Glossary

1SYNC
1SYNC was established from the consolidation of Transora and UCCnet in August 2005. 1SYNC operates as a not-for-profit subsidiary of GS1 US to help the industry maximize the value of data synchronization. Visit http://www.1SYNC.org for more information.

3PL
3rd Party Logistics - An outsourced provider that manages an organization's logistics requirements, warehousing, inventory, fulfillment, and transportation

active tag
A class of RFID tag that contains a power source, such as a battery, to power the microchip's circuitry. Active tags transmit a signal to a reader that can be read from 100 feet or more.

AIDC
Automated Identification Data Capture ( or Collection) Also refereed to as Auto-ID- The process of capturing or collecting data automatically using methods such as RFID, barcode scanners, smart cards, alphanumeric OCR codes.

AIM Global
AIM Global is the international trade association representing automatic identification and mobility technology solution providers.

alphanumeric
Describes a character set that contains alphabetic characters (letters), numeric digits (numbers), and other characters, such as punctuation marks.

ANSI
American National Standards Institute- ANSI coordinates the U.S. voluntary consensus standards system, providing a neutral forum for the development of policies on standards issues.

aperture
Measure of the size of the light beam which reads the barcode.

ASN
Advanced Ship Notice- notification of pending deliveries commonly supplied as EDI formatted electronic message.

background
The lighter portion of a bar code symbol, including the spaces between the bars and, where required, Quiet Zones

bar
The dark (low reflectance) rectangular element of a bar code symbol.

bar width reduction
The amount by which each individual line in a barcode is narrowed to compensate for print gain.

bearer bars
A border surrounding a barcode to prevent misreads or to improve print quality of the barcode symbol.

BWR
Bar Width Reduction

CAD
Computer Aided Design

character
Character within a barcode is a single group of bars and spaces which represent an individual number, letter, punctuation mark, or other symbol. Character within a human-readable description is a graphic shape representing a letter, numeral, or symbol.

check character
A character included within a barcode symbol whose value is based, mathematically, on other characters within the data string. It is used to perform a mathematical check to ensure the data is accurately read.

Code 128
A variable length bar code symbology capable of encoding the full ASCII 128 character set and other special characters.

COOL
Country of Origin Labeling

core size
The core size is the measurement of the diameter of the cardboard tube that labels are rolled on.

CPG
Consumer Packaged Goods - A type of good that is consumed every day such as food and beverages, clothing, tobacco and household products.

EAN
European Article Number Is a barcoding standard which is a superset of the original 12-digit Universal Product Code (UPC) system developed in North America. The EAN-13 barcode is defined by the standards organisation GS1. The EAN-13 barcodes are used worldwide for marking retail goods. EAN-8 barcodes are also used also for marking retail goods , but usually reserved for smaller items.

EDI
Electronic Data Interchange- Electronic transfer of data using using networks, VANs or the Internet to communicate business transactions.

element
A single bar or space.

EPC
Electronic Product Code- A standard code for RFID tags administered by EPCglobal.

EPCIS
EPC Information Services- an EPCglobal standard designed to enable EPC-related sharing of data.

EPS file
Encapsulated Post Script file. This is a common image format used by graphic artists and printers encoded using the PostScript page description language. A PostScript-compatible printer is necessary to correctly print EPS files.

fixed-length
Fixed-length refers to a symbol or code in which the data elements must be of a specific length.

FMCG
Fast Moving Consumer Goods

font
Font is a specific size and style of printer's type.

FPO
For Position Only- Blank placeholders commnly used in design layouts are labelled with the acronym FPO to indicate where the final version of an image is to be placed.

GCI
Global Commerce Initiative - a global user group that brings manufacturers and retailers together worldwide to simplify and enhance global commerce and improve consumer value in the overall retail supply chain by the endorsement of recommended voluntary standards.

GDSN
Global Data Synchronization Network

GIAI
Global Individual Asset Identifier

GLN
Global Location Number

GRAI
Global Returnable Asset Identifier

GTIN
Global Trade Item Number

GUI
Graphical User Interface

HF Tags
High-Frequency Tags

HRI
Human Readable Interpretation

HTML
Hypertext Markup Language

IC
Integrated Circuit

ID
Identification Number

Intelligent Mail Barcode
The Intelligent Mail barcode is the next generation of USPS barcode technology used to sort and track letters and flats. Intelligent Mail barcode technology combines the capabilities of the POSTNET barcode and the Planet Code barcode into one unique barcode.

intercharacter space
Intercharacter space is the space between two adjacent barcode characters in a discrete code. Also called the intercharacter gap.

ISBN
International Standard Book Number

ISO
International Organization for Standardization

ISP
Internet Service Provider

ISSN
International Standard Serial Number

mil
Mil is one thousandth of an inch (0.001 inch), or approximately 0.0254 millimeter. Commonly used to refer to the width of bar code elements.

NDC
National Drug Code

NHRIC
National Health Related Item Code

OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer

OTP
One-time-programmable

PLU
Price Look Up

POS
Point-of-sale

print contrast
Print contrast is the ratio of the difference of reflected light between the bars and spaces of a barcode. Print contrast equals space reflectance minus bar reflectance divided by space reflectance.

quiet zone
The Quiet zone is the area preceding the beginning of a barcode and following the end of the barcode, sometimes called the clear area.

reflectivity
Reflectivity is the amount of light reflected back by the surface upon which the barcode is printed.

RF
Radio Frequency

RFID
Radio Frequency Identification

RIP
Raster Image Processing

ROI
Return on Investment

SCM
Supply Chain Management

SKU
Stock Keeping Unit

SLA
Service Level Agreement

SRP
Scan Reflectance Profile

SSCC
Serial Shipping Container Code

UHF Tags
Ultra-High Frequency Tags

UPC
Universal Product Code

verification
Barcode verification is the technical process by which a barcode symbol is evaluated to determine whether it meets the specification for the specified symbol.

verifier
A barcode verifier is a device that measures a barcode symbol's bars, spaces, quiet zones, and optical characteristics to determine whether it meets the requirements of a specific symbol.

void
Void is the absence of ink in a bar.

XML
Extensible Markup Language