requirement on the measurement result is changed 4 8 7 11 Serial port
73. aid of a mathematical interpolation process The advantage of this process is an easier operation of the device without the need for an adjustment before every measurement The disadvantage is that this procedure does not produce an ideal circular aperture geometry but instead an oval For the 4 mil aperture the oval is vertical 6 mil produces almost ideal conditions 8 mil has a horizontal oval The resulting measurement accuracy is specified on the enclosed sheet with the test code According to standard ISO IEC 15416 the aperture and thus the size of the laser spot should not be larger than 80 96 of the X module This information can be obtained as an extreme case from table 1 in section 5 2 2 of ISO IEC 15416 The X module is by definition the nominal width of the narrow elements bars and intermediate spaces in a barcode symbol On the basis of this definition the X module should not be smaller than the following values 4 mil 100 um X gt 125 um 0 125 mm 6 mil 150 um X gt 187 um 0 187 mm 8 mil 200 um X gt 250 um 0 250 mm 10 mil 250 um X gt 312 um 0 312 mm not available with REA PC Scan 20 mil 500 um X gt 625 um 0 625 mm not available with REA PC Scan 1 mm is 1000 um 1 um is 0 001 mm 1 mil is 25 4 um or 0 0254 mm REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 21 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Large symbols with
74. al detailed evaluation are given on the following pages REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 61 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 5 2 The printed verification report The printed report shows all information displayed on the screen The configuration as to which parts of the report are to be printed is defined under the Print menu see section 4 8 5 2 Some parts of the verification report are set in square brackets text The information in square brackets is basically for information only and is not included in the result of the verification 5 2 1 Report header text The header text is repeated on each page of the report RE PC Scan Ver 3 23 RE Elektronik GmbH Teichwiesenstra e 1 64367 M hltal Waschenbach Aperture 8mil 0 200mm LIGHT TYPE Laser 670 nm Unit z Micrometer Order number Operating instructions Date 27 08 2004 Time 15 32 Symbology EAN 13 CODE 4008700248087 Specification of the equipment type and software version here 3 23 Company address see section 4 8 7 12 and section 4 8 5 2 Aperture setting here 8 mil see section 4 8 7 5 Light wavelength here 670 nm red light The wavelength is determined by the built in laser diode 670 nm can optional be replaced with 635 nm Unit of measure for all metric information Order number see section 4 8 4 and section 4 8 5 2
75. and spaces 2 13 176 34 56 212 GAP 1015 3 130 201 4 13 40 GAP 946 4 54 47 176 80 187 GAP 993 8 154 11 33 173 5 GAP 958 e 269 46 47 31 12 Stop character The size of the character gap is here given as the absolute width of the space The sizes and extreme values in the report are identical to the information for the 2 5 Interleaved code 5 2 2 4 The CODABAR family The Codabar family know only two symbologies This is the older Codabar Monarch and the newer Codabar ANSI Symbology 5 2 2 4 1 CODABAR optional This CODABAR type was developed from CODABAR Monarch In contrast to CODABAR Monarch and for purposes of simplification only two bar widths are used here This CODABAR type is also referred to as CODABAR ANSI Specification of symbology and code contents CODE TYPE CODABAR CODE d1229d Table Traditional detailed evaluation B Bar S Space B S B S B S B d 34 22 3 15 1 46 8 GAP 784 Start here d d 0 6 11 18 31 42 10 GAP 781 2 7 18 43 4 3 15 2 GAP 823 2 17 16 4 11 12 8 15 GAP 825 9 33 36 17 10 18 16 10 GAP 787 d 4 6 4 3 25 33 6 Stop here d The deviations are shown alternately in bars and spaces The absolute dimension of the character space is shown at the end The sizes and extreme values in the report are identical to the information for the 2 5 Interleaved code RE
76. aper usually has a brown textured surface The brown surface reduces the contrast The light value of the brown surface can fluctuate greatly from one batch of cardboard to the next The fibres of the paper produce a surface texture alternating between lighter and darker areas This causes defects The surface is normally slightly fluting If barcodes are printed onto this surface some bars are more heavily printed at the top of the fluting making them wider than other bars Reader pen verification devices such as the REA Check 3 are hardly or completely unsuitable for corrugated paper since running the pen over a corrugated surface no longer functions correctly 8 7 6 Plastic cups Most plastic cups are coloured white The modulation value is reduced on such cups because the density of the plastic material is low In contrast to plastic film the packaging contents have little effect on the barcode contrast Due to the wall thickness the light reflected or absorbed by the packaging contents is negligible in comparison to the light reflected from the plastic wall Transparent plastic cups must be printed with a white field before application of a barcode This then acts in the same way as for plastic film In case white labels are used on transparent plastic pots quality is usually good With white cups the characteristics can be improved by using more pigments master batch in the plastic or by using a plastic material with a higher specific de
77. argest of these is identified and designated as ERNmax ERNmax Defects SC The maximum defect in relation to the symbol contrast is calculated REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 102 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 2 lt 15 3 lt 20 2 lt 25 1 30976 0 gt 30 The assessment of the defects in relationship to the symbol contrast is seen from the point of view that the symbol contrast is used to assess the useful information and the defects represent the noise A minimum distance between the two is required in order to be able to decode efficiently Too large defects can in the extreme case be interpreted as additional bars or additional spaces This leads to destruction of the code structure and produces incorrect decoding or prevents decoding completely The measured defect values depend on the aperture setting Assuming a geometrically identical defect the measurement value appears greater with a small aperture than if measured with a large aperture The reason for this is the area covered by the aperture light spot size and the ratio within this area between the defect and the surrounding black or white areas 7 1 9 Decodability Here the metric deviations from the target value of the bars and spaces or their combinations are assessed This judges the readability of the barcode from the point of view of
78. argin on the report printout In the normal case this should not be less than 20 mm The printout itself is initiated by clicking pictogram 5 printer or by pressing the Print button on the REA PC Scan laser device 4 8 6 Graphics The sub items listed under this menu item Display reflectance profile Enlarge Reduce and Original size can be initiated by mouse or by the keyboard The graphic with the reflectance profile can be enlarged or reduced with Icons 3 and 4 respectively Icon 7 enables the subsequent display of the reflectance profile provided that the display for multiple measurement has been deactivated see section 4 8 7 1 The description of the icons is given in section 4 8 7 1 Icon 7 only appears if a multiple measurement is active and if the display of the reflectance profile has been deactivated REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 45 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Original size restores the display in the window to the complete reflectance profile w ISO 15416 EVALUATION Bisi xi T dx 0 um x 33010 um y 86 x RE WU IM 4 8 6 1 Cross The position cross can be moved with the aid of the mouse to select positions within the reflectance profile in order to make individual measurements ETT MERA AAR AE Cross switched off Cross switched on position cross only position cross and yellow crossha
79. atabase or statistical software In the CSV file the order number is also saved for each measurement The order number is specified either manually or by the file Order TXT The allocation of order numbers can be automated with the aid of the file Order TXT see section 4 8 4 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 55 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 8 7 18 Save parameters Save parameters saves the settings made These will then be available again on the next program start The last setting will also be saved on closing the REA PC Scan program 4 8 8 Windows These settings allow optional arrangement of the windows within the REA PC Scan program interface Any rearrangement of the windows will be lost when closing and restarting the REA PC Scan programme 4 8 9 Icons Icons 1 10 can only be used with a mouse and are used for the quick and easy operation of the REA PC Scan software arrow buttons below the reflectance profile 1 Open stored measurements by entering or clicking the M corresponding file name after the selection window has Ei opened Eiy 2 Store a measurement in file with a 8 character long file name Ll 3 Zoom into the reflectance profile Each click enlarges the reflectance zs profile one stage An enlarged reflectance profile makes an analysis of J the profile at specific positions much easier Moving th
80. bH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 100 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The minimum edge contrast is influenced by the colours of the bar and background and by the substrate properties The classification Grade 4 or Grade 0 is not very conclusive if taken in isolation The percentage value of minimum Edge Contrast and the grade for Modulation should be taken into account 7 1 5 Symbol contrast SC The difference between the highest and lowest reflectance in the complete symbol including the quiet zones SC Rmax Rmin Classification 4 gt 70 3 gt 55 2 gt 40 1 gt 20 0 lt 20 The symbol contrast is determined largely by the colours of the bars and spaces or colour of the substrate Only the difference is assessed not the absolute amount of the reflectance values In the case of transparent substrates usually printed with opaque white a white substrate increases the symbol contrast With a black measurement substrate the symbol contrast becomes significantly smaller The difference becomes smaller with increasing opacity of the opaque white or the substrate Textured embossed or other uneven surfaces can increase the symbol contrast The increase is artificial because the surface does not reflect diffusely 7 1 6 Modulation The ratio between edge contrast and symbol contrast MOD EC min SC The modulation can be described as the evenne
81. barcode is measured against a white substrate this white substrate reflects the light which affects the modulation In the wide spaces this increases the surface reflectance more strongly than in the narrow spaces This creates larger differences between the symbol contrast and the edge contrast and thus poorer modulation REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 122 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The measurement aperture should never become larger than 80 96 of the module width If the aperture gets any larger the light spot of the laser becomes almost as large or even larger than narrow bars or spaces Since the reflected light is then made up of the space or bar and the adjacent the space appears darker and the bar lighter This affects the edge contrast while the symbol contrast remains almost unchanged Consequently the modulation again deteriorates The following possibilities exist in principle for improving the modulation 1 The density opacity of the printed white background must be increased as far as possible This can be achieved by means of greater pigmentation and or increased layer thickness In the case of thick walled coloured materials an additional white field can also be printed on the material and or the material itself coloured more strongly 2 If the code is enlarged the narrow spaces become wider thus reducing the ne
82. cases the code length is also verified If an error is present here this is usually due to the design Special attention must be paid to the quiet zones The quiet zone definitions are minimum sizes without tolerances In the print prepress stage therefore the printing and position tolerances must be added to the quiet zone dimension 8 5 Modulation Problems with the modulation are caused by substrate properties and by metric problems Modulation assesses whether the reflectance values of the bars and spaces have similar values or whether the values demonstrate major deviations Low differences in the reflectance values lead to good modulations values and vice versa If the bars of a barcode are printed too wide this will naturally make the spaces narrower This reduces the minimum edge contrast EC nl while the symbol contrast SC retains its original value modulation is ECmin SC The cause of this behaviour is the size of the measurement aperture If the spaces become narrower the aperture size approaches the space width If the spaces are deliberately made wider the modulations values are usually also increased again If this makes the bars too narrow this in turn reduces the modulation value The effect on the bars is significantly less than on the spaces Further problems with the modulation can be caused by the substrate On films a white field is normally printed first and the barcode then printed on top of this field If such a
83. ceptions described the evaluation is identical to 2 5 Interleaved Size information ITF 14 MF 1 013 Ratio 2 507 1 CPI Set The magnification factor in the same way as EAN 128 is not actually an enlargement factor but simply the Z module in millimetres Ratio and CPI are identical to the information for 2 of 5 Interleaved ITF 14 has a size restriction see section 4 8 3 1 2 and also a restricted range for the ratio 2 25 1 to 3 0 1 recommended 2 5 1 The calculation of the decodability parameter is not identical to the standard decodability calcalation according the 2 of 5 interleaved standard The ITF 14 code has to use always a check digit Reliable autodiscrimination from 2 5 Interleaved is not possible Either ITF 14 or 2 5 Interleaved must therefore be set in the symbology selection see section 4 8 3 2 5 2 2 3 3 2 5 Frachtpost optional The 2 5 Frachtpost code is like ITF 14 a quite normal 2 5 Interleaved code The Freight post code is used on parcels of the Deutsche Post AG DHL The specification can be found in the brochure Specification of uni dimensional barcodes for automatic scanning and distribution in the 33 DHL Express parcel centres of the Deutsche Post AG There is a 12 digit identification code and a 14 digit sorting code The check digit is essential and is calculated according to a specific DHL formula see brochure The Frachtpost code has a specified size range and a defined minimum height The co
84. contrast values on transparent substrates The other aspects appear similar to gravure printing REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 119 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 8 2 1 11 Litho printing Contrast Litho printing offers the possibility of printing high quality barcodes Problems can be caused by too little ink or unsuitable colour combinations Offset litho printing is used for example for the printing of plastic cups This type of printing works at a very high printing speed The quantity of ink and the resulting ink density is low In this type of printing process it is particularly important to print the barcode in the printing direction In case of contrast problems higher pigment content in the plastic is helpful for white cups Metrics Litho printing allows very accurate printing with low print gain For small codes e g EAN codes lt 100 96 SC2 this low print gain should be taken into account Dry offset printing is usually used for plastic cups The shape of the cups affects the metric accuracy of the barcode and should also be taken into account wherever technically possible Metric errors in offset printing apply usually directly to the prepress stage Offset litho is modified for printing on plastic cups The image is transferred first to a rubber blanket and then from the rubber blanket to the plastic cup The shape of these
85. ctancel amp max WS Average 2 Onder Ne REA PCSeen 900554 123454 Sne ZC Ling DeuschErgi Sy Enke Cin Posen Ez Adobe Reads PCSCAN fi Pare Shop Fo PCS n Je porse ssu 0 15 B MO The screen display is divided into areas The current aperture is shown in the header line Aperture 6mil 0 150mm Laser 670 nm Dimension Micrometer File Scan Code Order Print Graphic Options Window Help EAN 13 4008654123454 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 58 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The individual menu points are shown in the menu bar The description can be found in section 4 8 File Scan Code Order Print Graphic Options Window Help The icons are found under the menu bar The description is given in section 4 8 9 Some icons are only displayed temporarily e g the stop icon during error messages Next to the icon bar appears the information on the barcode symbology code type and the decoded code content If the code content takes up more room than is available in this line the contents can be shifted with the aid of the mouse cursor The arrow changes into a hand symbol If the last character in the line is clicked the rest of the code content appears Click on the first character in the line to return to the start of the content EAH 13 4008654123454 The display of the ISO IEC 15416 or
86. cted port e g LPT1 LPT2 or network port The Print quality can also be set here if this facility is offered by the relevant printer type The number of reports to be printed on a measurement is entered under Copies If the Options button is clicked the printer selection appears together with further options for setting the print properties If for example reports are to be output to two different printers or if verification reports are to be generated in PDF format for display in ADOBE Acrobat Reader then the relevant printer or PDF Writer must be selected here PDF Writers are available from several software suppliers A PDF Writer is not included with the REA PC Scan software REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 43 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 8 5 2 Print options for report printout This sub menu is used for defining the contents and extent of the verification report When a tick is placed in the checkbox in front of the designation the relevant reporting option is then activated Print options v Company name v Order number v ISO 15416 7 X3 182 ANSI UCC5 v 7 X3 182 ANSI UCC5 Table Scan profile lt gt Traditional short v Traditional long v Histogram 20 mm Left margin The setting shown in the illustration is the normal standard setting Company name The company nam
87. ction 3 4 The test code must be stored protected from light Scratches marks and other damage must be avoided REA Elektronik GmbH guarantees a working life of 2 years for this test code provided that the handling instructions are followed REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 19 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 Using the REA PC Scan This chapter describes the use and operation of the REA PC Scan We will start with the most important points This is followed by details of the operation in the sequence of the menu structure It should be noted that the REA PC Scan is designed to measure barcodes The measurement results must be reproducible and comparable All measurements must therefore be performed under constant conditions The angle and distance of the REA PC Scan to the test object must always remain the same This requirement does not exist for a barcode scanner This is due to the purpose of a scanner The barcode scanner must recognise barcodes as efficiently as possible and under the most variable conditions as possible and thus make the decoded data available for the logistics process 4 1 Operation of the REA PC Scan The following instructions on operation must be observed in order to achieve comparable and reproducible measurement results 1 The laser beam must cross the barcode at an angle of 90 If not the device will d
88. d 4 6 3 Pos button Positioning the laser beam In the rest position the laser is switched off and the correct positioning of the reader head may therefore be difficult for small barcodes By pressing the Pos button the carriage moves approx 2 cm to the right and the laser is switched on position Laser on The laser dot can now be positioned immediately in front of the barcode By pressing the button again briefly the carriage returns to its rest position and the measurement process is started by pressing the Scan button If the Pos button is pressed for longer or held down the carriage will travel the full measurement path From the position Laser on it is also possible to switch direct to the measurement with the Scan button without first sending the carriage back to its rest position 4 6 4 Print button Report printout A printout of the measurement report may be generated by pressing this button The report form CEN ANSI or Traditional scan reflectance profile grade and or detail values must be set in the menu bar see section 4 8 5 2 Print options for report printout 4 6 5 Store button Store measurements After measurement of a barcode and display of the measurement values on the monitor the values can be stored by pressing the Store button The storage process and file name are displayed briefly in a separate window Every stored report is automatically assigned a file name which is made up as follows e g
89. d the result is assessed as an error The selected grade can be used to adapt the quality requirement to the needs of the application or the capabilities of the substrate In comparison to the individual measurement the lower permitted limit for the selected grade is an average value as listed in the table in section 7 1 2 For example the selected grade 2 in the average measurement will still pass even though the average value is 1 5 7 1 12 Notes on average measurement The average measurement should always be carried out in such a way that the required number of measurements are carried out evenly distributed over the barcode height A multiple measurement per code is always recommended if large differences occur from measurement to measurement or if a visual check shows a large number of defects If within an average measurement some scans do not decode the code should then be assessed significantly lower than indicated by the measurement value of the individual measurement because only successful decoded scans are taken into account for determination of the overall symbol grade The REA ScanCheck Il here offers a useful aid by giving a specified number of measurements followed by information on how many measurements were able to be decoded and how many were not This criterion exceeds the specifications of the standards but is nevertheless an important piece of information see section 7 1 10 The points in the profile at wh
90. d is referred to as CEN or ANSI evaluation and the other method as traditional evaluation The CEN ANSI method refers to verification standards for barcodes The traditional evaluation refers to symbology standards or specifications The REA ScanCheck II and the REA Check 3 allow an initial setting of which evaluation methods are to be used The REA PC Scan always shows all values The selection of the evaluation method can be made via the report printout by setting which parts of the report are to be printed out Both evaluations each produce a quality result which must not match with the other evaluation The reason for this is that both evaluations verify different criteria of the code Before beginning with subsequent evaluations and carrying out an error analysis it is important to check whether the symbology kind of barcode e g EAN 13 or Code 39 etc complies with the specification If so it must then be checked whether the decoded code content complies with the specification Only if both of these is correct further verification is meaningful 7 1 CEN ANSI verification The CEN or ANSI evaluation is based on several similar standards The first standard was the ANSI ANSI X3 182 or UCC ANSI UCC5 standard A corresponding European standard CEN EN 1635 meanwhile withdrawn was later agreed by CEN February 1998 The international standard ISO IEC 15416 was published in 2001 Bar code verification devices evaluate according to these CE
91. de content must be made up according to the specifications of the Deutsche Post AG DHL Apart from the correct length of the contents 12 or 14 figure and the check digit the code content is not checked The evaluation is identical to the evaluation of the normal 2 5 Interleaved code The additional criteria generate error messages if not observed REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 78 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 5 2 2 3 4 Code 2 of 5 IATA optional This symbology is used in the air travel industry on flight tickets and for other internal applications With regard to layout the symbology corresponds to that of 2 of 5 Interleaved with the difference that other start and stop characters are used and the spaces contain no information Specification of symbology and code contents SYMBOLOGY 2 5 IATA CODE 038645 Table Traditional detailed evaluation B B B B B Principal view 1 line of a line pair bars S S S S S Principal view 2 line of a line pair spaces e SCH 85 108 175 start character bars and spaces alternately 0 142 114 56 45 129 Bars character 1 141 100 92 87 GAP 878 Spaces character 1 3 53 29 129 92 198 79 96 149 158 GAP 909 8 21 159 79 48 149 96 111 110 151 GAP 827
92. designated by a heading e g Code 128 or EAN UPC This heading assigns the codes in the field below to this code family Depending on the definition codes can only be activated on an either or or combined basis If within a family code variants can without exception be distinguished from one another then it is possible to activate these variants together If this is not possible e g 2 5i ITF 14 Frachtpost or Code 39 PZN Code 32 only one or the other variant can be activated within a code family With Code 128 and EAN 128 the difference is defined only by the code content Both are basically a Code 128 EAN 128 is designated by the character FNC1 immediately following the start character For this reason both are accepted without any error message in the setting Code 128 error message REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 39 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH In the setting EAN 128 only EAN 128 is accepted If a Code 128 is being measured an error message will be generated In later versions the logic will probably be changed An individual setting will be possible as well as a collective setting The individual setting will only accept Code 128 or EAN 128 respectively without an error message In the collective setting both are activated and accepted without an error message The Code 128 UPU cannot reliably be distinguished from the Code
93. e enlarged reflectance profile is carried out with the aid of the Loi 4 Zoom out of the reflectance profile REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 56 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 5 Startthe report print out All information selected under Print see section 4 8 5 2 will be printed out 6 Detailed values By clicking this Icon a window with the detailed values of the traditional detail evaluation appears on the right side of the monitor If the Icon is clicked again the window disappears 72 This pictogram is used to call up the subsequent display of the reflectance profile In the case of multiple measurements and in order to speed up the display only the reflectance profile of the last measurement is displayed In the case of poor or faulty barcodes however it may be advisable to view this profile This pictogram is only active in case of multiple measurements and if transfer of reflectance profiles is disabled 8 If a bar code fails and no value is highlighted in red to indicate the error then the error message window which opens by clicking this icon should contain an error messagte These errors will then be displayed on the right half of the monitor e g light margin errors check digit errors size errors ratio errors Zo 9 Switch between the last single measurement and the average result after completing a multiple measure
94. e is entered under Options see under Options section 4 8 7 12 The company name appears at the top of every report page Order number The order number appears on the report It should be noted that if the order number is deactivated here it will also not be displayed on the screen view see section 4 8 4 ISO 15416 X3 182 ANSI UCC5 If this option is deactivated the complete ISO 15416 X3 182 ANSI UCC5 evaluation will be omitted from the report In the normal case this should always be activated If master films are being measured the ISO 15416 X3 182 ANSI UCC5 evaluation cannot be activated because the measurement results are in this case nonsensical and misleading see also section 4 8 7 3 ISO 15416 X3 182 ANSI UCC5 Table This setting is only relevant if printed codes are being measured and if multiple measurement is activated In this case a final result will only be produced after the preset number of measurements 2 to 10 The basic individual measurements can be seen in the ISO 15416 X3 182 ANSI UCC5 table The table printout can be switched on or off here see also section 4 8 7 2 Reflectance profile This defines whether the graphic with the reflectance profile will be printed out or not Reflectance profile lt gt A section of a reflectance profile e g an enlargement will be printed out This is always the reflectance profile section displayed on the monitor This function is useful for the measurement program
95. e permissible tolerance depending on the setting is 8 um film or 16 um digital film If this is in order the bar width deviations are checked The display of the two bar values is identical to the display for printed codes As for printed codes these are two extreme values which display the variation range of the bar widths The difference is the reference point In the case of printed barcodes the measurement always assumes the ideal bar widths calculated from the Z module and then determines the variation from these ideal widths In the case of film measurement the reference point for the bar variations is the ideal bar width less the bar width difference BW CDiff With a bar width reduction the reference dimension therefore becomes smaller and with a bar width increase the reference dimension becomes larger The measurement obtained produces variations of the bar widths around the measured reduction value If space information is available the procedure is exactly the opposite to bar widths B values or E values total of adjacent bars and spaces are not affected by the bar width correction because the dimension by which the bar is changed is added to the size of the spaces The total of bar and space widths thus remain constant If these checks all remain within the permissible tolerances the film master is evaluated as Pass and otherwise as Fail The figures for Light and Dark are for information only and are not used
96. earching only one symbology can be activated This selection is always advisable in the case of poorly or badly printed barcodes In the case of a very small quiet zone for example it may be necessary to select this symbology specially in order to obtain a successful reading In the case of measurement of codes with very large character spaces it is also often necessary to select only this symbology since the large character spaces are often not decoded with the symbology self searching The measurement program can only be activated in the setting individual code No decoding is performed No multiple measurement is possible with this measurement program The measurement program shows a reflectance profile over the complete measurement path as result and creates a table showing the bar and space widths together with the corresponding reflectance values The measurement program therefore becomes a powerful aid in the analysis of unknown or partially corrupt codes The following symbologies are only available in the setting individual code 2 5 H amp W 2 5 Siemens MSI Pharma Code Mini Pharma The measurement program is also only available in the setting individual code Further information on the symbologies can be found in the standards and specifications listed in the bibliography in chapter 9 All codes are briefly described by means of the printed verification report in section 5 2 In the dialogue window various areas are
97. easurement aperture is set at 4 mil and cannot be changed 4 3 Measuring a barcode Following installation and basic calibration measurement operations can begin First start the software If no error message appears this means that the REA PC Scan laser device has been recognised and is ready for measurements Aperture 6mil 0 150mm Dimension Micrometer File Scan Code Order Print Graphic Options Window Help eps The software first appears as in the above illustration In accordance with the operating instructions in section 4 1 the REA PC Scan laser device must be placed on the barcode The measurement is started by pressing the SCAN button on the REA PC Scan laser device The measurement can also be started by pressing the spacebar on the PC keyboard or by mouse in the measure menu REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 23 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Following the measurement the measurement result with the individual test parameters of the measurement appears in the window of the REA PC Scan software soctwe Get 2 1908 Lases E70 ia U doeet e De Zeen Code Order Bret Greptic p we ume Dee ae Fed Fa 3 os ie 40084641234654 Decoen Edge contrast Symeet commas Meewation fma Defect Decasablimy Seleciee Grade 3 Bar wiih seviaman DE ee GAR 1 4 T 4 BIR 4 Overall Profile Gente 4 LEIT laj xj dx 0 pre 515
98. ends that such films are always measured as samples placed flat on a defined substrate according ISO IEC 15416 black max 5 96 reflectance REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 20 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Transparent or semi transparent films with a white field behind the barcode can also produce varying measurement results if these films are measured against a white substrate This is due to the fact that the distance between the film and the substrate is never the same and that the distance has greater effect on the modulation parameter with increasing transparency This effect is based on the fact that a light substrate reflects light and that films as described let through this reflected light 4 2 Aperture setting The REA PC Scan laser device sets the measurement aperture with the aid of a point of light from a laser beam with a defined geometry The physical aperture resulting from this technique has a size of 4 mil corresponding to about 0 1 mm or 100 um Aperture Lx Aperture The setting menu can be found under Options Aperture To make the setting click the required checkmark and confirm the setting with OK The measurement aperture will be shown at the upper edge of the REA PC Scan window The measurement aperture will also be shown on every verification report The apertures 6 mil and 8 mil are calculated with the
99. ents in the print head If marks appear in the bars this is caused by too little colour ink application This is frequently due to electrostatic charging of the label material If in thermal or thermal transfer printing the printing speed is too high the pressure too low or uneven or the temperature setting of the print head too low this will cause defects These normally appear as irregular marks In conventional printing processes offset flexo gravure printing defects occur due to poor colour ink application In flexography these are typically due to defects in the middle of the bar pressure too high In offset or gravure printing defects in the bars are rather untypical If defects do however appear in the bars the colour ink application or supply should be checked Dark marks in the spaces spots Defects in the spaces occur for example with inkjet printing due to ink splashes In the other printing processes ink splashes from the bars can get into the spaces for example due to dirt Printing errors Printing errors are often found in packaging printing At the design stage attempts are often made to make the barcode less conspicuous by its colour If colour progressions are used defects occur when the screen progressions consist of black blue green or dark brown dots Colour progressions are only allowed with space colours and only then when the colours are composed with particular care If the barcode is placed on a light
100. erefore shown in square brackets Individual undecoded measurements appear in the table as an empty column REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 50 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 8 7 8 ISO 15416 X3 182 ANSI UCC5 switching This option determines whether the evaluation will be carried out to ISO IEC 15416 or the previous standard CEN EN 1635 setting CEN or to the ANSI standard ANSI X3 182 1990 or ANSI UCC5 setting ANSI Standard EN 5 tandard X3 182 ANSI UCC5 If measurements are performed using the setting ISO 15416 all symbologies will be included The setting X3 182 ANSI UCC5 is divided between the standards ANSI X3 182 1990 and ANSI UCCS Standard ANSI X3 182 1990 applies to all symbologies except EAN UPC ANSI UCC5 applies only to EAN UPC codes The REA PC Scan software makes no distinction between the two ANSI variants since this produces no changes in the measurement results The correct basic standard must only be specified for the purposes of quality agreements and for the use of the ANSI standards depending on the Symbology The traditional evaluation is always active for the screen view The printed report can be configured as required by means of the initial setting 4 8 7 4 Film calibration The film calibration is described in section 4 8 3 1 5 together with the preceding chapter on initial settin
101. es 9 Cannot be decoded This error message always appears when a barcode is not properly recognised In the simplest case the device was probably positioned so that the barcode was not in the correct measurement position In the more complicated case the barcode showed such serious errors that it could no longer be identified This could be due to specks of ink or voids which are interpreted as additional bars and spaces This could also be other printing inaccuracies As result the bars and spaces show such large deviations from the ideal dimensions that the barcode can no longer be identified 15 Error Light value greater than 100 96 If this error message appears reflectance values in excess of 100 have been measured Assuming a diffuse reflecting surface this is a result which is either not allowed or impossible If this message nevertheless appears this may be due to the fact that the basic calibration is incorrect or has not even been done see section 3 4 A further cause may be surfaces which do not reflect evenly but give off total reflections This happens if gloss materials are not lying flat under the device e g films Textured surfaces embossed aluminium covers embossed labels can also produce such effects Barcode technology requires diffuse reflecting substrates otherwise problems will occur as described above REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 91 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Aut
102. ese labels consist of paper labels coated with different coloured aluminium foil on which the printing is located This gives the label a metallic effect which is intended to give the product an enhanced appearance Barcodes printed on such a label have a low symbol contrast SC in comparison to normal paper labels The metallic layer acts like a mirror and also makes the white of the barcode background appear greyer If the white background also has holes perforated in it additional defects also occur As long as no special quality requirements have been specified by the customer no further special measures are needed If at least grade 3 must be achieved the white background colour should contain a high level of pigment in order to increase the density In some cases the background colour has to be printed 2 3 times 8 7 2 Film There are many different types of film Some are transparent while others are white or of different colours Some have a metallic surface like the labels described in section 8 7 1 Transparent films require the printing of a white field behind the barcode Depending on the packaging contents the code quality can vary over a wide range If the packaging contents are white yellow orange or red then these colours make the white of the barcode background lighter for the scanner This improves the parameter symbol contrast SC since more light gets back to the sensor in the light zones and the wide spaces In the
103. esee ied npa ie re 48 4 8 7 2 Multiple measurement Individual measurements in table form us usus 49 4 8 7 3 ISO 15416 X3 182 ANSI UCC5 switching eee 51 4 8 7 4 Film B esl ele et een 51 4 8 7 5 ADEO e sinite tet irt EE ee ind aco uei ae 51 4 8 7 6 Last Measurement a Lenk 51 4 8 7 7 oo M Re eet 52 4 8 7 8 Display and print measurement number EE enne 52 4 8 7 9 H e EC 52 AS TAO Select e E Le eite eg t e ERR ee 53 8 911 rene e etse etus e EL etu E E A a D Eb d 53 ABT Ae Gompany Dame ssi tetto n pe een dide ie du 53 28 2 13 Beep o ETT ED I EUER PEU TEL RT 54 48 7 14 Article Look Up oet tte tee ea nte extera tege uua Opa V ku e ku aS Mn eeu 54 4 8 7 15 Automatic measurement stong EE tenen nnne nenne 55 4 81 10 Save as exi il ine ehesten 55 49 110 Save ds COV MUNG ittis ee nel RE 55 48 7 18 Save parameters ne ee 56 4 8 8 Kine OH 56 4 8 9 leo P M M meeceer Cae 56 5 Verification report layout E re neuere 58 5 1 Results display on the THORITOF diio eire ott ee seele 58 5 2 The printed veritication E LE 62 5 2 1 Report headantert 2 zu ie ek 62 5 2 1 1 Report section ISO IEC 15416 evaluation individual measurement 63 5 2 1 2 Report section ISO IEC 15416 evaluation multiple measurement 64 5 2 1 3 Report section Traditional evaluation AAR eene enne 65 5 2 2 Explanations on the traditional detailed evaluation
104. etween cleaning intervals too thick Both extremes should lie within the tolerance of the traditional evaluation In the case of flexo printing problems also occur due to the compression or widening of bars print platens are made of a flexible material These effects can be reduced by a frame around the barcode or by varying the pressure 8 2 1 9 Gravure printing Contrast Contrast problems occur here due to the selected colour combination When printing on film the problems are similar to those described in section 8 2 1 8 for flexo printing Gravure printing has the advantage that more ink can be applied to the material This is advantageous in the case of transparent materials which have to be printed with opaque white Metrics Most problems with regard to gravure printing occur due to too low resolution The screen resolution should be approx 100 lines cm If a code produced by gravure printing is being measured the bar width changes with the position Sometimes the full width is measured dot and at other times the trough between two dots Sometimes a narrow isolated line can be seen in front of a bar This leads to defects and should be avoided Modern gravure processes laser gravure allow edge smoothing reducing this effect to almost negligible proportions 8 2 1 10 Screen Printing This kind of printing process allows to transfer a heavy weight of ink to the substrate This is very helpful to improve Modulation or Symbol
105. form Symbology Specification Code 128 ANSI AIM BC5 1995 Uniform Symbology Specification Code 93 ANSI UCC1 1995 UPC Symbol specification manual Test specifications Principles of the CEN ANSI evaluation ISO IEC 15416 Information technology Automatic Identification and data capture techniques Bar code print quality test specifications Linear Symbols The following older standards are being replaced by ISO IEC standards EN 1635 Barcoding test specifications for barcode symbols ANSI X3 182 1990 R1995 Guideline for Bar Code Print Quality USA only EAN UPC codes ANSI UCC5 1995 Quality Specification for the UPC printed symbol General information EN 1556 Barcoding Terminology EN 796 Barcoding Symbology Identifier REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 126 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH ANS MH10 8 2 1995 DATA IDENTIFIER and APPLICATION IDENTIFIER STANDARD GS 1General Specifications Kit for the preparation of national guidelines Contains EAN 8 13 ITF EAN 13 with add on EAN UCC 128 EAN International Rue Royale 29 B 1000 Brussels Belgium Tel 32 2 218 76 74 Fax 32 2 218 75 85 or http www e centre org EANUCC Further information on the EAN data structures is available over the Internet from http www gs1 germany de and http www gs1 org e Film Masters ISO IEC 15421 Information technology Automatic
106. gative effect on the modulation An effect is only achieved if films are measured on a white substrate or thick walled light plastic substrate 3 If the bar width reduction BWR is increased more than actually necessary the spaces become wider This therefore achieves a similar effect to that described under point 2 In this case too this only has an effect on light substrates or thick walled light plastic substrates 4 The aperture of the verification device must be correctly adjusted 5 Bar deviations and other printing inaccuracies must be avoided as far as possible If the barcode patterns films and thin materials or transparent materials are measured once on a black substrate and once on a white substrate it can then be assessed whether measures according to point 2 and 3 above have brought about any improvement If a low symbol contrast and good modulation are measured on the black substrate and vice versa on the white substrate measures 2 and 3 can be applied An essential requirement in this case is a white substrate behind the barcode and substrate If poor modulation values are also measured on the dark substrate this may be due to an incorrect aperture setting or inaccurate printing If the carrier material with the overprinted barcode is laminated this always has a negative effect on the modulation In such cases a different laminating material or a larger barcode may help 8 6 Not decoded Barcodes If a barcode cann
107. gs for film measurement 4 8 7 5 Aperture The setting of the measurement aperture and other background information on this subject can be found in section 4 2 4 8 7 6 Last measurement This point corresponds to Icon No 9 On completion of a multiple measurement the last individual measurement result can be displayed REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 51 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 8 7 7 Colours This sub menu is used to set the colours for the individual areas on the monitor subset error designation reflectance profile scale etc In the normal case these settings should not be changed 4 8 7 8 Display and print measurement number This sub menu is used to switch the display and printout of a measurement number on or off The starting number from which counting will take place is entered in the field Count from number The number entered is the number of the next measurement Measuring number xi Count measurements Count from number After the measurement the measurement number will be displayed on the monitor under traditional evaluation after any displayed order number TRADITIONAL EVALUATION Symbol Pass PCS SC 0 99 min 0 64 Bar 7 al max 102 p Z Module 330 11 5528 06 2005 Background 82 min 2 B value 2 al max 49 y Size 100 Meas Nr 123 Bar reflectance1 max 29 Aver
108. ialogue window appears Z MODUL Film EAN gt Retail 0 264 0 66 mm nun ee Retail GD 0 495 0 66 mm Digital Film OnDemand 0 248 0 66 mm Film EAN 128 7 ITF 14 Plane All sizes 0 250 1 016 mm Negativ General Distri 0 495 1 016 mm Internal use 0 250 0 495 mm REISEN BWC DHL 0 330 0 500 mm m PCS Evaluation Off sc Z module The Z module is a specialist term for barcode sizes The Z module defines the nominal width of the narrow elements bar or spaces or modules in a barcode Bars or spaces thicker than Z Module have usually only widths in whole multiples of the Z module For barcode symbologies with only two bar widths the thicker elements are calculated as multiples of Z Module and a ratio value Further details are given in section 7 2 1 3 GS1 International formerly EAN International defines size ranges for the GS1 barcode symbologies in the EAN General Specifications These EAN General Specifications define different size ranges for EAN codes depending on the application For the retail trade the size range is between 80 and 200 or a module width from 0 264 mm to 0 66 mm This is at the same time the size range definition of the EAN UPC symbology standard ISO IEC 15420 GS1 define a further size range for General Distribution This refers to EAN UPC codes on outer packaging palettes and the like generally on transport packaging In this case only the size range
109. ich the parameters are determined can be seen from the graphic in the following chapter REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 105 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 7 1 13 The scan reflectance profile The scan reflectance profile is an analogue curve which displays the reflectance properties of a barcode as seen by the verification device The following illustration shows an example together with a few explanations Linear Position Quiet Zone left Quiet Zone right Rmax Reflectance 96 dis IT IBAN ri Rmin Be SB oe EH EHE EH EERE e Seen Ei EEE es BE e The measurement values from the reflectance profile are the basis for the CEN ANSI evaluation and the traditional evaluation R and R are the reflectance values of the minimum edge contrast Rmin and Rmax are the reflectance values of the symbol contrast ERNmax is the absolute defect value ERNmax in relation to the symbol contrast is the displayed defect value The metric information is also based on the reflectance profile At certain points the beginning of a bar or space is identified This is shown graphically by the bars indicated below the reflectance profile 7 2 Traditional evaluation The traditional evaluation is an evaluation based on the standards or specifications which describes the composition of a code and specifies the corresponding metric tolerances In
110. ield BWC in micrometers um A negative BWC value requires narrower bars than the nominal bar width in the prepress stage to compensate for the print gain A positive value requires wider bars than the nominal bar width in the prepress stage to compensate for the reduction in bar width during printing 1 metre 1000 mm 1 mm 1000 um 1 um 0 001 mm 10 um 0 01 mm and 100 um 0 1 mm REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 35 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH With increasing print gain and smaller codes the accurate setting of the bar width reduction becomes increasingly important The classical terms BWI and BWR have been replaced by the general designation BWC bar width correction If a bar width reduction BWR is necessary the BWC is entered as a negative value with the sign In the reverse case of a BWI bar width increase the figure is entered as a positive value with sign or without any prefix The preset BWC value will always be shown on the verification report for comparison purposes Attention Film calibration must first be carried out before the first film measurement is made see section 4 8 3 1 5 This calibration must be performed separately for positive and negative and repeated after any change of the substrate Only very smooth white paper should be used as the substrate photographic paper or similar Normal type
111. ing on the initial setting the ratio is assessed differently 7 2 1 Explanation of terms of the traditional evaluation The traditional evaluation verifies the contrast values the metric values and the code sizes 7 2 1 1 Contrast results of the traditional evaluation In the traditional evaluation only the PCS Print contrast Signal value is used as the contrast value The PCS value is calculated according to the formula below The method of calculation means that the PCS value depends more on the bar reflectance than on the space reflectance Worst case edge contrast Best case symbol contrast Rs v Ro Rmax Rmin PCS ECmin PCS SC Rs Rmax Rs Space reflectance Rmax Re Bar reflectance Rmin As can be seen from the table the PCS value can be determined either from the reflectance values of the minimum edge contrast ECmin or the reflectance values of the symbol contrast SC The European standard EN 1635 meanwhile withdrawn suggested the variant PCS SC if using the PCS The later international standard ISO IEC 15416 specifies only that it must be stated where the PCS is determined if this is being used The PCS values are specified as follows PCS SC 0 98 min 0 62 Light 84 min 32 Dark 1 max 26 The number values in the left column are the measurement values The number values in the right column are the maximum or minimum permitted values For the PCS value
112. ings as e g check digit errors quiet zone errors errors in the code height or code positioning Checking of the code height and code positioning can only be carried out by means of a manual visual check Check digit errors occur due to incorrect entries or transmission which must then be corrected accordingly Check digit errors can also occur if the barcode demonstrates very large metric deviations which lead to faulty decoding and thus to incorrect character sequences Quiet zone errors occur frequently The quiet zone specifications of the relevant symbology standard must be observed It should also be noted in the case of quiet zones that the specifications always only define the minimum dimension of the quiet zone Every printing process and possible further finishing process folds weld seams etc has certain tolerances These tolerances must be observed if applicable to the quiet zone area and the quiet zone should always have the minimum width plus these tolerances It should also be noted that the quiet zone width depends on the code size Size errors are normally errors in the definition incorrect size specified or specification error such as code sizes smaller than 80 or larger than 200 in the case of the EAN code Metric errors are bars spaces and bar positions that do not comply with the specifications A primary cause is the print gains caused by the specific printing process Print gains are compensated for on the film mas
113. irs If Cross is activated yellow crosshairs are also displayed on the monitor which can be used to view every point on the x and y axis in order to examine a profile in detail The measurement values at the position of the cross are displayed with the reflectance profile at the top right of the CEN evaluation window WIES um x 3065 pm y 93 ESSEC REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 46 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The value dx shows a relative length in uim microns For this purpose any position in the reflectance profile is marked by clicking with the mouse If the mouse is then moved dx shows the distance in relation to this selected position In all cases only the horizontal x axis distance is taken into account differences in height are in this view the reflectance values The value x always shows the absolute position of the cross in relation to the beginning of the left quiet zone Here too only the x axis distance is taken into account The value y shows the reflectance value measured at the relevant cross position in the vertical or y axis Individual measurements can be carried out with the crosshairs and the display of the measurement values at the relevant position of the crosshairs 4 8 6 2 Graphic display of contrast values As an aid the graphic displays the value of the minimum edge contrast
114. isierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Error messages on serial communication 211 Communication interference please check connection or start measurement from PC spacebar 20 Incorrect block 52 Interruption detected 53 Clear to Send time out 54 Parallel device not selected 55 Data set ready time out 56 Hardware framing error detected 57 Therequested mode is not supported or nCid not valid 58 Character lost 59 DCB 60 Aparity error was detected 61 The transmit queue is full 227 Loading second dynamic reflect block 228 Waiting for second dynamic reflect block These error messages refer to the serial communication between the PC and the REA PC Scan laser device If there is a problem here this may be due to one of the following causes e The plug connections are not fitted correctly loose Check all plugs and connections for proper fitting e There is an error in the REA PC Scan laser device communication components This requires a repair e The connecting cable is broken or has a loose contact The cable must be replaced e There is a fault with the serial port of the PC Another port or another PC should be tested If this proves unsuccessful it can be assumed that the PC is working correctly and the fault must lie elsewhere e Other software is accessing the port and interfering with the communication This sometimes occurs with PC remote control software Thi
115. isplay incorrect barcode sizes 2 The barcode must lie flat under the device If not the contrast results will vary This is particularly critical in the case of metallic or glossy materials 3 The distance from the barcode must always remain the same The ideal distance is achieved when the REA PC Scan stands on a perfectly flat surface The REA PC Scan has a tolerance range of 6 mm for this distance 4 Measurements in direct sunlight or with heavy shadow in the measurement area must be avoided since this will falsity the measurements 5 Ifthere is more than one code in the scanning area the first code from the left will always be recognised and measured It may therefore be necessary to cover codes in order to measure the required code 6 The laser device must not be allowed to fall or be exposed to severe shocks or impact This may lead to damage to the gears that drive the carriage In the event of such damage the smooth movement of the carriage will be blocked or the movement may stick at certain points of the measurement path Measurements of barcodes printed on thin plastic film may in unfavourable cases produce varying results Firstly it must be ensured that the film lies perfectly flat under the device If measurements are being performed on such things as finished crisps packets the user must try to maintain the ideal condition of perfectly flat as far as possible Since this is very difficult REA Elektronik GmbH recomm
116. itions REA Elektronik cannot accept any liability for any indirect subsidiary or consequential damages including damages resulting in loss of profit or production delivery delays material losses increased operating or business costs etc Customer service following end of the guarantee period For this service please contact REA Elektronik or the representative responsible for your area Subject to technical amendment REA Elektronik GmbH e D 64367 M hltal Waschenbach REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 132 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation Elektronische Ger te und Systeme 12 Index BWI 113 BWR 113 Contrast error 95 96 Laser device calibration fields 92 Metric error 95 Minimum quiet zone width 94 PDF 43 PDF Writers 43 Print gains 113 Print prepress stage 111 Quiet Zone 94 Ratio 94 Round shaped bodies adapter 27 Second check digit 94 Size error 95 Test equipment monitoring 19 Untercharacter gap 95 Z module 95 RE Elektronik GmbH REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 133 of 133
117. ld not be used on the barcode The REA ScanCheck II does not have the required measurement accuracy for measurement of film masters The REA PC Scan should be used for this application 7 2 1 6 1 Quality improvements for film masters In contrast to printed codes the quality requirements on film masters are defined differently Printed codes are assessed according to the so called CEN method to ISO IEC 15416 and the so called traditional method in the case of the EAN code to ISO IEC 15420 Requirements on film masters are specified in the standard ISO IEC 15421 This standard defines very low metric deviations A verification device must therefore have correspondingly high measurement accuracy The assessment of a film master using the criteria for printed codes is not feasible The contrast results are not comparable because the target material and the film master material are not comparable Metric results are misleading because in the film master corrections for the print gain are taken into account Film masters may demonstrate the following errors Metric errors Size errors Systematic errors Content errors REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 112 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Content errors occur for example in an incorrect coding appears in the code due to typing errors or transmission errors Systematic errors include such th
118. length The ladder formation has the advantage that the barcode can still be used if one dot in the printing head is defective Screen scanners can however have problems with this because the barcode is divided into two halves In order to improve the quality in this case the speed should be reduced and the temperature set very accurately The pressure exerted by the print head on the label and ribbon can be adjusted This affects the Defects parameter 8 2 1 4 Laser printers Contrast Laser printers create problems if there is only little toner left or if the drum needs to be changed Metrics The black bars are produced by small toner particles of irregular size These toner particles have in geometric terms a very irregular shape When printing barcodes this leads to blurred edges If this problem occurs it can only be remedied by using a printer with higher resolution or an optimised size setting of the barcode taking into account the printer resolution Irregularities will thus cause fewer problems In case of laser printing under Windows it can often be observed that the software and printer combination is not actually able to make full use of the available printer resolution This leads to a much poorer print quality than the nominal resolution of the printer would indicate In this Windows combination barcodes are normally created as graphics and then printed as bitmap images The graphics are then adapted to the printer resolution
119. length This error message can appear in the case of the 2 5 Freight post code The two permitted codes have either 14 or 12 digits Any other code length produces this error message 351 Check digit incorrect Code content gives check digit 10 This error message can only appear in the case of the PZN code Certain number sequences can produce the check digit 10 These number sequences are not permitted 360 __No check digit verification Some symbologies can use a check digit The use of the check digit is not compulsory Code 39 2 51 and Codabar etc In the symbology selection see section 4 8 3 2 1 the check digit verification can be activated or deactivated for these symbologies If the check digit verification is deactivated this note will appear on the printed report 361 Second check digit not verified This note is identical to the previous error message No check digit verification with regard to the second check digit A second check digit can be verified in the case of the MSI Code setting see section 4 8 3 2 1 There is also a second check digit in the case of the EAN 13 Instore code see section 4 8 3 2 2 The EAN 128 code can also have additional check digits in data fields These check digits are also verified in the course of the EAN 128 data structure checking see also error message 241 389 Distance FF Symbol Target gt 55000 Actual This error message can only appear with the Code 2 5 Siemens Track 2 The
120. les except for the stop character which will later give one or in subset C two decoded characters The average value is an average value of all bar deviations The values from the 17 line of the table Traditional detailed evaluation are added together and divided by the number of bars Size information Code 128 and UPU Z module 385 CPI 6 0 The specification of the Z module is in micrometers um identical to the EAN code described above Since there is no further size definition for Code 128 the character density is also specified in CPI Characters Per Inch Size information EAN 128 Z module 385 MF 0 385 EAN 128 uses an MF Magnification Factor as the size specification This is specified in the GS1 General Specifications The magnification factor is in fact not an enlargement factor but merely the Z module in millimetres The term MF was chosen with reference to the magnification factor of the EAN UPC code If used as Magnification factor then the Magnification factor relates to size 1 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 71 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Table Traditional detailed evaluation The description of the table Traditional detailed evaluation is given using the example of a Code 128 using subset B Each character is assigned 3 lines The first line contains the deviations of the 3 bars of the char
121. line S S S S S The average value is the average value of all bar deviations determined from the table Traditional detailed evaluation Size information 2 5 Interleaved Z module 1013 Ratio 2 50 1 GER ES The Z module and the CPI value have the same meaning as for EAN UPC and Code 128 Ratio means the ratio of the thick bars to the thin bars The ratio value is only used for barcode symbologies made up of two bar widths Table Traditional detailed evaluation B B B B B Principal view 1 line of a line pair bars S S S S S Principal view 2 line of a line pair spaces 41 30 31 34 start character bars and spaces alternately 33 33 35 27 18 first number bars only 33 27 29 30 23 spaces interleaved in first number 34 30 29 32 33 third number bars only 36 35 26 33 41 spaces interleaved in third number 27 32 33 32 31 fifth number bars only 36 34 33 35 30 spaces interleaved in fifth number 34 41 40 Stop character 2 bars with intermediate space gt oo u cte REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 77 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 5 2 2 3 2 ITF 14 ITF 14 is in principal identical to the 2 5 Interleaved code ITF 14 has some additional restricting specifications which can be found in the ITF 14 description given in the GS 1 General Specifications Apart from the ex
122. ly be made in 10 um steps If film masters are to be measured with the REA PC Scan it should be taken into account that the PC Scan also measures film masters using a reflective method This method requires a light coloured substrate for the film The substrate used should always be a material such as a very smooth matt white photographic paper to avoid that this substrate does cause any falsification of the measurement results The remaining inaccuracies is compensated by film calibration on the selected substrate REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 114 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 8 Interpretation of verification results 8 1 General This chapter is intended as an aid for the interpretation of verification results Because of the many different printing processes used this description can only be a guideline which may not be correct and complete in every case The sequence of the parameters is divided into metric results and contrast results instead of by the evaluation types CEN ANSI and traditional In order to obtain more detailed information a bibliography is provided in the following chapter 9 8 2 Contrast and metric results Contrast REA barcode verification devices have different parameters for contrast evaluation In the traditional evaluation the bar and space reflectance is measured The PCS Print Contrast Signal is
123. ment see section 4 8 7 1 10 2 Display of the ISO IEC 15416 X3 183 ANSI UCC5 table The results of all individual measurements are shown in this table following a multiple measurement see section 4 8 7 2 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 57 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 5 Verification report layout This chapter describes the verification report layout on the screen and the printed report The chapter gives no detailed description or explanation of the meaning or background of the verification criteria The aim of the chapter is to enable the assignment and sub division of the test criteria The detailed explanation of the verification method is given in chapter 7 5 1 Results display on the monitor Following a measurement the screen display looks as shown in the following illustration Aportwe Gil D 150mm sam Dimension Micromet Di Scan Code Ome Det Guphe Optone Window Ba e m e a EAN 13 4000654123454 Decode Edge contrast Gymbot contact Modulation Rewndiimax Defect Decodaditity Selected Grade 3 Bar width deviation 4 ose 4 20 4 BI 4 1 4 SHS 82 Qverall Profile Grade DA 180 hath EVACUATION ARE n x xn pret X MT ii Wa ill Bull TRADITIONAL EVALUATION Symbol Pass PCB SC Bug mn Sp Bar 3 wW max M p 7 Madula D 14 4129 06 2005 Background 8 min 2 Bwalue em 48 p See UC OH Bar refie
124. mit for lighter bars The setting capability of the PCS value allows modification of the requirements based on the application as far as darkness of the bar colour is concerned As result the requirement to bar darkening can be assessed in three steps 1 PCS EC min highest requirement to bar darkening 2 PCS SC medium requirement to bar darkening 3 PCS off lowest requirement to bar darkening assessed by Rmin Rmax only 7 2 1 2 Metric results of the traditional evaluation Metric results or measurements are measurements of the bar widths space widths or combinations of bars and spaces The absolute widths of these elements is only assessed as size measurement see Size measurements below Here only the deviations from the nominal target dimension are assessed to be able to see how much of the permitted tolerance is used up The REA ScanCheck II takes this further to calculate percentage deviations with respect to the permitted tolerance while the REA PC Scan shown absolute deviation values together with the absolute allowed tolerance in microns um Example A bar width is measured as 0 33 mm The nominal width of the bar is 0 34 mm The permissible tolerance is 0 1 mm The deviation between the measured bar width and nominal bar width is 0 01 mm The deviation 0 01 mm in relation to the permitted tolerance of 0 1 mm gives a relative deviation of 10 96 This 10 96 is shown on the verification report of the REA ScanCheck Il
125. module X size or simply X A module defines the ideal width of an element of a barcode Narrow bars or spaces are normally one module in width ideal case The other widths are determined from the module width and the ratio 2 bar width codes In the case of codes with several bar widths the other bar and space widths are determined simply by multiplying the module width by 2 3 or 4 There is also the definition of the term Z module The X module is by definition a size specified by the printer design or the print preparation The Z module is determined from the finished barcode as a measured size The REA ScanCheck II only specifies the Z module indirectly by means of the size information see section 7 2 1 3 If the absolute measurement in microns of the Z module dimension is required the REA PC Scan can be used for this purpose The advantage of the module width lies in the relative size information All ratios can be established by specifying the module information Only during application must the module width of for example 0 25 mm or 0 5 mm be specified If a quiet zone must be 10 modules in width this gives in this example either 2 5 or 5 mm as the actual necessary dimension 7 2 1 6 Print prepress stage The design is normally created in the print prepress stage This design is applied directly to the print platen in the digital printing process or otherwise indirectly by means of a film master In order to minimise errors duri
126. must follow the MS DOS Windows 3 11 convention with 8 characters and 3 character extension see also Icon 2 The measurement data saving can be configured so that the data are saved as text or as a table CSV see section 4 8 7 16 and 4 8 7 17 If reports shall be read by several users or if reports are to be sent by email the use of a program for creating PDF files is recommended Such programmes appear as printers and in this case a report is created by means of the print function Open measurement A saved measurement will be loaded again see also Icon 1 Traditional detail evaluation The window with traditional detail evaluation will be displayed see also Icon 6 Error The window with error messages will be displayed This function is only available if an error message has been generated see also Icon 8 Close The PC Scan program will be closed REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 30 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 8 2 Measure This menu item includes two sub items Measure initiates the actual measurement process The measurement process can also be started by pressing the spacebar on the keyboard or the Scan button on the laser device The description of the second item PCS is in the next chapter 4 8 2 1 PCS Static reflectance measurement The sub item PCS measurement initiates a static reflectance measurement
127. n this will result in unexpectedly large deviations If the accuracy of the processing is to be checked for an EAN code this can be done as follows The initial setting for all stages is assumed to be 2540 dpi This gives dot sizes of 10 um because 1 inch 2 25 4 mm and 25 4 mm divided by 2540 gives 10 um In EAN codes the characters 1 2 7 and 8 may not be used A permissible sequence is for example 3034569034555 including check digit The code can be set in module widths with whole number multiples of 10 um Starting from size 1 with a module width of 0 33 mm sizes from 80 96 to 200 are allowed This gives a permitted range for the module width from 0 264 mm to 0 66 mm The resolution 2540 dpi in 10 um steps allows the following module widths 0 27 0 28 0 29 0 30 0 66 mm Converted into the percentage EAN code size this gives jumps of approx 3 in size If the characters 1 2 7 and 8 are also to be used it should be noted that for these characters a bar width change of 1 13 of the module width must be applied Assuming that at 2540 dpi 1 13 of the module width will result in 10 20 30 um the code sizes will be calculated according to the following table 1 13 module Module width Magnification factor 39 4 96 78 8 eo 780 23649 to large If these code sizes are set the film masters should be of almost perfect quality At the resolution assumed here any bar width reductions should also on
128. narrow spaces a proportion of the light is reflected by the packaging contents onto the rear of the neighbouring bars This light is lost and the contrast for narrow spaces significantly reduced The parameter edge contrasts and consequently the modulation are reduced This can be improved by increasing the density of the background colour Another possibility is a larger code or a defined bar width reduction in order to make the narrow spaces wider If this same film is used for a product with black green or blue packaging contents the symbol contrast SC will be significantly reduced This also applies in the case of an empty area behind the barcode Empty areas appear black since they reflect no light In this case only a background colour with increased density will help to achieve a quality improvement This background colour often has to be printed 2 3 times It is very difficult to achieve grade 3 with this material type Metal coated films demonstrate similar effects to labels with a metallic surface REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 124 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 8 7 3 Cans This material appears to the verification device and the scanner similar to metal coated films or paper labels If the barcode is printed in the picket fence formation the round shape of the can often causes metric problems distortion over the rounded
129. ng for the required number of measurements of a multiple measurement Actual is the number of scanning attempts required to achieve four measurements that can be decoded and therefore assessed N D not decoded shows the number of failed attempts in which the barcode could not be decoded Normally N D should be zero If this is not the case then this information allows a better assessment of the code quality Example Grade 1 is achieved in two different measurements In the first case 9 attempts were necessary N D 5 in order to obtain 4 decoded and assessed measurements In the second case 5 attempts were required N D 1 in order to obtain 4 decoded and assessed measurements Despite of an identical assessment the second case indicates a better quality than the first case The REA PC Scan displays the information directly in clear text The preset grade can be seen directly on the screen and can also be changed On the printout the preset grade will be shown in the line Selected grade REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 104 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 7 1 11 Selected grade The selected grade is a pre setting The scan reflectance profile grade or the overall symbol grade is compared with this initial setting If the initial setting is achieved or exceeded then the result is in order If the selected grade is not achieve
130. ng the print prepress stage particularly high accuracy requirements are placed on the barcode at this stage Bar width deviations of max 5 um are allowed on a film master The film is not assessed according to the process of the CEN or ANSI evaluation since contrast evaluation makes no sense at this point REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 111 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH In order to show the size ratios the following table shows various resolutions using the example of an EAN code Resolution of film or graphic Dots at 100 SC2 300 dpi 4 102 6 96 177 128 600 dpi 8 102 6 90 115 1200 dpi 21 2um 16 102 6 96 109 2540 dpi 10 um 133 100 197 103 In order to produce bars and spaces without width interpolations only whole number multiples of the dot size are allowed A further difficulty is the fact that a reduction or bar width increase is carried out for the characters 1 2 7 8 by 1 13 of a module applies only for EAN UPC codes With 100 size 1 13 of a module is 25 4 um With a resolution of 2540 dpi this dimension can no longer be displayed Either 20 um or 30 um can be used If reduction is carried out in this way the film is already almost at the limit of the permissible tolerance The highest possible resolution should therefore be used All interpolations edge rounding processes or similar shou
131. nship to the symbol contrast see section 7 1 5 and 7 1 8 should be seen from the point of view that the symbol contrast is used to assess the useful information and the defects represents the noise A minimum distance between the two is required in order to be able to decode efficiently Too large defects can in the extreme case be interpreted as additional bars or additional spaces This leads to destruction of the code structure and produces incorrect decoding or prevents decoding completely The measured defect values depend on the size of the aperture Assuming a geometrically identical defect the measurement value appears greater with a small aperture than if measured with a large aperture The reason for this is the area covered by the aperture light spot size and the ratio within this area between the defect and the surrounding black or white areas The reaction of a scanner to defects depends on the one hand on the type of the defects and on the other on the scanner design The scanner aperture of a laser scanner depends on the scanning distance At larger distances the defects are no longer seen Apart from the aperture size defects are also influenced by the following printing errors or substrate properties White or light marks or lines in the bars voids The causes for this depend on the relevant printing process In thermal transfer label printing vertical or horizontal lines can be caused by a dirty print head or broken elem
132. nsity REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 125 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme 9 GmbH Standards and literature on barcode verification devices Symbology specifications Principles of the traditional evaluation ISO IEC 15420 Information Technology Automatic Identification and data capture techniques Barcode Symbology Specification EAN UPC ISO IEC 15417 Information Technology Automatic Identification and data capture techniques Barcode Symbology Specification Code 128 ISO IEC 16388 Information Technology Automatic Identification and data capture techniques Barcode Symbology Specification Code 39 ISO IEC 16390 Information Technology Automatic Identification and data capture techniques Barcode Symbology Specification Interleaved 2 of 5 The following older standards are being replaced by ISO IEC standards EN 797 Barcoding Symbology specifications EAN UPC EN 798 Barcoding Symbology specifications CODABAR EN 799 Barcoding Symbology specifications Code 128 EN 800 Barcoding Symbology specifications Code 39 EN 801 Barcoding Symbology specifications Interleaved 2 of 5 ANSI AIM BC2 1995 Uniform Symbology Specification Interleaved 2 Of 5 ANSI AIM BC3 1995 Uniform Symbology Specification Codabar ANSI AIM BC1 1995 Uniform Symbology Specification Code 39 ANSI AIM BC4 1995 Uni
133. nterface cable COM ERROR x No Laserdevice Found Select another port or check interface cable In this case the cabling must be checked and the REA PC Scan laser device checked to make sure it is switched on In the simplest case the incorrect port has been selected in the initial setting The selection of the port is made in the menu Options Serial port Serial port x Status Device COM2 already busy Port Com1 Com2 Com3 Com4 Four ports are available for selection COM3 and COM4 are normally only available if an extension card has been installed or if a converter cable from USB to serial has been installed If the communication between the device and the PC fails to function the following points must be checked e Cabling Is the cable correctly connected to the device and the PC The cabling must be connected as described in section 3 2 e Port occupied Is Can t open COMx displayed If this is the case the selected port cannot be used Either the program using the port must be closed or another port must be selected e Hardware faults Hardware faults can include a break in the cable or the port components in the PC or device may be defective In such a case test the system on another PC If none of the problems described above apply such a fault may be present and the device must be repaired Nowadays PC s and especially notebooks without serial ports are produced with USB p
134. objects from about 15 mm If such small tubular objects are placed against the left or right edge the required attachment of the test object is no longer possible ATTENTION The barcode to be measured must never lie in the area of the tongue circled in red 4 6 Function buttons on the laser device All necessary basic functions can be carried out with the buttons ON E Turns the laser device on or off Scan Initiate the measurement Store Store a measurement Print Print the evaluation report POS Positioning of the laser beam REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 28 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 6 1 Operation of the PC Scan with the laser device After switching on the laser device with the ON button on the reader head the standard functions necessary for the measurement of barcodes can be carried out using the buttons on the reader head The same functions can also be started from the PC 4 6 2 Scan button Barcode measurement The measuring process is initiated by pressing the Scan button The carriage with the laser moves from the left to the right over the barcode symbol to be verified and then moves back to its rest position The first decodable barcode in the measuring path will be measured and the measuring results displayed on the monitor During a measuring process the red LED above the Scan button is illuminate
135. od print quality In the event of contrast problems these are usually caused by an incorrectly set printer or by an unsuitable combination of labels and ribbon e g paper label and resin ribbon The contrast is influenced by the heat energy the printing speed and the pressure If no adequate improvement can be obtained by changing the printer settings then changing the labels the ribbon or ultimately even the printer itself must be considered 8 2 1 3 The metric aspect of thermal direct and thermal transfer printing These printer types use a thermal printing head Every dot is represented by a heating element These elements are square in shape ad arranged next to each other in a line This enables the printing of very sharp edges Metric problems can be caused by too high heating temperature Since more ink is supplied the bars become wider The temperature setting should be reduced keeping in mind the defect value A printout which shows many defects may be caused by an unsuitable combination of labels and ribbon It may also be that the printing speed is too high If a speed reduction provides no improvement a different label ribbon combination should be tested The barcode can be printed in a picket fence horizontal or ladder vertical formation The ladder formation is more difficult to set since the smearing effect caused by the too slow cooling of the heating elements increases the bar width and not the non critical bar
136. omation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 299 Not enough bars An insufficient number of bars were found in the scanned reflectance profile in order to be able to identify a barcode symbology This error can occur with barcodes which are incomplete e g printed beyond the edge of the label 214 _ Multiple measurement Symbology changed 359 Multiple measurement Symbology and code content changed The REA PC Scan distinguishes between an individual measurement and a multiple measurement see section 4 8 7 1 In case of a multiple measurement it is assumed that a barcode will be measured at different points If the code is changed before completion of a multiple measurement and a Code 39 used instead of an EAN code this error message will appear If the symbology is retained but another symbol with a different content is used the REA PC Scan will recognise the different code contents If several identical barcodes are present the REA PC Scan cannot recognise whether the same barcode or other barcodes have been measured Barcodes with a very poor print quality or those printed on unsuitable carrier materials e g brown corrugated paper may be decoded incorrectly In this case this error message will also appear 377 Error Quality factor calculation not possible The quality factor is an outdated quality assessment which weights metric and contrast results according to a certain formula In some cases the qualit
137. ompletion signal will sound In order to increase the measurement speed this sub menu offers the facility of switching off the display of the reflectance profile for the individual measurements In order to do this the tick against the option Display reflectance profile must be removed by clicking with the mouse Irrespective of this the reflectance profile of the last measurement will always be displayed together with the average values If the reflectance profile of an individual measurement is still to be displayed this can be done immediately after the display of the measurement results with the aid of pictogram 7 In the traditional evaluation the calculated average values of the individual parameters are also displayed after the last measurement The traditional evaluation is not specified for the use of the multiple measurement This represents no problem in the case of number values Plausible average values can be determined without any problem In the case of errors which are present or not such as quiet zone errors size errors ratio errors or check digit errors any of these errors in a measurement basically leads to the traditional evaluation result error or failure in the final result of a multiple measurement REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 48 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH O TRADITIONAL EVALUATION Symbol Pass PCS SC
138. on A bars B bars spaces B A B A B e Explanation 4 1 4 Start character 2 bars one space 1 0 1 4 1 4 1 effective character left half of code 2 0 4 4 1 4 8 6 11 4 3 6 3 1 9 4 5 6 7 0 6 4 6 4 9 14 D 8 4 4 4 1 Separating character 1 4 4 9 4 1 effective character right half of code 2 7 d 4 2 3 7 1 4 6 4 0 8 4 0 5 4 1 6 3 4 4 Si A 6 e 4 5 9 Stop character If the main code is supplemented by a 2 digit add on the following table also appears e 22 43 73 left edge character 1 3 8 60 1 1 effective character 1 e 3 79 Separating character 0 25 1 17 20 2 effective character 0 The composition of a 5 digit add on is in principal identical to the 2 digit add on The content is simply increased to 5 effective characters with the intervening separating characters 1 The first B value is in the start character and consists of the space in the start character and the following bar 2 The second B value is the second space together with the following neighboured bar The code illustrated starts with a 4 the 13 character this 4 does not appear as a character in the detailed evaluation since it is a supplementary character produced by a subset change in the left half of the code The reason for this is compatibility with the American UPC A symbol 12 characters with a 13 character 0 s
139. or Calculated grade the average of all calculated grades If one or more individual measurements within a multiple measurement are Not decodable this measurement will also be counted In this case however 10 10 will not be displayed on completion of the multiple measurement but for example 8 10 or 9 10 In such a case these figures will be shown on the monitor in red and highlighted on the report by being underlined If no further measurements are to be carried out after Not decodable has been displayed the multiple measurement can be deleted in the Multiple measurement menu After clicking OK the counting begins again from 1 Before clicking OK however the number of measurements can be changed if required If the measurement program has been selected in the symbology selection multiple measurement makes no sense and therefore cannot be selected ATTENTION If a multiple measurement has been started but not yet completed several setting possibilities will not be available As soon as the multiple measurement has been completed these settings can again be changed 4 8 7 2 Multiple measurement Individual measurements in table form By clicking pictogram 10 a table with all individual values of the individual measurements and calculated grades will be shown on the monitor Clicking again will restore the old monitor view The menu item Options CEN ANSI Table is identical in function to pictogram 10 REA Elektronik
140. ormation which has no effect on the measurement result and is therefore given for information purposes only 6 Metric figures with extreme values and average value The information in this block depends on the barcode symbology see section 7 2 1 2 7 Size specification of the barcode The Z module measured module width corresponds to the ideal width of a narrow bar is always given The other information depends on the barcode symbology see section 7 2 1 3 Sipe por co REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 65 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The histogram shows individual bar deviations as vertical lines The individual vertical lines are allocated to the individual characters of a barcode symbol Vertical lines downward show that the bars are thinner than the nominal width Vertical lines upward show that the bars are thicker than the nominal width The traditional tolerance of the bar widths has been exceeded if the vertical lines project beyond the upper or lower dotted lines The bars have almost the ideal width if no vertical lines can be seen 012345 678900 5 2 2 Explanations on the traditional detailed evaluation This section shows for each barcode symbology the part of the report containing the specific code type information This chapter is only an explanation of which values can be found where In section 7 2 1 4 the measu
141. orts instead In such a case the simplest solution is a converter cable from USB to serial in order to connect and operate the REA PC Scan with such a PC These cables are available from your specialist computer dealer REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 14 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 3 4 Basic calibration ATTENTION This is a basic setting which only needs to be done or checked once after installing the device or after a repair If the settings are wrong incorrect contrast values will be displayed The white and black calibration for the corresponding laser device is made in the menu Options Calibration On the back of the laser device is a label which shows the two values for White Wei and Black Schwarz Fer Kalibrerung wen Hx Strahidmergene H Schwer dn REA Biektronik GmbH Nuhital a non 4 Lawerspezitka DIN N 2025 1 These values must be entered under Light and Dark Light x Dark x These values must only be changed if another laser device with other calibration values is connected to the PC In case of maintenance or repair these values will be checked and possibly corrected and must then be checked again after re commissioning No calibration by the user is required The REA PC Scan must be checked regularly in accordance with the instructions on the enclosed shee
142. ot be decoded by the REA barcode verification devices this means that the metric and or contrast values must be far outside the specification Another possibility is an invalid code which may have been caused by missing dots or errors in the print prepress stage The colour combination including background influences should in this case be checked The metric arrangement should then also be checked If this is in order it should be checked whether too many defects are present or whether screen dots have been printed in the spaces A character set table is helpful in this case to check whether any bars are missing REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 123 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH In the option Measurement program the REA PC Scan offers an efficient option or the analysis of undecodable barcodes This option is however not available for the REA Check 3 and the REA ScanCheck Il Uneven substrate surfaces often lead to undecodable codes because the uneven areas do not reflect the light of the verification device smoothly and diffusely but in a directional beam From the scanner s view this creates additional bars and spaces which alter the code structure 8 7 Materials with special features The following chapter will give some help if the substrate material itself is the reason for a quality problem 8 7 1 Labels containing metal Th
143. ous variable limit The assessment depends essentially on the bar reflectance while the symbol contrast and edge contrast for example assess the difference in the reflectance values and not so much the individual absolute reflectance value The type of the assessment is almost identical to the PCS value in the traditional evaluation see section 7 2 1 1 Only the limit values of the PCS value place higher requirements and the value becomes worse with smaller figures which is the reverse with Rmin Example Rmin is 40 96 Rmax is 60 96 Rmin Rmax produces 66 6 Grade 0 at a symbol contrast of 20 Grade 1 If Rmin is changed to 1 and Rmax to 21 96 the symbol contrast remains at 20 96 Grade 1 Rmin Rmax changes significantly to 4 8 96 and is now assessed as Grade 4 The aim of this parameter is to obtain bars which are as dark as possible A barcode scanner usually has fewer problems in reading a barcode with very black bars 1 96 and not such a light background 41 96 as a barcode with light bars 40 96 and a very light background 80 7 1 8 Defects This parameter specifies irregularieties found within bars spaces and light margins This refers to light marks in the dark bars voids or dark marks in the quiet zones or spaces spots The defects are calculated as the ratio of the absolute measured defect ERNmax to the symbol contrast SC Basically every barcode contains many minor defects e g surface roughness The l
144. r can be created for each verification report with the aid of a special program The program monitors the CSV file As soon as the last allocated order number appears in the CSV file the program knows that a new measurement has been performed The program then writes a new order number into the ORDER TXT file which is read in by the REA PC Scan program on initiating the next measurement and then added to the report The program for the automatic processing of the order number is not included with REA PC Scan This must be created on request and according to the individual EDP environment REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 42 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 8 5 Print This menu item includes the sub items Print Setup printer and Print options Print is only required for initiating report printing in case of operation via the keyboard or with the mouse If using a mouse the report printout can also be initiated by clicking the printer symbol see section 4 8 9 The report printout can also be initiated by pressing the print button on the REA PC Scan laser device 4 8 5 1 Setup printer Printer FinePrint pdfFactory an FPP1 Print Range C Selection C Pages Print Quality 600 dpi r li Copies Print to File f Collate Copies This menu displays the connected printer type and the sele
145. r this For analysis it is necessary to turn to the traditional evaluation results based on symbology standards Before attempting to optimise the printing process the master film should first be checked print prepress stage The resolution is particularly important A low resolution restricts the size selection severely see section 7 2 1 6 In all printing systems which use graphics for the transfer to the printer interpolation problems can cause difficulties Special attention should be paid to Windows PC and Windows printer drivers Graphics are often interpolated without any possible control by the user Barcode True type fonts do not recognise any of the printer characteristics This is the reason why Barcode true type fonts produce often unacceptable results 8 2 1 Thermal printing This printing process is used by many label printers Better models offer the facility of printing either thermal direct or thermal transfer labels Thermal printing in the form of thermal transfer or thermal direct printing works with a print head equipped with individual heating elements over the complete printing width Depending on the resolution the individual heating elements may be larger or smaller With these heating elements the image is formed directly onto the thermal sensitive labels or the ink is transferred thermally onto the label from a ribbon running between the print head and the label 8 2 1 1 Thermal direct contrast Thermal direct prin
146. r with the reflectance values for all elements found First an overview is displayed Overall length 99459 Number of bars 25 ectance 9 Maximum bar refl Minimum bar refl ectance 80 in line 2 in line 13 Figure in um converted 99 459 mm 25 bars were found The lightest bar The darkest space REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 89 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The lightest bar has a reflectance value of 9 and can be found in the 2 line of the table The darkest space has a reflectance value of 90 96 and can be found in the 13 line of the table No Bar Refl Space Refl 1 1274p 9 1131p 84 2 1278p 9 1144p 86 3 1265p 9 1141p 82 4 1282p 9 1007p 85 5 1255p 9 1164p 84 6 4082p 8 4086p 86 7 1285p 9 1002p 84 8 4088p 1145p 87 9 4079p 8 1153p 86 10 40931 71 39441 84 11 4098p 3971p 83 12 4075p 6 1025p 83 13 4095p 6 39521 80 14 1269p 8 1008p 85 15 1275p 71 858g 85 16 1275p 8 4085p 84 17 1287p 8 1004p 85 18 1277p 863p 83 19 1276p 8 3947p 85 20 4104p 3667p 81 21 1282p 882g 86 22 1278p 8641 84 23 1274p 7 1010p 81 24 1277p 71 1003p 82 25 1280p 8 If the layout of the barcode can be confirmed by a specification manual verification against existing specifications can be carried out wi
147. rement values are described in general without going into detail about the layout of the verification report All measurement values in the description are example figures which in reality may be impossible in this combination 5 2 2 1 EAN UPC code family This family supports the EAN 13 UPC A EAN 8 UPC E also with 2 or 5 digit add on and the instore versions These codes are used at point of sale for the automatic identification of the goods at the supermarket checkout In the case of the add ons the quiet zone between the main code and the add on is also measured The traditional detailed evaluation is explained here using the example of an EAN 13 code The EAN 13 code and the related symbologies are measured in A and B values The A value is a single bar The B value is a bar and the following space Specification of Symbology and code contents SYMBOLOGY EAN 13 CODE 4008654123454 Symbology is the code type or kind of barcode Code is the decoded contents of the measured barcode symbol REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 66 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Metric information with extreme values and average value Bars 11 14 max 101g B value 6 9 max 49g Average value 4 The two bar values are the extreme values of the bar deviation as determined from the table Traditional detailed evaluation
148. required REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 24 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 4 Measuring a film master In order to measure a film master the system must first be switched from printed codes to film or digital film This procedure is described in section 4 8 3 1 4 Before measurement can be started film calibration is necessary or more correctly calibration for the necessary white measurement substrate The description of film calibration can be found in section 4 8 3 1 5 After these preparations the measurement of the films can be started The films must be placed on the previously calibrated substrate and smoothed out In order to achieve the best possible measurement accuracy the film must lie as closely as possible on the substrate In order not to damage the films and help them to stick to the substrate by electrostatic charge the wearing of thin cotton gloves is recommended The films must not be contaminated by fingerprints When the films are smoothed out onto the substrate static electricity is built up which causes the film to stick to the substrate The REA PC Scan laser device is then placed on the film The laser must cross the bars at an angle of 90 The required bar width correction for the printing process must be set see section 4 8 3 1 4 As for printed barcodes the measurement is started by pressing the Scan button
149. rotective hood is recommended in dusty environments REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 128 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 10 1 Safety instructions Attention 1 The laser device must be used only in an upright position with the operating elements pointing upward 2 The REA PC Scan laser device may also be operated lying on its back provided that the baseplate is facing away from the user and the laser beam emitted upward cannot hit anybody Do not cover the power supply and the laser device Overheating danger Warning signs The following danger signs are to be found on the left side of the unit Laser warning sign Information label Laser radiation Do not look into the beam Laser Class 2 Laserstrahlung Nicht in den Strahl blicken Laser Klasse 2 Laser class 2 This laser class does not require any special protective measures Deliberate exposure of the eyes must however be avoided Laser units of Class 2 are low power units 1mW emitting visible radiation For up to 0 25 seconds of radiation these lasers can be considered harmless In case a laser beam of Class 2 hitting the eyes by accident eye protection is ensured by the eyelid closing reflex within less than 0 25 seconds and the aversion reaction As a direct safety requirement it is sufficient not to look deliberately into the beam
150. rovements for film masters 2 44444400444 EE enn 112 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 4 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 4 8 Interpretation of verification Fesulls e punc rer oreet Er Pet poet pes 115 8 1 General EE 115 8 2 Contrast and Rude 115 8 2 1 Thermal printiNg EE 116 8 2 1 1 Thermal direet ntrast an ala 116 8 2 1 2 Thermal transter contrast ert le ee ien Na pe E eg 117 8 2 1 3 The metric aspect of thermal direct and thermal transfer printing 117 8 2 1 4 laser ele PER 117 8 2 1 5 re te le Nei Kc 118 8 2 1 6 Ree E Mat i dl Lu e VEER 118 8 2 1 7 EE tn Sa een cue S un Denen 118 8 2 1 8 Relief printing letterpress flexo printing etc esses 119 8 2 1 9 Gravure DIDI EE 119 8 21 10 Screen Printing sh 119 So dva EINOJBTIAUNG Pa a cet oris Us Sii a a 120 8 3 B sec Eee Ee Ee 120 8 4 RE 122 8 5 Modulation II 122 8 6 ee ee Ee EE 123 8 7 Materials with special features es ENNEN trennen nnne 124 8 7 1 Een Tun le ul EE 124 8 7 2 ecc m 124 8 7 3 BASS dod d E etes And HN dad 125 8 7 4 Embossedmetal Ty asien 125 8 7 5 ei Eer 125 8 7 6 laici lere orm m 125 9 Standards and literature on barcode verification devices sess 126 10 Techniealdala rm 128 10 1 ec Instructions sneer eG eet Maat ET 12
151. s not needed for REA PC Scan The REA PC Scan software can be started from the desktop icon or via the start menu 3 2 Hardware installation Only a few steps are required for the hardware installation of the REA PC Scan First remove the laser device from the case The pressure plate must be attached to the underside of the REA PC Scan laser device using the hex head screws supplied REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 10 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH If barcodes on rounded surfaces are to be measured the round shaped body adapter is required The round shaped body adapter is a pressure plate made of aluminium with an integral prism The cable of the REA PC Scan is fitted with a 25 pin SUB D connector This male connector is fitted to the corresponding socket on the power supply unit of the REA PC Scan REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 11 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH X S Plug and socket connectors Connectors fitted together ATTENTION The connectors must not be fitted together when the power supply unit is connected to the power supply This may severely damage the circuits This leaves the power supply unit and a 9 pin plug The power supply unit can now be connected to the power supply REA Elektronik
152. s software must be configured so that it cannot access the port being used by the REA PC Scan No laser device found Please select another COM port and check cable Can t open COM x Both these error messages indicate configuration errors The description can be found in section 3 3 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 93 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 6 2 Error messages due to faulty barcodes 212 _ Decoding not possible code not activated A barcode symbology has been detected In the symbology selection see section 4 8 3 2 this code has been deactivated This may be a case of a poor quality barcode If this is the case the decoder of the REA PC Scan may be misled and apparently detect a barcode symbology which is not present If the barcode symbology identified is actually present this barcode symbology has been deactivated in the symbology selection Some symbologies are optional software option Optional Symbologies If the symbology in question is shown in grey in the symbology selection the optional symbologies are not available 238 Code invalid A faulty data structure has been detected in an EAN 128 code 239 Symbology incorrect An EAN 128 code has been selected but a Code 128 detected The Symbology or the setting must be corrected 240 Check digit incorrect The check digit defined by the specification or activated
153. s will be displayed The comparison is made by means of the MF Magnification Factor information see section 5 2 1 3 on the verification report Size error max 0 66 mm Retail Size error min 0 264 mm Retail The size range in the setting EAN for Retail see section 4 8 3 1 was exceeded 0 264 mm corresponds to 80 0 66 mm corresponds to 200 9 Size error max 0 66 mm General Distribution Size error min 0 495 mm General Distribution The size range in the setting EAN for General Distribution transport label was exceeded see section 4 8 3 1 0 495 mm corresponds to 150 96 0 66 mm corresponds to 200 95 Size error max 0 66 m On Demand Size error min 0 250 mm On Demand The size range in the setting EAN for instore labels see section 4 8 3 1 and 4 8 3 2 2 was exceeded 0 250 mm corresponds to 75 96 0 66 mm corresponds to 200 423 Z module too large The measured barcode was printed too large and must be reduced This error message can appear in the case of the Freight Post code or the MSI Code REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 96 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 6 3 Error messages on EAN 128 data structure These error messages refer exclusively to the EAN 128 data structure The data structure is specified by GS1 International 238 Code invalid The EAN 128 code contains a general error with regard to the data struct
154. scription This function is always helpful to verify whether the code content is correct without having to compare it number by number The following window appears for a set period of time Scanned article from PC S can Barcode 4008654123454 Symbology EANT3 Description Kalibreren und Testen oe Dates Offset in days Price Prod date from __ Packaging date from __ __ Best before from Used by from em ATTENTION This function can only be used when working with either Windows NT Windows 2000 or Windows XP The database connection does not work under Windows 95 98 and ME REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 54 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 4 8 7 15 Automatic measurement storing If this function is switched on the verification report will be stored immediately after taking the measurement The store process makes the operation of the STORE button on the REA PC Scan laser device superfluous Apart from that the function is identical to the STORE button The description of this function is given in section 4 6 5 4 8 7 16 Save as text file The data of a measurement is normally saved in an internal REA PC Scan format and not as a text file Reports saved in this internal format can only be opened with the REA PC Scan software The sub item Save as text file is run from
155. shown in the form of letters REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 64 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 5 2 1 3 Report section Traditional evaluation The traditional evaluation is divided into a general section the histogram and the Traditional detailed evaluation The general section shows the PCS value in two variants then follows an overview of the metric evaluation with the barcode size in the last line The metric evaluation size specification and traditional detailed evaluation depend on the barcode symbology measured TRADITIONAL EVALUATION Symbol Pass Measurement 5 5 PCS EC min 05 98 mett 04 5 Light value 65 min 32 Dark value 1 max 16 PCS SC 0 99 min 0 60 Light value 87 min 32 Dark value 1 max 34 Bars 16 41 104 u B value 10 8 50 u Average value 11 Z Module 339 Size 103 SC 2 Heading Traditional evaluation Result of the traditional evaluation result Symbol Pass or Fail Number of measurements for multiple measurement only PCS ECmin with basic reflectance values see section 7 2 1 1 PCS SC and PCS ECnin of one other measurement position see section 7 2 1 1 Both PCS variants can be switched off see section 4 8 3 1 3 If one PCS value or both are switched off this will be shown by means of square brackets PCS Square brackets denote inf
156. sively in clear text Specification of symbology and code contents SYMBOLOGY Pharma Code CODE 49 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 88 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation Elektronische Ger te und Systeme Metric information with extreme values Narrow bar wide bar Space 125 96 200 100u 278 103 1000 200u 9 99 1500 100yu The asymmetrical tolerances must be noted Size information R E Elektronik GmbH There is no size specification for the Pharma code since only defined bar and space widths can be used Target dimensions of the Pharma code Narrow bar Wide bar Space 0 5 mm 1 5 mm 1mm Target dimensions of the Mini Pharma code Narrow bar Wide bar Space 0 35 mm 1mm 0 65 mm Table Traditional detailed evaluation Wide bar Narrow bar Narrow bar Wide bar Narrow bar ml H NNE AN Space Space Space Space 24 34 5 2 2 11 Measurement program optional The measurement program is used for the measurement of symbologies for which there is no decoding routine available in the PC Scan or also for the verification of codes which are not decodable due to extremely poor printing No multiple measurement with average value calculation is possible with the measurement programme Following a measurement with the measurement programme the actual widths of all bars and spaces are displayed togethe
157. ss of the reflectance ratios of the code The closer the edge contrast and symbol contrast are to each other the higher is the evenness of the reflectance ratios of the barcode symbol It may happen that the modulation fails even though the edge contrast and the symbol contrast both lie within the specifications In such a case the difference between the edge contrast and symbol contrast is too large 4 gt 70 3 gt 60 2 gt 50 1 gt 40 0 lt 40 The modulation is influenced by metric errors too thick or too thin bars an incorrectly set aperture and by substrate properties transparency or opacity REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 101 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 7 1 7 Minimum reflectance Rmin The requirement on Rmin is that the reflectance Rmin of the darkest bar must be lower than half the maximum reflectance Rmax in the symbol The only possible results are Grade 4 Very good or Grade 0 Error The standard defines this as follows Grade 4 Rmin lt 0 5 Rmaxl Grade 0 Rmin gt 0 5 Rmax Whether a certain Rmin value meets the specification depends on the Rmax value With the REA verification devices the display has been changed by means of a simple formula conversion Grade 4 Rmin Rmax lt 0 5 Grade 0 Rmin Rmax gt 0 5 The advantage is the fixed limit of 50 0 5 compared to the previ
158. steme GmbH The REA PC Scan laser device must be placed in the case only as shown below Never transport or send the device without the case All guarantee claims are invalid if the device is sent without the case These transport instructions must be followed in order to prevent the carriage moving freely during transport If the carriage is free to move it will be prone to damage by violent movements In such a case the drive of the carriage gears and motor is almost invariably destroyed REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 18 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 3 6 Test equipment monitoring The REA PC Scan is always supplied with a test code on photographic paper This test code is affixed to a DIN A4 sheet The permissible tolerances of the device are also specified on this DIN A4 sheet The sheet also describes how the measurement results are related to national standards A verification report on the test code is also provided which has been produced from the enclosed test code by an REA PC Scan reference device REA The test code should be measured once per month and the results compared with the results on the reference report If the deviations become greater than the permissible tolerances this means the device requires maintenance In the simplest case it may only be necessary to clean the calibration fields as described in se
159. surement results regular test equipment monitoring is required as described in section 3 6 2 Equipment of the REA PC Scan The REA PC Scan is supplied with the following accessories packed in a case Laser device This is the measuring device A pressure plate 4 hex head screws with the corresponding allen key Power supply unit with data cable for connection to the PC Primary adapter EURO US or UK The primary adapter is attached to the power supply unit Operating instructions Test code on photographic paper with a verification report Equipment case with inlay for the REA PC Scan A CD ROM with the REA PC Scan evaluation program and the operating instructions in PDF format Options e The laser device is available in a version with a measurement length of 155 mm standard or 240 mm optional There are two different measurement wavelengths 670 nm standard or 635 nm optional Both must be defined at the time of ordering Any later change means that the device must be replaced REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 6 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH e Optional symbologies The optional symbologies are provided by another software version The version with optional symbologies also includes only one CD ROM although the contents are different e Film measurement Two calibration films are required for film measurement These are
160. t character bars 4 31 2 5 GAP 793 _ start character spaces and character space i 0 50 1 40 1 1 14 31 54 GAP 820 2 34 6 1 40 10 35 36 31 20 GAP 818 2 8 19 16 10 0 42 47 26 1 5 GAP 784 9 3 11 30 3 22 21 4 46 4 GAP 772 30 L5 5 31 3 29 42 5 26 As already known from some other codes bars and spaces carry information The combination of bars and spaces produces a character The bar deviations and space deviations are shown in two lines one below the other The line with the spaces values is ended by the character space which here too is the absolute width of the character space The other Code 39 variants differ in size and content specifications Code 32 has a special feature consisting of a different code table with code compression If deviations occur to these specifications an error message is generated The size information and the metric extreme values are given in the same way as for the 2 5 Interleaved code REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 83 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 5 2 2 6 Code 93 optional Code 93 is a further development of Code 39 with a much better character density Code 93 uses the same character set as Code 39 In terms of the code layout four bar widths Code 93 is similar to Code 128 Each character is assigned 3 lines The first line contains the deviations of the bars of the character from
161. t containing the test code If the measured values fall outside the tolerance the device must be repaired If the contrast values fall outside the tolerance the calibration fields should first be cleaned REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 15 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The calibration fields are located at the inner left of the device as shown in the illustration If the contrast values still lie outside the permissible tolerances after cleaning repair with works calibration is required Further instructions on calibration are given on the enclosed sheet containing the test code ATTENTION The calibration fields must be cleaned only with a damp cloth and washing up liquid The use of solvents will cause damage necessitating factory repair REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 16 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 3 5 Transport The REA PC Scan must only be transported in the case supplied Push the carriage to the left Never leave the carriage Remove the pressure plate in this position The carriage must also be held in place with the plastic clip provided Clip on device REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 17 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Sy
162. ter by a bar width reduction Abbreviation BWR In rare cases a bar width increase BWI Bar Width Increase may be necessary The machine specifications should specify the print gains The direction of the code picket fence or ladder also has an effect on the print gains The print gains are less in the case of picket fence orientated codes than for ladder orientated codes in relation to the printing direction When these values are known the BWR value is entered into the barcode design program in pixels or sometimes in uim or mil The film master verification device also receives this initial setting in order to obtain correct verification Faulty settings of the bar width correction can be seen from the very even bar width displacements Film exposure systems can demonstrate an offset of up to 20 um This offset can be corrected by means of a correspondingly adjusted bar width reduction If the end product consists of translucent materials such as film used for packaging a light coloured product the Modulation parameter can be influenced by the bar width reduction modulation is only advisable for printed codes This is done by a specific increase of the bar width reduction up to a maximum of a value which together with the bar width variations does not exceed the tolerance limit The reflectance properties are positively affected for the Modulation parameter Further metric faults may manifest themselves in the form of very irregular
163. test symbols The conformity is checked by means of these reference test symbols REA Elektronik GmbH D 64367 M hltal Waschenbach REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 130 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 10 3 Declaration of Conformity EG Konformit tserkl rung Declaration of conformity D claration de conformit Das Unternehmen The company La soci t REA Elektronik GmbH Teichwiesenstra e 1 D 64367 M hltal best tigt hiermit die Konformit t des Produkts herewith declares conformity of the product d clare que le produit Bezeichnung Designation D signation Typ Type Type REA PC Scan mit laser device REA Scan Il LD mit folgenden Bestimmungen with applicable regulations below est conforme aux dispositions suivantes valables en la mati re EG Richtlinien EG Directives Dir ctives CE EMC directive 89 336 EWG amended by 91 263 EWG 92 31 EWG 93 68 EWG Niederspannungsrichtlinie 73 23 EWG amended by 93 68 EWG harmonisierte norms harmonized standards Normes harmonis es EN 50081 1 1992 EN 55022 04 87 EN 50082 2 1995 EN 61010 1 1993 nat techn specifications national technical specifications sp cifications techniques nationales VDE 0839 Part 82 2 04 94 Name Name Nom Pauly Manfred Function Position Fonction Gesch ftsf hrer Managing Director Directeur
164. th the aid of this table REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 90 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 6 Error messages The error messages are divided into the following three sections in order to classify them into specific device error messages specific code error messages and specific error messages for code EAN 128 This is intended to facilitate fault finding and analysis The error messages listed in the following sections appear on the printed report as screen messages or as error messages in the error window which can be opened by means of the STOP icon The display of the measurement results shows whether a measurement lies within or outside the required specifications An additional error message is no longer required In the ISO IEC 15416 or ANSI X3 182 evaluation a failed result is shown by the result scan reflectance profile grade being displayed in red On the printed report this information is obtained from the comparison with the selected grade In the traditional evaluation either Symbol Pass or Symbol Fail is shown on the screen and on the printed report Errors in many individual parameters are displayed in red on the screen and underlined in the printed report The results Symbol Pass or Symbol Fail are also indicated by acoustic signals This is described in section 4 7 6 1 Specific device and function error messag
165. the ANSI X3 182 UCC5 evaluation comes under the icon bar In the case of a ISO IEC 15416 evaluation with an individual measurement the following view appears _ e Decode Edge contrast Symbol contrast Modulation Rmin Rmax Defect Decodability Selected Grade ra 4 65 4 80 4 81 4 1 4 5 4 92 4 Overall Profile Grade 4 A mn ISO 15416 EVALUATION In the case of an ANSI X3 182 UCC5 evaluation with an individual measurement the following view appears x i _ A Decode Edge contrast Symbol contrast Modulation Rmin Rmax Defect Decodability Selected Grade B A 65 A 80 A 81 A 1 A 5 A 92 A Overall Profile Grade A bad X3 182 ANSI UCC5 EVALUATION REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 59 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH In the case of a multiple measurement the display of a ISO IEC 15416 evaluation changes as follows soe a El sel EAN 13 4008654123454 Decode Edge contrast Symbol contrast Modulation Rmin Rmax Defect Decodability Selected Grade 3 4 4 0 4 0 4 0 4 0 4 0 4 0 Symbol Grade 4 00 A nm ISO 15416 EVALUATION In the case of a multiple measurement the display of an ANSI X3 182 UCC5 evaluation changes as follows re 83 D p amp 3 Ez EAN 13 4008654123454 Decode Edge contrast Symbol contrast Modulation Rmin Rmax Defect Decodability Selected
166. the case of the EAN UPC code family the relevant standard is ISO IEC15420 Further standards are given in the bibliography at the end of this document The traditional evaluation produces only the result PASS or Fail No further classification is possible Only the PCS value enables the result to be influenced by means of an initial setting see section 4 8 3 1 3 This restriction was a further reason for the development of the later CEN ANSI evaluation see section 7 1 Some standards state that the newer CEN ANSI method makes the previous traditional method superfluous This is correct to a certain extent if applied only to scanning applications The traditional evaluation is however still required for the printer or for the control of the printing process The use of the traditional method in isolation is not recommended REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 106 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH The international ISO IEC and European CEN standards differ slightly from the ANSI symbology standard in the definition of the ratio applies only for Codabar ANSI 2 5i and Code 39 ANSI specifies a ratio range of 1 2 5 to 1 3 0 if the module width is less than 0 508 mm If the module width is greater the range 1 2 to 1 3 applies for the ratio CEN and ISO make no distinction here and always allow the range 1 2 to 1 3 For this reason and depend
167. the scanner This parameter is not very conclusive as far as the producer of the bar code is concerned The traditional evaluation should be used for the assessment of the metric accuracy for print process control Calculation of Decodability includes only those dimensions used in the reference decode algorithm Thus no conclusions can be drawn with regard to corrective actions or the cause of the error Just the overall conclusion that there is a problem with the printing accuracy is possible Decodability is determined in relation to the barcode symbology The result is a percentage value which is classified as follows 4 gt 6296 3 gt 50 2 gt 37 1 gt 25 0 lt 25 The calculation rules for the decodability result in a non linear relationship between the measured deviations at the ideal size and the classification of the decodability It is therefore possible to still achieve good decodability values with relatively large printing inaccuracies and for even relatively small variations in the printing accuracy to lead to large changes in decodability A user is able to decide if a barcode with larger printing inaccuracies is still good enough for scanning For quality control of the printing process this conclusion risks that the code is passed as being printed accurate REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 103 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH
168. ting produces bars printed in a deep black The problem is however that these bars only appear as deep black to the human eye To the scanner they appear rather grey since the printed areas actually have a rather dark reddish brown tone In order to improve this the substrate can be changed since the reflectance value of the bars depends on the temperature sensitive chemicals in the paper A further possibility is that the characteristics of the thermal paper are unsuitable for the printer A paper with either higher or lower sensitivity or final colouring can be used instead Some papers with a very high thermal sensitivity become lighter again if too much heat energy is applied The print quality is also influenced by the paper type the type of thermal sensitive chemicals the printer type the printing speed the heat energy and the printing direction The temperature sensitive chemicals can be green blue or red as the basic colour Papers with green or blue temperature sensitive chemicals are more suitable than papers with reddish temperature sensitive chemicals due to the red light source used by barcode scanners and verifiers REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 116 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 8 2 1 2 Thermal transfer contrast In the case of a good match between labels and the ink ribbon thermal transfer printing can achieve a very go
169. tion Apart from the ratio specification no size information is given The thin bars must have a dimension of 1 5 mm and the wide bars 3 4 mm Ratio approx 2 27 1 If the code deviates from this ratio the information for bars and spaces is shown with the correspondingly large deviations Metric information with extreme values and average value Bar 193 55 max fIr mp Space 40 56 max 50 u Character 302 35 max 100 u Symbol 323 max 100 u length deviation of complete symbol Average value 48 FF bar 55 only for track 2 The bar and space specifications are the extreme values The system is identical to the display for the other symbologies The Character specification refers to 3 bars with the intervening spaces 2 wide and 3 narrow elements are always used This produces a consistent character width This combination of bars and spaces produces a number on decoding The average value is as usual determined from the individual bar deviations The Symbol specification refers to the complete barcode If the size ratios are incorrect this can be read off from this value REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 87 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Table Traditional detailed evaluation Track 1 B S B S B 9 193 15 37 F5 52 GAP 134 Character 302 6 64 14 43 34 113 GAP
170. uced or the reflectance of the spaces background substrate increased of both The modulation can be interpreted as unevenness of the bar or space reflectance If this value is too low this means that the difference between the edge and symbol contrast is too great One possibility for improvement is a higher density of the background colour or the substrate in case of e g plastic pots Rmin is displayed by REA verification devices as the relationship Rmin Rmax Rmin should be the same as or less than 0 5 Rmax If this is not the case the bar reflectance is too high This can be caused by unsuitable bar colours red shades or thermal paper REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 115 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH Metrics The metric measurement checks whether the width of a bar or space or the combination of both lie within the specification REA verification devices give as the measurement value the deviations from the specified tolerances These can be absolute values REA PC Scan or values in relation to the allowed tolerances REA ScanCheck Il and REA Check 3 The CEN and ANSI evaluations use the deviations as the basis for the calculation of the Decodability parameter The decodability provides information on how well a code can be decoded based on metric accuracy The measurement value decodability does not however provide the reason fo
171. uding optional symbologies also referred to as the full version shows the following dialogue Symbology x EAN Code 39 e V e 2 8 INT V Code 39 v ITF 14 _ 38 Full ASCII v 275 Frachtpost _ UPU y 2 5 IATA Code 32 vi ADD ON Ir 2755 Ban zi INSTORE y 2 5 3 BAR Code 128 Codabar B Code 128 v CODABAR _ 275 SIEMENS v Code EAN 128 MONARCH MSI UPU Pharma Code C v Code 33 _ Mini Pharma __ Measuring prog E Modulo 10 Modulo 11 _ Modulo 43 Frachtbrief The previously unavailable codes are now available REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 38 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH With the button All off or if switched off the button shows All on the user can switch between the settings symbologies self searching and individual code specified In the setting self searching button shows All off since clicking All off switches to individual code multiple symbologies can be activated in any required combination One exception is the Pharma Code The Pharma Code can only be activated as an individual code Self searching is useful when the symbology to be measured is not known or when continually different symbologies are to be measured In the setting individual code button shows All on since clicking All on switches to self s
172. ue Vertical lines projecting beyond one of the dotted lines show that the corresponding bar has been printed outside the permissible tolerance The vertical lines are arranged below the histogram under the corresponding digits or special characters The start stop and separation codes are shown here as large dots With e g Code 389 a star is used instead of the dots All characters that cannot be displayed in the clear text line below the barcode are shown here in two lines e g for Code 128 the function code FNC 1 as F1 the start code C as SC and the stop code as ST 008654 123454 In addition to the reflectance profile two further windows can be shown The window with the traditional detailed evaluation is shown by clicking Icon 6 see also section 4 8 1 The window with the error messages is shown by clicking Icon 8 or selecting the menu item Errors section 4 8 1 E TRAD DETAIL EVALUATION of x E Errors PI ES ns a Gis Sa En B Scan line Nr 1 Symbol check digit error Actual 8 Nominal 0 E e Left light margin 3351 min 3660 au 2 2 o 4 2 0 2 8 4 2 A 22 6 2 5 4 2 0 2 4 1 4 9 2 Window with error messages 4 2 A 2 A 1 a 42 2 3 2 af 0 2 0 3 2 2 2 2 4 2 2 5 6H 0 2 0 4 x2 A 2 H E 2 0 2 Traditional detailed evaluation The table with the traditional detailed evaluation and the error messages are also printed out The descriptions of the error messages and the tradition
173. uppressed within the EAN system which has no subset change within a code half and is therefore clearly distinguishable REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 68 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation Elektronische Ger te und Systeme RE Elektronik GmbH 5 2 2 1 1 Tolerance values and module widths for EAN UPC codes Factor SC size Module width Permissible tol Permissible tol Bars and B value spaces 80 264 u 36 u 39 u 82 96 SCO 270 u 42 u 40 u 85 96 280 Uu 52u 41u 90 96 SC 1 297 u 68 u 44 u 95 314 u 84 u 46 u 100 SC 2 330 u 101 u 49 u 110 96 SC 3 363 u 115 u 53 u 120 96 SC 4 396 u 131 u 58 u 130 429 u 147 u 63 u 135 SC5 445 u 156 u 65 u 140 462 u 162 u 68 u 150 SC 6 495 u 178 u 73 u 160 528 u 193 u 78 u 165 SC 7 544 u 200 u 80 u 180 594 u 224 u 87 u 185 SC 8 610 u 233 u 90 u 200 SC 9 660 u 255 u 97 u REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 69 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 5 2 2 2 Code 128 family Code 128 is a barcode symbology with four different bar widths It is often used in industrial applications The special case EAN 128 is designated by a special character at the start of the code FNC1 Otherwise EAN 128 does not differ from Code 128 except for some tolerance and size specifications and the defined standardised data structure within the code Code 128 is a
174. ure The data fields and the application identifiers must be checked against the EAN 128 specification 239 _ Symbology incorrect Symbology EAN 128 has been selected but a Code 128 has been identified In these cases the control character FNC1 immediately after the start character is missing 404 FNC1 missing Many EAN 128 data fields have a variable length If this is followed by another data field an FNC1 character is inserted to indicate the end of the data field If the FNC1 character is missing this error message appears Subsequent fields are frequently detected since the software has to guess in which form the data structure has been continued The subsequent fields usually disappear on rectifying the initial error 405 Unknown Al An Application Identifier Al has been used which is not defined in the relevant table This data designator does not exist or it is a new data designator which is not yet included in the software 406 Missing characters One data field is too short If this is detected this error message appears 407 Invalid characters Invalid characters have been detected e g letters in a numeric data field REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 97 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 7 Description of the evaluations The REA bar code verification devices offer two different evaluation methods The first metho
175. used for so called film calibration see section 4 8 3 1 4 e Round shaped bodies adapter The round shaped bodies adapter is a special base plate made of aluminium with an integral prism for the measurement of barcodes on rounded surfaces In order for the round shaped body adapter to be used the barcodes must be printed in picket fence direction With the exception of the operating instructions the accessories supplied with the standard version are listed on the delivery note as one complete item the REA PC Scan Different measurement lengths and measurement wavelengths are specified under this main item The other options appear as separate items on the delivery note REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 7 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 3 Commissioning the REA PC Scan The commissioning of the REA PC Scan consists of the software installation on a PC and the connection of the laser device to this PC Normal PC s no more than 5 years old with a free serial port COM1 to COMA offer sufficient computer performance and memory capacity for the operation of the REA PC Scan 3 1 Software installation For the software installation insert the enclosed CD ROM into a CD ROM or DVD drive If the auto start function is active the installation routine will start automatically If auto start is switched off this must be done manually with Windows
176. verage bar width deviation The average value is the average value of all bar deviations used in the previous section 7 2 1 2 1 for the determination of the extreme values The average value is only conclusive if all individual bar deviations are of the same order of size If individual bar deviations are positive or negative without any consistency the average value is completely inconclusive If only the average value is used the average value can in such cases be misleading because the value is 0 which is perfect although the individual extreme values may show large deviations what is very bad 7 2 1 2 3 Spaces width deviations These are the deviations in the spaces which are shown as two extreme values The display is identical to that of the bars in section 7 2 1 2 1 7 2 1 2 4 B values and E values The B value and the E value assess adjacent bars and spaces together These are again shown as extreme values in the same way as the bar deviations in section 7 2 1 2 1 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 109 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH B value 1 B value 2 The designation B value is only used for the codes of the EAN UPC family The designation E value is only used for Code 128 EAN 128 and Code 93 Barcode symbologies using E or B Values will be decoded by using the ratios of E or B values This makes decoding more reli
177. writer paper is unsuitable for this purpose and leads to measurement inaccuracies The function Film measurement is closed by switching to Printed codes A measurement of films or comparably accurate proofs with the setting Printed codes will produce nonsensical or misleading results 4 8 3 1 5 Film calibration Before a film can be measured the laser device must always be calibrated on a white substrate A white paper or card with the smoothest and most matt surface possible e g photographic paper should be used as the substrate beneath the film being measured Substrates with a rough texture such as typewriter paper will lead to measurement errors Separate calibration must be performed for positive and negative films The two optionally available master films are intended to be used for this calibration For the measurements the laser device must be used with the film pressure plate small slot It is very important that the film lies completely flat during the measurement since any air under the film will lead to measurement errors Usually the master film must be smoothed down by hand onto the substrate so that the master film sticks to the substrate with the aid of static electricity Cotton gloves are helpful in this case since they help to produce static electricity and prevent fingerprints scratches and other dirt getting onto the calibration films REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 36 of 1
178. y factor cannot be calculated because the initial values are either not plausible or not available The quality factor is outdated and should not be used any longer 11 Maximum enlargement The graphic with the reflectance profile can be displayed larger or smaller see section 4 8 6 This message appears if the maximum size has been reached 41 Cannot open file An attempt has been made to open a file for which reading rights do not exist 42 Wrong file format An attempt has been made to open a file with a different format to the internal REA PC Scan format The data cannot be read by the REA PC Scan 411 Please check laser device calibration fields This error indicates a functional problem with the REA PC Scan laser device First clean the calibration fields as described in section 3 4 A further cause for this error message may be incorrect position determination of the carriage or a defective laser diode In both cases repair is essential 420 Device change please re calibrate The REA PC Scan program has detected that another laser device has been connected The device can only be recognised in the case of a change between the standard version and a special version with different apertures Care should always be taken to ensure the correct calibration values are entered see 3 4 and the measurement accuracy is checked regularly see section 3 6 REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 92 of 133 Rational
179. y to be found in the artwork or originals REA Elektronik GmbH REA PC Scan October 2005 Page 118 of 133 Rationalisierung e Entwicklung e Automation R E Elektronik Elektronische Ger te und Systeme GmbH 8 2 1 8 Relief printing letterpress flexo printing etc Contrast If contrast problems occur with this printing process this is usually attributable to the type of paper used or the colour combination for bars and spaces Flexo printing is often used for printing on packaging and films Carton packaging has a rough brown surface This results in poor reflectance values for the spaces On films the background is printed in white and the bars printed in black on the white surface Due to the limited quantity of ink that can be applied the density of the white ink is restricted As a result the packaged material has a major influence on the barcode quality because it looks through the low opacity ink In order to achieve better contrast results the background white must be printed onto the film with the maximum possible density more pigment and or layer thickness Metrics The main cause of metric errors in relief printing is the inevitable print gain associated with this process The print gain also increases with use For the barcode this must be compensated by applying bar width reduction BWR in prepress The BWR should be selected so that the bars are initially too thin and at the end of the function time or usage time b

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