All products in the market are bar coded these days. Even the smallest retail items, like chocolates or pencils, have a unique bar code to identify them accurately. Bar codes have specific symbology that is defined in the height and width of the bars as well as the spacing between them. Each of these bars might represent only numeric data, alphanumeric data or character data, depending on the type of symbology being used.

Bar code printing software is used to print bar codes on labels. They are small, convenient to use and can design labels as necessary. Although there are manually operated printers, present trends show a change in this kind of printing. Many are using software suites that guide the printer to print the labels with minimal human help. The user needs to specify the design and the software takes care of the whole printing process at a much faster rate. These software suites are accurate, and print the labels with minimal wastage in the process.

Software suites usually give additional software linking facilities so that it can link to a document or database containing the design for the label. The software would then recognize it and print it as per user instructions. All bar code printing software is compatible with popular operating systems such as Windows, Macintosh, and DOS. Also available are variations that work on operating systems such as Unix, ASP and Linux.

As is the case with all designing software suites, bar code printing software comes with some excellent sample designs. Colors, designs and fonts can be designed as per the users requirements. They would be compatible with spreadsheets, databases such as Microsoft Access, etc., and can print directly from these files or reports.

Printers normally store these fonts, which can be used as and when needed. Even newer fonts can be downloaded and stored for specific uses. One command would be sufficient for the printer to start printing the bar codes on the documents. Individuals having proficiency in software development and programming can also take help of the libraries, ActiveX controls, and other linkable procedures to create unique bar codes using graphic characters and fonts.

Bar code printing must be accurate, as an individual cannot understand the output unless the same is scanned. Before printing the bar code, the user must ensure that the font, size and other details are correct, to get an error-free set of labels.