Troubleshooting Barcodes: A Lesson in Critical Thinking
We've all been there. Something that is known to work doesn't work in the field. But back home, it works fine. How to cure it ? Of course, there's no right answer to this question, but [Benji York] had a particularly satisfying streak of troubleshooting some errant barcodes and even came up with a very creative solution.
Here is the configuration: A customer was unable to read some barcodes sent by [Benji's] company. Yet when the bad barcodes came back, they were fine. They looked good too. In a Twitter post, [Benji] dares you to see if you can tell what's wrong.
We're going to confess. We could not. [Benji] started decoding barcodes by hand and noticed that one bar was just a little bit thinner than it should be. You can see in the photo there is a thin white line cutting the edges. It's a problem with the printer and it manages to lighten one of the vertical lines in the barcode. Apparently [Benji's] scanner is more forgiving than the client scanner.
The solution was also interesting. Instead of replacing or repairing the printer, simply rotate the label 90 degrees. Sure, the fine line is still there, but it's a small problem in all the bars any scanner can handle. [Benji] suggests always printing barcodes "against the grain", although of course this will very much depend on the type of technology your printer uses.
What we found interesting, however, is what it teaches you about critical thinking when faced with a problem. Now that you know what the problem is, that thin vertical line in the border sticks out like a sore thumb. But if you're anything like us, you were so obsessed with the barcode that we totally missed it. Like the old saying about the forest and the trees.
A great reminder to look at all the parts of something that aren't working, not just the part that's failing. Honestly, we probably would have just fixed the printer, but we applaud the creative workaround. We spend a lot of time thinking about troubleshooting. If you want to learn more about barcodes, we can help you too.
We've all been there. Something that is known to work doesn't work in the field. But back home, it works fine. How to cure it ? Of course, there's no right answer to this question, but [Benji York] had a particularly satisfying streak of troubleshooting some errant barcodes and even came up with a very creative solution.
Here is the configuration: A customer was unable to read some barcodes sent by [Benji's] company. Yet when the bad barcodes came back, they were fine. They looked good too. In a Twitter post, [Benji] dares you to see if you can tell what's wrong.
We're going to confess. We could not. [Benji] started decoding barcodes by hand and noticed that one bar was just a little bit thinner than it should be. You can see in the photo there is a thin white line cutting the edges. It's a problem with the printer and it manages to lighten one of the vertical lines in the barcode. Apparently [Benji's] scanner is more forgiving than the client scanner.
The solution was also interesting. Instead of replacing or repairing the printer, simply rotate the label 90 degrees. Sure, the fine line is still there, but it's a small problem in all the bars any scanner can handle. [Benji] suggests always printing barcodes "against the grain", although of course this will very much depend on the type of technology your printer uses.
What we found interesting, however, is what it teaches you about critical thinking when faced with a problem. Now that you know what the problem is, that thin vertical line in the border sticks out like a sore thumb. But if you're anything like us, you were so obsessed with the barcode that we totally missed it. Like the old saying about the forest and the trees.
A great reminder to look at all the parts of something that aren't working, not just the part that's failing. Honestly, we probably would have just fixed the printer, but we applaud the creative workaround. We spend a lot of time thinking about troubleshooting. If you want to learn more about barcodes, we can help you too.
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