Checking UPC codes

[Zimmy3]

What software do you use to check your UPC codes?
Is it a wand or a gun?

[kermit]

Barcode Pro for OS 9 and ADB pen on old blue and white G3. I also have OS X versions of Barcode Pro which I am using to make barcodes but I never bought newer device to check it.

[David]

Barcode Pro with a hand held bar code reader (we have several, some are battery operated free standing, others are jacked into a computer)

[born2print]

We make 'em, YOU check 'em
 

[Zimmy3]

Sorry for the EXTRA question in MY  OWN post but,
How many times does your UPC get checked and at what stage of your workflow?

[David]

we check em' at the proofing stage and then once again when it gets on press.

[kermit]

same here

[G_Town]

Proofing and Press.

Quick question about Barcode Pro. We have a customer using it and the codes are constantly failing or read poorly on our reader (our codes from Artpro are always  A's).  The codes in question have oddly spaced bars as compared to ours, by that I mean they are not consistantly bigger or smaller than ours they just seem random. Also the numbers at the bottom are not good quality text zooming up reveals an almost simplified path to the text.

I guess my question is what should I be telling my customer to look for so I can get good UPC's from them?

[David]

are they messin' with them after they make them?
one of the first rules of good barcodes:
don't scale em'
don't rotate em'
and certainly don't photoshop em'.

are they using some kind of funky font or anything?

[born2print]

Proofing and Press.

Quick question about Barcode Pro. We have a customer using it and the codes are constantly failing or read poorly on our reader (our codes from Artpro are always  A's).  The codes in question have oddly spaced bars as compared to ours, by that I mean they are not consistantly bigger or smaller than ours they just seem random. Also the numbers at the bottom are not good quality text zooming up reveals an almost simplified path to the text.

I guess my question is what should I be telling my customer to look for so I can get good UPC's from them?

That's new to me, barcode pro user for years now, are they saving .eps from BCP or are they doing something else in Illustrator after?
Save as .eps should (does for me) achieve quality vector art that works consistantly.

[kermit]

Barcode Pro generates vector eps files. They are as good as your output device can print them.

[beermonster]

sounds like some export features may need tweaking?

good barcode generators create vectors - and follow those rules as above as well

it sounds like your codes could be exported as eps, opened in photoshop, live-traced in illy perhaps? that'd give some funky results if not done carefully.

[G_Town]

sounds like some export features may need tweaking?

good barcode generators create vectors - and follow those rules as above as well

it sounds like your codes could be exported as eps, opened in photoshop, live-traced in illy perhaps? that'd give some funky results if not done carefully.

They recently sent us a ai file with the UPC's embedded and also linked, supposedly they came right out of the barcode software. Both versions scan bad.

I'm at a loss as to what to tell them, if I'm hearing you guys correctly theres really know way for them to f'em up?

Like I said before ours scan A's all day long. Is there a preference panel or something I can have them read off to me?

[David]

what type of file is embedded or linked in the .ai file?
eps or?

are the fonts outlined in the linked files?

do the bars in the linked files look clean and not jaggy?

[Zimmy3]

What exactly are they scanning? a B&W print of a printer? if so its probaly distorted.