Who Can We Thank For Barcode Technology?

No doubt, you have come across barcodes many, many times. They can be found on just about everything, from grocery store items to every single item of clothing, accessory, and gift item that you can find at shopping malls. Yet despite their deep entrenchment in the way people shop, few of us know where the bar code system came from. Upon investigation you will find that the history of the barcode and barcode readers is quite intriguing.

For those who might be unfamiliar with just how they work, their function is to organize data and identify something automatically. In a world without this system, it was difficult for people and businesses to keep track of things. A seller might have found themselves guessing as to exactly how much something should cost.

In addition, it could also take a long time for an entrepreneur to be aware of just how much stock they had in their store. Something to fix this problem was very much needed by the masses. Unfortunately, the closest thing was the punch card, developed in 1890.

In 1948, a glimmer of hope entered the horizon. A man named Bernard Silver, who was then a student at the Drexel Institute of Technology in Philadelphia, overheard a special conversation. One of a number of deans at the school was talking to the president of a food chain about research.

The man desperately wanted the school to look into a system that would automatically identify a product's information during the checkout process. This request was rejected. However, it had the attention of Bernard Silver, and he spoke to a friend named Norman Joseph Woodland about the situation. Together, they started work on finding something that would solve the president's problem.

Of course, it was not smooth sailing right away. The very first experiment involved using ink that could only be read under ultraviolet light. While it was a success in theory, it was expensive to maintain and there were bouts of instability.

Finally, in 1949 the two men filed a patent that utilized a linear bar code. This would set into motion the system that people are familiar with today. The first barcode was used for commercial purposes in 1966, and shortly afterwords a universal standard for how the bar code should look was established.

Even if a person doesn't know the name of it, they have likely come across a bar code in some shape or form. Bar codes are used by companies big and small. Even businesses that do not sell products use them to keep track of employee salaries and other data. The next time you choose to go to your favorite store at the mall, look at the price tags or watch an employee use a barcode scanner.

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