Cracking the barcode

With the increase in self-checkouts in retail stores, Design Barcode presents a unique and disarming opportunity to brand the purchase decision, or just give your loyal patrons a little lagniappe.

It's also a good idea for those oversized boxes that are small enough to put in the shopping cart, but too big to roll down the conveyor belt. Computers, lawn equipment, HVAC, grills, artificial Christmas trees. And how cute would it be for a baby furniture manufacturer to add a little fun to the barcode that mom and dad are throwing their back out trying to find so it can be facing up when they checkout.

Of course, form must follow function when you're tweaking the purchase process. That's why the folks at Design Barcode develop and test their designs to conform to worldwide barcode standards such as UPC-A and EAN-13.

It might even bring about a resurrection of promotions requiring proofs of purchase. Now if they could just do something about QR codes.