The Bar Code Book: Fifth Edition - A Comprehensive Guide To Reading, Printing, Specifying, Evaluating, And Using Bar Code and Other Machine-Readable Symbols [Paperback]

Roger C. Palmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 2007

The Bar Code Book has been one of automatic identification industry's best-selling textbooks since it was first published in 1989. The Fifth Edition has been completely updated and expanded to reflect current and emerging technology. Previous editions of this book have been used by college educators, MIS departments, equipment manufacturers, government agencies, and individuals.

The book describes the many different forms of 1-D and 2-D bar code symbols, explains how they work, compares their attributes, and provides detailed reference information. Equipment used for printing, reading, and evaluating bar code symbols is reviewed, and extensive information is provided about the applicable industry standards. The emerging fields of Direct Part Marking and image-based scanning is reviewed, and the issue of patents is presented. Many applications of the technology are described.

This book covers more than just conventional bar code technology - all forms of machine-readable symbols are reviewed. This is truly a comprehensive textbook that deserves to be on the bookshelf of anyone working in or around the field of Automatic Identification.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Roger C. Palmer, P.Eng. was born in England, but spent most of his early years in Canada. He received a Bachelor of Engineering degree (McMaster University) and an MBA (University of Washington). Over the years, Roger has co-founded three companies involved in developing and manufacturing electronic test equipment for the communications industry. He became involved in Automatic Identification when he joined INTERMEC Corporation (a manufacturer of bar code products and systems) in 1978. He held several high level positions at Intermec, eventually becoming Vice President, Technology. In 1994 Roger and his family decided that the lifestyle offered in British Columbia was so attractive that it overshadowed the security of having a regular job, so he announced an early retirement from Intermec and moved to Victoria, B.C. Since then he has operated a small consulting company called Palmer Technologies Inc., which provides services to a number of clients involved in different High-Tech technical fields, and he has been involved as an expert witness in several patent litigations and contract disputes. Roger is intimately familiar with bar code technology and equipment. He has served as chairman of AIM's Technical Symbology Committee and also as chairman of the HIBCC's Technical Committee. He was an active member of the ANSI committee that developed the first bar code standards. He has several patents and has been a frequent publisher and speaker on all aspects of bar code technology. He is a member of the IEEE, APEGBC, ARRL, EAA, and the Institute of Navigation. Apart from the Automatic Identification industry, Roger remains current in many other high-tech fields, and he has assisted companies in evaluating technical trends, developing business strategic plans, or refining product designs. Outside of work, his interests include flying, yacht racing, cruising, computers, electronics, and amateur radio. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the Province of British Columbia. Roger and his family live next to the harbor in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Product Details

• Paperback: 470 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing; 5th edition (September 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1425133746
• ISBN-13: 978-1425133740
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #856,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you do any barcode work, you NEED this book!, January 31, 2008

By 

Sanford Moos (Brooklyn) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Bar Code Book: Fifth Edition - A Comprehensive Guide To Reading, Printing, Specifying, Evaluating, And Using Bar Code and Other Machine-Readable Symbols (Paperback)

My lab was having a difficult time linking some instruments with our LIS.
Both were complaining that there were barcode issues. I bought the book and showed it to them. Altho' both vendors were certain that they were right, each had to make changes. We're now successfully interfaced.

If you gotta know about barcodes, this is the book to have!

Thanx Mr Palmer

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, August 29, 2008

By 

deac99 (Upstate NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bar Code Book: Fifth Edition - A Comprehensive Guide To Reading, Printing, Specifying, Evaluating, And Using Bar Code and Other Machine-Readable Symbols (Paperback)

I've owned multiple editions of this book over the past 12 years - it contains all the facts and descriptions of ANSI parameters for grading and what they mean - a must have for anyone working with bar code specifications.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but some updating would be nice, October 7, 2010

By 

P. Ahlgren - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Bar Code Book: Fifth Edition - A Comprehensive Guide To Reading, Printing, Specifying, Evaluating, And Using Bar Code and Other Machine-Readable Symbols (Paperback)

It's at good book, but needs to be updated regarding Databar (labelled under it's former name RSS in the book) and Code128 (especially in the GS1-128 aka EAN128 application) - I hade some questions regarding those barcodes and the book didn't provide any answers to my questions (Wikipedia and GS1 General Specifications did on the other hand). My main concerns regarding barcodes if analyzing faulty codes, trying to find what is wrong with them and suggest actions to correct the problem. This might make me a little bit more advanced user than most readers of the book, as I search for more detailed data to help me analyzing and probably go way deeper into the technical stuff than most probably will (as how characters are encoded, application identifiers, etc).
I regularly see a variety of barcode: Interleaved 2/5, code39, code 128, EAN13 and UPC-A, and in most cases the book has very useful information.
The book has provided me with very helpful information concerning barcode verification and explaining a lot of terms
The index could really use some updating to help readers find all information on an issue easily and also help pin-pointing the most relevant pages in the book. Personally I've missed some words in the index, and also been frustrated when I have to read all pages listed in the index for a specific word, to find out which page really focus in the issue.
The book now almost always lies on my desk to be at hand when new questions arise. I recommend it, but also request for an update.